Well, unfortunately, it is very hard to find watches that can satisfy all these needs. But now, it seems that there is at least one brand offering such watches. I’d like to introduce you to the

I.) Overall impression

This is not a watch that immediately strikes you with its design. It is not a watch that gets “Wow! Is this a cool watch!”-comments. This Union watch has no need to shout, it is subtle, timeless, some might even call it boring. However, its design ensures that it is a good fit with nearly every type of clothing (except a bathing suit, maybe), and for nearly all opportunities, and that it will remain exactly that, even if the fashion will change in the years to come.

And the more you study the manifold of carefully designed and finished details, the more you are attracted by the beauty of the watch. In fact, this is the type of watch my wife cannot get her eyes from at the breakfast table. After some time, she would say: “It’s beautiful! Let me wear it today!” This Union is a very elegantly designed watch, with slim hands, a perfectly white lacquered dial, applied markers, the unique big date window centred beneath the hands’ axis. This differs from the Glashütte Original design, where the panorama date window is located at four o’clock. It is a purely subjective decision which design is preferred. Personally, I don’t like the asymmetric approach of the GO watch very much, except the version with the additional moon phase at 10 o’clock; which perfectly balances the date window.

Now let’s study the Union Panorama more closely, and thus we will start with the

II. Casework

Until two years go, Union used cases which were a little bit larger (40 mm). However, the crystal’s diameter was smaller, and the case had a very strong and faceted appearance; especially its triangular crownguards made it even a bit architectural in style. The new Union line then distinguished itself by the upgraded movement, and by a new case, which at first sight looked far less bold and typical. In spite of that, the official press release stated that the new case is very costly to manufacture and thus is one of the reasons for the rather large price increase. We want to check if the casework is really so good to justify higher prices:

The case back is screwed down not with several small screws, but with a full-size thread, which enhances robustness. Engravings inform about the watch’s origin, material and the individual serial number.

Upon removing the back, one is confronted with some of the reasons why the Union cases are so costly to produce: There is no spacer ring, which is normally needed to mount smaller movements into larger cases. The whole case is tailored exactly to house the Union cal. 26 movement. Well dimensioned gaskets protect the watch’s innards from humidity and dust, even if the crown is not of the screw-down type.

Visible now are five screws, which hold the bezel from the rear side of the case. After dismounting them, the bezel with the sapphire crystal comes off and enables the watchmaker to access the dial and the hands. This construction is rather sophisticated and I believe never seen before in a watch of that price region.

III. Hands and Dial:

The hands are made of polished steel and have some luminous mass on them. This is one of the differences regarding the GO watches. With the exception of the military-style Navigator watches, no GO can be read at night, due to the complete lack of luminosity. However, don’t expect a lightshow from the Union watch: The luminosity of the hands is rather poor, and nowhere on the dial are luminous markers. In that regard, the dial and the hands could be improved.

Plain white dials are not everybody’s thing, but the Union dial is a beauty: Its central part is lowered a bit, which prevents the dial from appearing too sober. The brand’s temple logo and name, as well as the faceted hour markers are made of polished steel and individually applied to the dial. All the printing, including the date window’s frame, is razor sharp. What puzzles me, however, is the subdivision of the minutes: This makes sense on stopwatches only, and above all, the subdivision into fifths of seconds does not correspond with the 28,800 A/h frequency of the movement. Additionally, it makes the dial too busy and disturbs the clean design outlines of the watch. Instead of the silly subdivision, some luminous dots beside the hour markers would improve both the design and the usability.

IV. Movement:

The Union cal. 26 movement, powering the watch is well finished, but lacking that kind of meticulous hand finishing that is typical for the products wearing the Glashütte Original brand name. While the Union movements are direct off springs of those developed and manufactured for the more expensive Glashütte Original watches, they differ in certain points that make the movement more exclusive, but also more expensive, without necessarily offering a better technical functionality. Regarding the cal. 26’s GO pendant, the GO cal. 39, the Union movement has an less elaborate adjustment mechanism and is decorated by machine work, while all GO movements have their decorations (stripes, anglage, perlage) individually applied by hand. After dismounting the gold-plated and skeletonized rotor, we see the attractive movement before us.

Even more interesting, however, is the GO/Union speciality, which is still hidden behind the dial: the panorama date. Compared with the Union/GO watches which only have a conventional date window, the panorama date versions are much more expensive. One might wonder if the big date alone is enough to justify the higher price. Therefore we want to look behind the curtain.

Hands and dial are now removed, revealing a plate, housing the panorama date module. The surface of the plate is well finished with circular grindings. Two polished excentric screw heads allow the fine adjustment of the two date disks. Three other screws hold the module on top of the base movement. After loosening them, the module can be removed. Its underside bears a matte finish, which is more typical for Glashütte watches than the stripes and circular grindings.

Now also one reason for the high number of jewels (39), as engraved into the base plate, is apparent: Five rolls of synthetic ruby are there to ensure that the date ring is moving with low friction. The two date disks are moved by a prominent Maltese cross <1> for the inner disk with the tens (1,2,3 and blank instead of zero), and a larger wheel <2> for the outer disk, switching the days from 0 through 9.

The brass date ring, mounted onto the base movement, features pins on its inner and outer rims; the former <4> mesh with the Maltese cross, the latter <5> with the larger disk wheel. A mechanism, hidden under <4>, is - together with the tension of two jumper springs <3> - responsible for the instantaneous change of the date, letting the date snap at midnight. This works with both disks, resulting in an immediate date change, even on a 29th to the 30th. To my knowledge, this is the only oversized date mechanism able to change the date so quickly. Others have a date change phase of up to an hour, during which the wearer only looks at the free space between the date disk positions. In my opinion, the panorama date mechanism developed and manufactured by GO and Union, is the most sophisticated of its kind and well worth the price they ask for.

The rest of the movement is well-known. It has its roots in the communist era of Eastern Germany, when the Glashütter Uhren-Betrieb (G.U.B.) developed a standard automatic movement, dubbed Spezichron. The intention was to have an indigenous alternative to Swiss movements, which then had to be imported and paid for in valuable Western currency. After the downfall of the communist government, the cal. 10-30 was developed from the Spezichron (for a more detailed overview of this movement’s history, please click on this link: GO cal. 39 movement history). After some other steps of improvements and modifications, the movement has become the wonderful cal. 39, used in the GO watches. And a slightly less expensive version became the cal. 26 of the Union watches (further info on the development in finish of this movement you find here: Aesthetic development of the Union cal. 26).

What makes this movement so special in today’s watch world, is that with the only exception of the jewels and the springs, all parts have been developed AND manufactured AND assembled within the one house of the G.U.B. in Glashütte. If one leaves aside the specialists in watch business, who create only tiny series of purely handmade watches, the GO and Union movements are possible the only movements produced strictly ‘in-house’.

V. Accuracy:

I must confess that I have not tested the watch on special timing machines. All I did was to wear it and to check its performance, compared with a simple radio-controlled clock. Worn 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, the Union Panorama constantly gained a mere 3 seconds per day. This is a very good value, well within the COSC chronometer specification.

VI. Strap and Buckle:

A black alligator strap is a very good fit with the elegant watch. The strap delivered by Union is one of the best alligator straps I have seen so far, even on watches considered many classes above the Union. It is not too glossy, but has a beautiful semi-flat surface. The leather is very soft from the beginning; there is absolutely no need to ‘wear it in’. What surprised me was the fact that the two layers of the strap are not simply cut with the cut surfaces lacquered afterwards, as it is done with the cheaper straps, but the top layer is larger, with the jutting out part being folded around the lower layer, and then the leather lining is sewed onto the arrangement. This is the best, but also most expensive way to produce a leather strap, and regarding the Union’s price, is another sign that there were absolutely no compromises in quality. Finally, the steel buckle is the heaviest I have encountered and leaves an absolutely solid impression. With the engraved temple logo, it is also very attractive. At a rather civilian price, Union also offers a nice twin folding clasp.

VII. Conclusion:

Well, I think my overall impression can be well read from my comments above: This watch is a classic beauty, made to a much higher level of quality than is suggested by the price. The only thing I would change is the minor issue of the subdivision of the minute markers on the dial, and I would like to see more dial variants. There, at least, Union fans will be pleasantly surprised: At the end of this year, a silver dial will be available, too. This will eventually stimulate somebody to shout: “Wow! Cool watch!”