These are my initial impressions of the UTS Commander which I recieved just before Christmas. With their permission I've borrowed some photographs from the germanwatches.us to remind folks what the watch is about.
First of all probably most of you are familiar with, or have seen photos of the Commander since there have been several of them mentioned on the forum. For those who aren't or who haven't paid a lot of attention to them they're definitely a BIG watch. The case is somewhere around 45-46 mm excluding the crown. I've definitely become a big watch fan even though I have a somewhat small 6.5" wrist and I can tell you that the Commander sits nicely and very comfortably on my wrist.
Part of that is as a result of the way the lugs are angled (they're attached by seperate cap screws (what I would almost call bolts) so the watch can have the lugs removed. The purpose of that is to allow the watch to be used as a pocket watch with the additon of it's (included) crown guard which again "bolts" into place. A photo of this bit is shown in a layout later.
The Commander comes with either a display back or with a solid stainless steel back if ultimate water resistance is a desire. I acquired mine with the display back because I really wanted to see the Unitas 6497 movement with it's Geneva stripes and blued screws.
Although the movement isn't super highly decorated (nor would that be appropriate on a watch with the look of the Commander), it does make a lovely package to look at when the watch is being wound each day. OH, yes, the Unitas is a hand wound movement but UTS gives it another unusual and welcome twist. The signed crown on the Commander is a screw down crown. When the crown is unscrewed for winding it pops out a little bit because of an internal spring and the watch can be wound normally. All that is necessary to reseat the crown is to push it in a bit and screw it down. The overall feel of the crown is smooth and buttery! It's wonderful for us folks who really prefer the security of a screw down crown for daily use.
Again the back is secured by those same type hex cap screws. In fact these same cap screws extend through the watch case to also hold the bezel firmly in place. A layout of all the bits of an unassembled Commander illustrates this quite nicely.
The simple hex wrench necessary to assemble and disassemble the watch is supplied along with it as are various other bits such as extra hex screws of various sizes, the crown guard and even a pocket watch chain for those who want to hide this beauty away.
I've left out that the Commander has a sapphire front crystal, a mineral glass back crystal and is normally supplied with a fully polished case. I preferred mine to have a brushed case with only the bezel polished and inquiry to Stephen Newman at germanwatches.us confirmed that the watch can be supplied with the finish of the customers choice.
A couple of final comments. The watch as assembled by Nicholas Spinner at UTS is wonderfully accurate. (+1 sec per day for my watch). There's no doubt about who did the assembly and regulation and who is responsible for the design all the way to final detailing. It's Herr Spinner's concept and Herr Spinners product. This is a very personal thing and very welcome in these days of mass production.
Second it's a veritable "bank vault" of a watch that attracts positive comments from virtually everyone who sees it. My MM20 has been widely admired but the Commander, more than any other watch I own, is noticed and admired.
I called it a bank vault of a watch because while it gives the definite impression of strength and solidity, the design exudes engineering and attention to detail that few others even approach. The engineering aspect is well earned because Herr Spinner is an engineer by education and a watch lover/collector who has made his love of watches has avocation.
Another indication of the detailed attention that goes into the Commander is that even the proper torque for the assembly hex cap screws is given in the instruction manual. THAT is an engineers approach to watches if I ever saw one.
I guess by this time you may have guessed that I absolutely love this watch. Of course you'd be right!
It's the one that's most difficult to take off my wrist and is likely to be so for a very long time.
Duane