UNDONE Aquadeep Signal Orange Automatic

UNDONE has carved a unique niche for itself in the contemporary watch market, challenging traditional notions of luxury and mass production by championing personalization and accessible design. Since its inception, the brand has focused on empowering customers to create timepieces that reflect their individual stories and styles. They identified a gap between prohibitively expensive heritage brands and generic, mass-market watches, aiming to fill it with thoughtfully designed, customizable pieces built with reliable components. This philosophy underpins their diverse collections, from customizable chronographs to robust tool watches, and culminates in ambitious projects like the Aquadeep series.



The journey of Undone began not with centuries of history, but with a modern vision fueled by a passion for horology, caffeine, and likely, quite a bit of instant ramen. Starting as a small team of three, the company has grown significantly over the last several years into a collective of around thirty individuals, comprising tech specialists, creative minds, and seasoned watch industry professionals. Their core mission was ambitious: to streamline the entire process from concept and design to final assembly under one roof. This vertical integration allows them greater control over quality and the flexibility to innovate rapidly, constantly exploring what a watch can represent to its owner in the 21st century.



Central to the UNDONE identity is the concept of customization. They pioneered one of the first truly comprehensive online watch customizers, offering customers a curated selection of components inspired by historical watch designs. This platform allows users to virtually construct a watch from the ground up, choosing cases, dials, hands, bezels, and straps to create something unique. This focus on individuality extends beyond simple aesthetics; it’s about embedding personal narratives into the watch. UNDONE believes a timepiece can be a canvas for storytelling, whether it's expressing nostalgia through collaborations featuring characters like Snoopy or R2-D2, or exploring cultural depth, such as partnerships involving repurposed historical Japanese fabrics or designs inspired by custom motorcycle art.



The name "UNDONE" itself reflects this ethos of breaking convention and embracing possibility. While catchy and memorable (and conveniently available as a domain name), the founders suggest it can mean different things to different people. Perhaps "unfastened" from rigid expectations, "untied" from formality, or simply "unfinished" because the final step – personalization – is left to the customer. It signifies a brand not bound by traditional rules but one that prefers to playfully engage with them, constantly revising what a watch can be. This spirit is evident in their product evolution, from early customizable models to more focused, high-specification offerings.



Over the years, UNDONE has launched several key collections and collaborations that mark its growth and expanding capabilities. The customizable Aqua automatic diver arrived early in 2014, followed by the successful Urban chronograph Kickstarter campaign in 2016, which significantly raised the brand's profile. Subsequent years saw the introduction of the Basecamp everyday tool watch and notable collaborations like the Peanuts Space collection and the Ultraman limited edition. Having sold approximately 60,000 watches across numerous collections and partnerships, UNDONE established itself as a significant player in the microbrand and accessible watch segment, setting the stage for more technically demanding projects.



The Aquadeep collection represents a significant step forward for UNDONE, marking their entry into the realm of serious, high-specification dive watches. It stands as the most water-resistant series in their lineup to date, engineered to meet and exceed the demands of underwater exploration. The Aquadeep is not merely an aesthetic exercise; it's designed as a functional tool for divers, incorporating features typically found on much more expensive instruments, demonstrating the brand's commitment to offering capability alongside their signature customization potential and value proposition.



Within this capable lineup, the Aquadeep Signal Orange Automatic immediately distinguishes itself with a bold, functional aesthetic. It leverages the robust engineering of the Aquadeep platform but adds a vibrant visual dimension. This specific model combines the serious technical specifications required for deep diving with a striking colorway that enhances visibility and adds a distinct personality, appealing to those who want their dive watch to be both a reliable instrument and a statement piece.



Visually, the Aquadeep Signal Orange presents a purposeful and modern tool-watch appearance. The dial is a field of textured black, providing a high-contrast backdrop for the prominent time-telling elements. Large, applied Arabic numerals mark the 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions, filled with luminous material for low-light visibility. Complementing these are substantial rectangular indices at the other hour markers, also lumed. The handset is appropriately bold, featuring a broad hour hand and a distinct, arrow-tipped minute hand rendered in the eponymous "Signal Orange," a critical feature for dive timing. A smaller, lume-tipped seconds hand sweeps around the dial. Text indicating "AQUADEEP" and the impressive "500M / 1640FT" depth rating are printed cleanly on the lower half of the dial, reinforcing its capabilities.



Surrounding the dial is a unidirectional rotating bezel, an essential component for any true dive watch. Its insert appears to be a durable black material, possibly ceramic, featuring a full 60-minute scale with markings for individual minutes for the first 15 or 20 minutes, transitioning to 5-minute increments thereafter. A prominent triangle with a luminous pip sits at the 12 o'clock position, serving as the primary marker for timing dives. The edge of the bezel is deeply notched or grooved, ensuring a secure grip for easy operation, even when wearing gloves or underwater.



The watch's housing is crafted from Grade II Titanium, a material choice that underscores its serious intentions. Titanium boasts the highest strength-to-weight ratio among common metals, making the Aquadeep remarkably light on the wrist despite its substantial size – it's approximately 40% lighter than an equivalent watch made from stainless steel. Beyond its lightness, titanium is renowned for its exceptional corrosion resistance, particularly against seawater and chlorine, making it ideal for marine environments. It's also hypoallergenic, reducing the risk of skin irritation, and maintains stability across a wide range of temperatures. The case features a uniform sandblasted finish, giving it a muted, non-reflective look that enhances its tool-like character.



Measuring 43mm in diameter excluding the crown, the Aquadeep possesses significant wrist presence. This dimension expands to a commanding 51mm when accounting for the large screw-down crown and its protective guards. The case thickness is also considerable at 16.5mm, inclusive of the crystal, contributing to its robust profile and housing the necessary water-resistance features. The overall case geometry is angular and purposeful, with defined lugs and integrated crown guards that shield the oversized, deeply textured crown, ensuring it's protected from impacts and easy to operate.



A standout technical feature of the Aquadeep is its impressive 500-meter (approximately 1640 feet) water resistance rating. This depth rating places it firmly in the category of professional-grade dive watches, suitable for scuba diving and even some levels of saturation diving. This level of water resistance is the highest offered by UNDONE, signifying a major engineering achievement for the brand and providing users with ample confidence for virtually any aquatic activity. Achieving this requires meticulous case construction, robust seals, and a thick crystal.



Complementing the high water resistance is a Helium Escape Valve (HEV), located discretely on the case side at the 10 o'clock position. This feature is crucial for saturation diving, a specialized technique where divers live in a pressurized environment saturated with a helium-rich breathing gas mixture for extended periods at depth. During these long exposures, tiny helium atoms can penetrate the watch case past the seals. As the diver ascends and undergoes decompression, the trapped helium inside the watch expands faster than it can escape. Without an HEV, this pressure difference could potentially damage the watch, popping the crystal off. The HEV is a one-way valve that automatically releases this internal pressure during ascent, safeguarding the watch's integrity.



Protecting the dial is a Double Dome Sapphire Crystal. Sapphire is the standard for high-quality watches due to its exceptional hardness and scratch resistance, second only to diamond. This ensures the watch face remains clear and legible even after enduring the bumps and scrapes common in adventurous use. The "double dome" shape means both the outer and inner surfaces of the crystal are curved. This design helps to minimize optical distortion when viewing the dial from various angles, especially underwater, compared to flat or single-domed crystals, further enhancing the watch's practicality as a dive instrument.



Powering the Aquadeep Signal Orange is the Japanese TMI NH35A automatic winding mechanism. This movement, produced by a subsidiary of Seiko, is widely respected in the watch community as a reliable and robust workhorse. As an automatic movement, it winds itself using the natural motion of the wearer's wrist via a weighted rotor. The NH35A is known for its dependability, ease of service, and solid performance, making it a popular choice for microbrands and established manufacturers alike seeking a trustworthy engine for their timepieces. It provides hacking (the seconds hand stops when the crown is pulled out) and hand-winding capabilities, offering practical time-setting features.



Adding an enthusiast touch, the Aquadeep features an exhibition case back, allowing a view of the NH35A movement within. A mineral crystal window reveals the oscillating rotor, bridges, and other components of the caliber. While the NH35A is typically considered an industrial-grade movement without elaborate finishing, seeing the mechanical heart beat adds a layer of fascination often appreciated by watch owners, connecting them more closely to the intricate mechanics driving their timepiece. The case back itself is screwed down to ensure water resistance and likely features engraved specifications around its perimeter.



Completing the vibrant look is the "Signal Orange" strap. Crafted from a high-grade rubber, it is perfectly suited for diving and water sports due to its inherent water resistance and durability. The bright orange hue not only matches the accent color on the minute hand but also offers high visibility, a potentially useful trait in certain environments. The strap appears smooth, contributing to comfort, and integrates cleanly with the angular lugs of the titanium case. It fastens with a sturdy pin buckle, also finished to match the sandblasted titanium case.



The UNDONE Aquadeep Signal Orange Automatic is offered at a retail price of $395.00 USD. This positions it very competitively within the market for automatic dive watches, especially considering its titanium construction, 500-meter water resistance, sapphire crystal, and the inclusion of a helium escape valve. It is available for purchase directly from the UNDONE website, maintaining their direct-to-consumer model which helps keep costs down. For the enthusiast seeking a feature-packed, robust, and visually striking dive watch without venturing into luxury price territory, the Aquadeep Signal Orange presents a compelling and accessible option.



Case: Grade II Titanium with sandblasted finish; Width 43mm (excluding crown), 51mm (including crown & guard); Thickness 16.5mm (including crystal); 500 meters water resistance; Helium Escape Valve at 10 o'clock; Double Dome Sapphire Crystal; Exhibition case back.

Movement: Japanese TMI NH35A Automatic Winding Mechanism; Self-winding.

Dial: Black textured dial; Applied numerals and indices with luminescence; Signal Orange minute hand.

Strap: Signal Orange rubber/silicone strap; Titanium pin buckle (assumed finish).

Price: $395.00 USD.

Notes: Represents UNDONE's highest water resistance configuration (500M). Features a Helium Escape Valve for saturation diving. Case is made from lightweight, corrosion-resistant Grade II Titanium.