For the third and final part in our highlight of Union Glashütte, we take a look at my favorite piece in their collection and the second hands-on review. The Union Glashütte 1893 Johannes Dürrstein edition encapsulates the refined nature of the brand’s history and design language perfectly. Named in honor of the brand’s founder, with the line being named after the year of founding for the brand, this watch oozes history. As of writing this, the brand released two more watches in the Johannes Dürrstein sub-line for the 1893 to celebrate 180 years since the birth of Mr. Dürrstein. These two new pieces are cool, from pictures at least, coming in two different sizes to ease accessibility, but in my opinion, the one I have on my desk as I write this is far superior.

In 2018 the brand celebrated its 130th anniversary; in honor of that, the 1893 Johannes Dürrstein edition was released 4 years later they released the power reserve version which I have here in front of me, this watch is manual wound with 60 hours of power reserve with a sub dial that shows that complication, in addition it has a small seconds dial and a date function. Stylelistically, this watch is one of the most beautiful watches I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The light blue/gray dial tones perfectly with the enamel white of the outer dial, with dark blue thin hands that give the watch a perfect balance of simplicity and intricacy. The movement being manual wound gives it a vintage feel while being incredibly beginner-friendly, as it can’t be overwound, as once it is fully wound ,the crown will turn back into a neutral position if you try to overwind it.

Let’s get into some specifications, the case is big for a dress watch as it is 41 mm and 12.2 mm in thickness, this puts it in a weird spot as I feel it is ine the abselute biggest size that a dress watch can be, if it was 41 mm but under 10 mm in thickness I would give it a pass but as it is 12.2 mm while still being manual wound is too big for a dress watch in my opinion and I must give it a small minus for that. The watch has 100 meters of water resistance, which is good but unnecessary for a dress watch that comes on a leather strap. I would have brought it down to 50 meters, maybe even 30 meters, if it meant the watch was thinner. As I said before the watch is manual wound with 60 hours of power reserve, it uses the UNG-56.S1, the crazy part is if we compare it my favorite dress watch in my collection the Longines Master collection 190th anniversary edition, which for reference is an automatic movement and has a case size of 38.5 mm with 10 mm in thickness, the UNG-56.S1 is only 0.6 mm thicker than the L893 caliber. Still, the Union watch is 2 mm thicker while being 2.5 mm greater in diameter.

Now I do love this watch and for me it is 100% a buy, the problems I have with it is the size as I have talked about, then it has the same problems as the Belisar chronograph as well as the butterly clasp feels cheap in comparison to the rest of the watch with the leather strap feeling very good, and the crown despite being beutifull is super sharp so winding it and setting the time is pretty uncomfortable. I still truly want this watch as the design, history, and uniqueness shine through for me, making the watch a 9/10 in my books and a definite buy.

I recommend heading over to Union’s website to take a closer look, and I highly recommend seeking this watch out in person.