Introducing: South Park Is Back With The Unimatic UT4-SP

What We Know

Unimatic is no stranger to headline-grabbing watches. In addition to the more traditional watch, automotive, and fashion-centric collaborators that contribute to its substantial archive of past limited edition projects, Unimatic has certainly always captured the attention of collectors with its take on pop culture “character watches”— Spongebob and Mickey Mouse come to mind.

But in February of 2023, the Milan-based brand came out with a special edition that topped all others: the U1-EC, featuring a chonky Eric Cartman screaming on the dial, probably about respecting his authoritah. It was kind of perfect in a market that was very much jumped on weirdness and collectability, and the small run of 100 pieces flew off the proverbial shelf.

After that resounding success, I think it was safe to say that Giovanni Moro and Simone Nunziato, the founders and designers of Unimatic, knew that a sequel was in order. And more than a year and a half later, we get the UT4-SP, a South Park take on the brand’s Mecaquartz Modello Quattro.

The specs are identical to those of the other Modello Quattro Mecaquartz models in the lineup — a brushed-and-brutalist 40mm diameter steel case with a thickness of 12.05mm and a 22mm lug width. The watch is water-resistant to 300m and has a screw-down crown. It uses the Mecaquartz Seiko VH31 caliber, which results in a sort-of-sweeping seconds hand. But we’re here for the dial.

This is a big departure from the first, Cartman-heavy edition, which just revolved around one character – for the second one, we see all four of the iconic characters make an appearance: Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick (still alive, as far as I know). They look nervous, perhaps, as they find themselves trapped underneath a sapphire crystal. They’re neatly lined up towards the six o’clock portion of the matte black dial, replacing the typical Unimatic logo. The colorful and sharp characters are balanced nicely with the other elements on the dial – everything else is printed in stark black and white to contrast.

Flip the watch over, and you see the classic Unimatic caseback, but this time, it has a very fun piece of artwork laser engraved in relief. The kids are much happier on this side of the watch and seem to finally welcome you into their town in the Rocky Mountains. While the watch comes in the Unimatic “Tough Case” that accompanies most of their watches, this time, we see an extra addition – a tin with a strap kit covered in the same artwork we saw on the caseback but this time in full color and much more detail. The watch is delivered in the box on a standard black NATO strap, but the tin contains four unique straps meant to represent colors and materials that might be associated with each of the four characters.

The Unimatic x South Park Modello Quattro ref. UT4-SP will be priced at €542, produced in a run of 200 pieces. They are available now on the Unimatic website.

What We Think

When the first Eric Cartman edition launched last year, I snapped one up within the first few minutes of the launch and was very surprised to see just how fast the rest sold out. So, it should be no surprise to anyone that I am very excited to be writing about this next edition.

While sometimes we might feel fatigue set in when we see a sequel to a fun watch (I’m looking at you, MoonSwatches), especially more than a year later, I think that this second South Park edition from Unimatic handles a sequel very well. Conceptually, it’s very different – the first one was just so in your face, in the way that it was intended, but this one offers a much more subtle execution of a South Park dial that I think will appeal to a much wider audience. All of the choices on this release lead to what I think is a South Park watch that you can realistically imagine wearing every day.

The straps are also a very interesting touch – it’s a good way to be able to selectively add color to the watch, and of course, it means you can basically choose your character for the day based on what strap you end up wearing. The Mecaquartz movement in this watch is perfect for it – it’s probably what I wished my Cartman Modello Uno had because it’s a watch that would be great to just set and then forget. Going from the Seiko NH-35 automatic movement to the VH31Mecaquartz caliber means that this UT4-SP is lower in price than the first Cartman edition, even though this sequel comes with five straps in total. It’s a great way to make the fun of having a South Park watch more accessible while still being very Unimatic.

While production is doubled on this limited edition, I have a feeling that they’re still going to go fast. The price point hits a really nice sweet spot, and this release right before the holidays means that it’s kind of a perfect option for gifting as well. At the end of the day, I just love this release because it’s a nice reminder that sometimes the watch world doesn’t need to be all that serious.

The Basics

Brand: Unimatic
Model: UT4-SP
Diameter: 40mm
Thickness: 12mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Dial Color: Black
Indexes: Printed
Lume: Yes
Water Resistance: 300m
Strap/Bracelet: Multiple

The Movement

Caliber: Seiko Mecaquartz VH31
Functions: Hours, minutes, sweeping seconds
Diameter: 9.5mm
Power Reserve: 2 years

Pricing & Availability

Price: €542
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: Individually numbered, edition of 200

For more, click here.

​Hodinkee 

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