I was looking for a toolish dive watch that wasn’t just an homage that looked like so many other dive watches. I’ve been a fan of Sinn’s aesthetics and their watches in general (after owning a few over the years). Although I have always been partial to the U1, I could never get comfortable with its given specs on my smaller wrist. Enter the Sinn U50-T.

When the U50 was announced, I was excited. It had an upgraded movement from the U1 (in the SW 300-1) and more compact case measurements (with a 41mm diameter, 47mm lug-to-lug, and 11.5mm height). All this was at the sacrifice of 500m of water resistance (from 1,000m to 500m). 500m may seem like a big concession, but let’s be honest, with no scuba certification under my belt, no diving was going to be happening anywhere close to that rating. So, I opted for the tegimented version (which effectively employs a chemical process Sinn uses to increase the hardness and scratch resistance of case and bracelet metals).

After having owned the Sinn U50-T for a couple years, I’ve found certain things that I appreciate and others that I wish were just better. First off, I wanted a true tool watch that I didn’t want to baby, and the bead blasted finishing on the submarine steel serves it well.

The tegiment process is great and definitely makes the case and bracelet more resistant to scratches, but it’s not impenetrable. So, when the inevitable scratches have come, I’ve found the bead blasting on the Sinn U50-T wears them well, and I don’t obsess over them.

The dial has a brutalistic style which is functional in the best way: it’s comprised of white, red, and matte black colors and with the unique hand set, makes for clear legibility. The unidirectional bezel also turns well with little back play and the movement for me has gained 3 sec/day on average. On the flip side, the strength and endurance of the lume could definitely be better (and one should expect better on a dive watch) and the clasp on the bracelet (like other Sinn models) could be improved and feel less flimsy.

Someone once told me it’s like a Tetris game broke open and a dial caught some of the pieces. They’re not wrong, but I’ve enjoyed it any way. I like that it’s not trying to be anything other than what it is. The Sinn U50-T is a tank of a tool diver that I don’t have to worry about with an off-the-beaten-path aesthetic.