The second article for our week-long highlight of Union Glashütte will be the first of two hands-on reviews. We have been fortunate enough to get two very distinct watches from them, and we start with the Belisar Chronograph. If you missed our previous article, which went over the history of Union Glashütte, I highly recommend reading that one first, as it provides great insight into the brand as a whole. When I first started contact with Union, they had just released the piece we will be going over today, and we agreed on it being a great starting point to a hopefully long and prosperous relationship between the two parties.

I initially had a few reservations before receiving the watch. I was scared that I would find it too big and too bulky; the color was also a major swing, as doing an ice blue color is difficult; if it fails, the watch will look terrible. The big question is whether the Belisar chronograph is a buy or not.

Lets go into the specifications of the watch, in stainless steel case you have pretty solid dimensions for a chronograph, 40 mm in diameter with a lug to lug of (=), this is the new more compact version of the watch as the previous generation was 44 mm in diameter and around 53 mm in lug to lug, this new version is ever so slightly slimmer than before, as the new one is 14.7 mm in thickness while the previous generation was 15 mm. The issue is that, due to the smaller case size with the thickness not changing in a big way, it feels very top-heavy and sticks out more than I like. The new case size is a step in the right direction, and I would love to see it eventually move down to the 13 mm mark. The thickness is something that I consider to be a big problem with Union Glashütte; it will be one of my main drawbacks when we talk about the second watch I have from them tomorrow.

A big reason for the thickness is, of course, the fact that it is a chronograph, as everyone in the watch space knows, chronographs are usually pretty hefty, especially when they are automatic. This one uses the UNG-27.S1, which is an automatic chronograph movement that displays: Hours, minutes, small seconds, and a date window. In terms of power reserve, we are looking at a comfortable approximation of 65 hours. and a silicon spring to keep the watch as demagnetized as possible. The movement is prominently displayed through a clear sapphire case back, and it is very nice on the eyes.

Design-wise vise it is heavily inspired by cars and the spirit of racing. As is the case with many chronographs, the Ice blue color is a lot lighter in real life than it is in the pictures on Union’s website, and I feel that is a good thing, as it is very dynamic. My favorite detail is that the small seconds subdial is filled with black to greatly distinguish it from the ones used on the chronograph. The leather strap is thick, which helps to compensate for the thickness of the watch itself. On the sides of the stainless steel case, you have screws and a pusher opposite the crown and chronograph pushers to set the date. The chronograph pushers have a nice, firm feel to them, and the crown fits the design of the watch very well. I do have problems with the crown that I will get into later when I talk about the big issues with the watch. Overall, the watch feels very smooth, the rotor is not too loud, winding is not fully satisfying but not terrible either,  the butterfly clasp on the strap works, but feels cheap in comparison to the rest of the watch.  If we talk price, it is in line with the other offerings they present, coming in at 2.950 Euros.

Now to the issues, as I said earlier, the watch is too thick for my liking, and the clasp is not sturdy. The crown is sharp and stiff, so it is annoying to set the time. With the crown being so sharp, it also hurts your fingers a bit when you wind it and set the time. Moving the hands is also a very slow process, which I don’t mind too much. I just felt I needed to mention it. With how top-heavy and thick it is, you can’t have it as the only watch in your collection, as it is too bulky to be a dress watch. That is very understandable since it is marketed as a sports watch. I like the Ice blue color, but I feel that with time, I might get tired of it.

All that being said, should you buy this watch, the simple answer is yes if you want to. For me, I would personally not, mainly because I feel Union Glashütte has a lot better watches in their collection, as we will get into in our next review, and you can find a lot more interesting chronographs for a similar price. I feel that 3.000 euros is a fair price for the watch, as in terms of quality, it is fantastic.