There are several places you’d never find me—gas station bathrooms, water parks, and tiny airplanes come to mind—but perhaps the very last place I’d ever agree to set foot would be inside a submarine. Stuck inside a metal tube with the crushing weight of the ocean all around you? No thanks, I’ll stay on land. Still, it’s hard to deny the romance of the submarine, especially given that our ocean is still largely unexplored. Whether in scientific expeditions or military endeavours, the remarkable underwater vessel has long gripped the human imagination.
With their latest U series of divers, Sinn is honoring a piece of that maritime history. In part a celebration of 20 years of the German brand using submarine steel in its diving watches, the U15, U16, and U15 each represent a different 1970s German submarine of matching name. The name isn’t just a superficial connection, though—each model of these new U series is limited to 1,000 pieces, and features a case and bezel constructed with submarine steel from the outer hull of the actual corresponding namesake submarine.
What Sets the Models Apart?
At first glance, each U diver looks very similar—they all share that satinized submarine steel case, a captive dive bezel with minute ratcheting, a screw-down crown at the 4 o’clock position, and a striking dark blue-green high-gloss dial with a stream of lighter blue bubbles down the center. But as the names suggest, each yields slightly different design elements and specifications.
The U15 submarine was commissioned in 1974, and reached 200,045 nautical miles. The matching U15 watch measures at 41mm in case diameter with a 20mm lug width—the smallest of the trio—and boasts water and pressure resistance up to 500 meters. The U16, whose namesake was commissioned in 1973 and logged 207,000 nautical miles, shares the same blocky white indices and rectangular hands—very similar to those on Sinn’s U1 and U50 series of divers—but ups the case diameter to a bulky 44mm, the lug width to 22mm, and the water and pressure resistance to 1,000 meters.
While the U18 shares the same case diameter and lug width as the U16, it sports a few notable design differences. The indices and hands on the U18 are more similar to those seen on Sinn EZM models, with long, thin hour markers, double-thick 12 and 6 o’clock markers, and sword-style hands. A small blue circle also sits at the bottom of the 6 o’clock marker, mirroring the shape of the bubbles in the dial. Following the pattern set by the other two watches, the U18 features the deepest water and pressure resistance at 2,000 meters, and its namesake submarine, commissioned in 1973, traveled a total of 192,842 nautical miles. Additionally, the U18 alone features Sinn’s Ar-Dehumidifying Technology to keep the watch free of fogging.
What Do The Models Have In Common?
Now that we’ve summed up the differences, we have the much easier task of cataloging what stays the same between the models. For starters, the bezel design and function remain identical—with Sinn’s scratch-free TEGIMENT technology—as does that gorgeous dial, sans indices and hands. Speaking of, the indices and hands on each model are luminescent, as is the bezel key mark on each watch, and all models feature an identical date window at 3 o’clock. A screw-down case back, adorned with a silhouette of a Type 206 submarine and numbered out of 1,000, secures the back of each watch, while an anti-reflective sapphire crystal seals the front.
The star of the show, of course, is that incredible dial design. Stylized air bubbles appear to rise up from the 6:00 position, and are lent a three-dimensional, stereoscopic effect thanks to varying metallic green and blue tones as finished by the German watchmaking technology company, Sächsische Uhrentechnologie GmbH Glashütte (SUG).
Inside, the U15 and U18 timepieces are powered by an SW300-1 self-winding and anti-magnetic mechanical movement, and the U16 is powered by a slightly thicker SW200-1. The U15’s movement contains 25 bearing jewels, with the U16 and U18 both containing 26. Included with each U series watch from the new set is an engraved steel blank from the corresponding submarine.
Thoughtful connections, both tangible and aesthetic, to maritime history make the U15, U16, and U18 pretty special in their own right. But Sinn has another limited edition diver up their sleeve—and this one also features an intriguing case material.
The T50 Goldbronze B
The watch world has no shortage of bronze, gold, and even bronze-gold watches. But with the new T50 Goldbronze B—a retooled version of 2023’s T50 Goldbronze—Sinn is treating us to a color combo that doesn’t often get the spotlight. A dark blue dial and strap sit in alluring contrast to the 41mm bead-blasted Goldbronze 125 (Sinn’s proprietary version of the material) case, creating a timepiece that feels refreshing with a dash of minimalism.
Limited to 300 pieces, the B features many of the same hallmarks as the above U series; a screw-down crown at 4 o’clock, Ar-Humidifying Technology, and the luminescent indices and hands all reflect Sinn’s diver design ethos. The SW 300-1 movement appears under the hood of the T50, too, carrying with it a 500-meter water and pressure resistance. The captive safety bezel has a guard to dissuade any possible misadjustments and features a luminous key mark and minute ratcheting. A high-strength titanium case back centers the model number out of 300, and an anti-reflective sapphire crystal protects the dial.
The dial is a very deep, dark blue with luminous white hour indices and hour and minute hands, and a bronze seconds hand that matches the T50 text just above the 6 o’clock marker. The Sinn logo, “Goldbronze” and water resistance text details, and the smaller minute indices appear to be a non-luminous off-white from press images. A matching dark blue textile strap occupies the 20mm lug width, though I can see leather being a popular strap material swap for this particular diver.
The colors present on the new B model set it apart from its predecessors, which featured a dial with “decorative grinding”, and the T50 GDBR, which opted for a black titanium dial. While the textured and titanium dials are stylish and practical in equal measure, I prefer the dark blue of the new B model; it feels infinitely more nautical and even sports a connection to the U15 by way of the bronze propeller employed by the titular submarine.
With this wave of submarine-inspired divers, Sinn’s penchant for ruggedness and distinct design cues remains seaworthy and gains a historical cool factor. Maybe I’m biased as a Sinn EZM 7 Mission Timer owner (that scratch resistance is not a gimmick, folks), but the German brand has a distinctive propensity for combining form and function in a way that’s both familiar to fans of dive-style watches, and fresh for those tired of the same-old, same-old.
The U15/U16, U18, and T50 Goldbronze B will be priced at $3,340, $3,680, and $5,860 respectively. Sinn
