The construction enables the side of the watchglass to remain visible, and it is laser-engraved with lettering all the way around. The most distinctive features of the U-Boat Classico 47 U-1001 are the four bolts holding the watchglass to the case. In this case, the crown is covered by a screw-on cap, linked to the case by a hinged arm. Another similarity can be seen in the crown protector, totally different to the Panerai concept but sharing the same origin. This echo of Panerai is no surprise: I think that Italo Fontana worked for the brand earlier in his career, presumably when Panerai still had offices in Florence.
The dial inherits something of Panerai’s traditions, with a multi-layer construction, with blue SuperLuminova underneath and a top metal layer with perforations. There are blue dots for the 1 and 2 o’clock positions but all the same it is a little confusing when you glance at the watch to look at the time. The number appears prominently on the dial between the 12 o’clock and 3 o’clock positions, but curiously, Italo Fontana has chosen to place the applied metal numbers for 1001 with the four digits in the space for three hours, so that the two zeroes don’t correspond to the hours. But the U-Boat Classico 47 U-1001 TIT can reach 1,001 metres depth of water and everything about its appearance is linked to this feature. It is 17.6 mm thick, and the watchglass alone is 6.4 mm in thickness, so a lot thicker than Piaget’s Altiplano 900P which is 3.65 mm thick. The first model presented in 2011 was 55 mm in diameter, but the 2017 version has been reduced to 47 mm. As for most watches by U-Boat, it is very large and bold, a cross between Panerai and steam punk. This watch, designed by Italo Fontana and built by his company U-Boat, was first introduced in 2011 and is now available in a new version, a 300-piece limited edition in titanium – hence the name U-Boat Classico 47 U-1001 TIT (I guess that signor Fontana has a less than 100% grasp of English slang).
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