If there’s one microbrand who have made me sit up and take notice in recent months, it would be Nodus. The Los Angeles-based brand have come out with some absolute corkers in the last year or so and have certainly got a lot of people talking. One watch from them I’d be dying to get my hands on is the Unity, which dazzled me even in its pictures with a bright pink dial and sublime looks.
Priced at £700 through WatchGecko or $700 from Nodus directly, it’s a well-priced option in amongst their own canon of watches and against the sea of other microbrands targeting the same kind of price point, while also offering something a bit more unique.
Nodus Unity Pink Blossom. Credit: Nodus.
The Nodus Unity Case
For those with smaller wrists, or fans of smaller watches, the Unity caters perfectly with its 36.5mm case diameter, as well as its shorter 43.5mm lug-to-lug. The case finishing here is excellent, and its brushed lugs with polished, bevelled case edges complement each other well. The Unity is also made of the industry standard 316L stainless steel, making it quite a sturdy piece, too.
I’m glad to see brands big and small leaning into this smaller case sizing, and the proportions of the Unity are just fantastic. It’s definitely a good-looking watch and caters for both male and female wrists. There’s a certain retro sensibility to the Unity, too, with its boxed sapphire crystal, larger crown, and bracelet end links integrated into the case. It’s a perfect blend of modern design with well-aged touches which make the Unity a real looker.
The first touches of pink are also present on the Unity’s case with a fixed ceramic bezel. It matches perfectly with the textured dial beneath the sapphire crystal and adds a welcome splash of colour. The inclusion of ceramic is a nice touch, as it’s not necessarily a material you find too much on watches, given it’s a bit of a pain to work with. As well as looking good, it also makes the Unity virtually scratchproof on top, with the combination of ceramic and sapphire crystal.
Nodus Unity. Credit: Nodus.
The Dial
Much like with the Christopher Ward C63 Celest I’ve looked at in the past, the star of the show with the Unity is its Blossom Pink dial. At first glance, it may just be a bit out there given the bright pink colour choice. In this configuration, it looks good as is, but delve in a little deeper, and you’ll find there’s more to this dial than just its bright colour.
The Unity’s dial is a textured one, with a mixture of lines and indented marks around the whole dial in a circular motion. It looks almost like someone has cut open a lemon or an orange, taken an outline drawing of the pattern of its cross-section, and overlaid it onto a pink watch dial. It’s reflective of the Unity’s placement as a watch inspired by nature and the world around us. That’s not to say that the Unity’s dial is a simple copy and paste job - it’s far from it. Rather, it’s one that has taken inspiration from nature and executed it wonderfully.
This is also a sandwich dial and has depth in terms of both its texturing and the simple point that it’s also on two levels. The triangular cutouts for the hour markers reveal a lumed-up layer below, which shines bright blue in the dark thanks to a generous helping of Super-LumiNova BGW9. The lume performance therefore is, perhaps unsurprisingly, excellent. On another note, the date wheel is nicely positioned at six o’clock, taking the place of another triangular cutout for an hour marker. This is a functional choice and is colour-matched well to the dial’s pink hue.
Date wheel aside, the Unity is virtually free of any dial furniture, apart from lettering at twelve o’clock with the words ‘Nodus’ and ‘Automatic’ in a modern typeface. There’s a pleasant shine to the Unity’s dial with its bright colour and the beveled and polished hands that catch the light well. Those hands are also lumed-up and lend themselves wonderfully to the overall vibrancy of the dial.
Nodus Unity Pink Blossom. Credit: Nodus.
The Movement
Unlike the cheaper watches in Nodus’ lineup which utilise the Seiko NH35 movement that is in itself a microbrand favourite, the Unity opts for an overall more reliable choice, the Miyota 9015. These 9000 series movements are a cut above the much cheaper 8000 series movements that adorn more budget friendly, and often much lesser quality, automatic timepieces, and feature in a variety of brands’ pieces, Nodus included.
It’s a 24-jewel automatic movement with a solid 41-hour power reserve and an excellent tolerance of +/- 8 seconds per day. Nodus also claims that some users have experienced COSC levels of accuracy with this movement, although it’s not specified whether that applies to use with the Unity or not. Having previously encountered issues with overseas manufacturing, the American brand now regulates these movements in-house in Los Angeles to ensure the highest possible standards are achieved.
It’s a 24-jewel automatic movement with a solid 41-hour power reserve and an excellent tolerance of +/- 8 seconds per day. Nodus also claims that some users have experienced COSC levels of accuracy with this movement, although it’s not specified whether that applies to use with the Unity or not. Having previously encountered issues with overseas manufacturing, the American brand now regulates these movements in-house in Los Angeles to ensure the highest possible standards are achieved.
Nodus Unity available in Topaz Blue. Credit: Nodus.
The Bracelet
As with other Nodus pieces I’ve looked at in the past, the Unity features an excellent H-link bracelet. It’s comfortable on-wrist and doesn’t snag or pull anywhere. It tapers from 20mm down to 16mm at the clasp, feeling excellent, while the NodeX extension clasp also allows for convenient micro adjustment.
As this is more of a summery watch, it’s likely that your wrist is going to be affected by the heat, so to be able to adjust the bracelet by small amounts in a pinch is especially convenient. The brushed finishing on those links also fits in well with the Unity’s case and completes the overall look of the watch. It’s also a quick release option if you want to swap the strap out - a pale pink rubber option may work nicely.
Conclusion
The Unity brings together everything that Nodus does well with their watchmaking in a bright, fun package that’s well-made and looks fantastic. It suits the move to a smaller case size, while its bright pink dial is vibrant and fun, perfectly suiting its target season of summer. The Miyota 9015 movement here is also a cut above other microbrand pieces available at a similar price point and elevates the Unity to one of the best summery watches at its price.
Technical Specifications:
- Brand: Nodus
- Model: Unity
- Price: £700/$700
- Material: Stainless steel case & bracelet
- Movement: Miyota Cal.9015 Premium Automatic
- Complications: Date
- Crystal: Box sapphire
- Dial: Aventurine glass
- Size: 36mm case diameter, 10.75 mm thickness
- When the reviewer would personally wear it: As a summery watch, paired with polo shirts or brightly coloured t-shirts
- A friend we’d recommend it to first: Someone who likes smaller watches with bright, eye-catching dials
- Best characteristics of the watch: The pink and textured sandwich dial
- The worst characteristics of the watch: The initial stiffness of the strap, as is typical with leather.
