The New Union Glashütte Belisar Chronograph Speedster Limited Edition

If you have a soft spot for classic timepieces steeped in the charm of classic cars and classic car racing, you will surely notice this new edition of the Union Glashütte Belisar. The new chronograph Speedster Limited Edition is big, bright-coloured and will turn heads. I believe this watch will be hard to miss no matter what lightens your spirits. But it also packs quite a lot of specs for the price.

The Union Glashütte Belisar Chronograph Speedster is introduced in a round 44mm case, 15.1mm thick, with screwed flanks characteristic of the Belisar collection. The chronograph push buttons are retro pump-style, and the crown is diamond-shaped with a fluted edge for better grip. The anti-reflective sapphire crystal is slightly domed, adding to the retro feel, and the dial design will blind you.

The upper part of the base dial is silver coloured, reminiscent of the car body metallic paint, while the lower part is very bright, racing yellow. The black tachymeter scale with yellow print on the periphery seems pushed out as if by G- force, bordered by the chemin de fer chapter minutes ring. The sub-dials are laid out in a 3-6-9 fashion and share a snail-finishing texture. The 30-minute and 12-hour totalisers at 3 and 6 o’clock are anthracite black, and the 60 seconds sub-dial is grey, matching the base dial colour of the upper part. The 12-hour counter has a cut-out window showing the date in black on white background. The yellow is also present to indicate the Limitierte Edition marking under the Union Glashütte logo; sub-dial hands at 3 and 6 are painted yellow, too. The printed 3D-style hour indexes are enormous and black and should be easy to read when there is light. In the dark hours, luminescent hands will do the job of telling time.

Turn the Union Glashütte Belisar Chronograph Speedster to the side, and at 10 o’clock, you will find a date corrector pusher. The screwed-on sapphire crystal caseback on the reverse side lets you peek inside the watch, powered by the UNG.27.01 automatic movement. A trained eye will recognise the familiar design of the Valjoux calibre 7753, but not quite. To mention just one improvement, it has up to 65 hours of power reserve, not the conventional 46. Also, the bridge, the balance cock and the regulator look different. Contrary to what one would expect, with Union Glashütte being part of Swatch Group, the calibre is not supplied as an ébauche but comes as individual parts that are decorated and assembled, with some components manufactured by Union – like the branded skeletonised rotor. The calibre is equipped with a silicon balance spring, making the movement less sensitive to magnetic fields and temperature fluctuations.

This sporty Union Glashütte Belisar Chronograph Speedster with a retro look and plenty of details will please car-loving enthusiasts and should not disappoint watch aficionados. And it will certainly light up your image, especially if you opt for the bright yellow rubber strap. Together with the yellow dial part, these produce an astonishing effect. For less flamboyant personalities, the company supplies an interchangeable strap in black nubuck leather, a yellow tack stitch, and a yellow underside.

The Belisar Chronograph Speedster will retail for EUR 3,200 and is limited to 288 pieces. For more, please visit www.union-glashuette.com.