Founded in the year 2000 by Italo Fontana in Tuscany Italy, U-Boat is known for its oversized cases and big watches. They stem from drawings Italo found of his grandfather’s who was creating watch designs for the Italian Navy during World War II. Inspired, Italo opted to start his own Italian-based watch company. Based in Lucca, Italy, U-Boat watches use Swiss movements. U-Boat watches have a truly distinctive look to them that can be spotted from across a crowded room. Collections include the Classico, the  Chimera, the U42, and the recently released Capsoil with fluid inside.

History of U-Boat

Created by owner and designer Italo Fontana, U-Boat watches distinguish themselves by their no-nonsense approach to displaying the time. U-Boat watches are big, bold, robust, and designed to keep on ticking under even extreme circumstances. The Italian company is based in a small village only 15 minutes away from Lucca in Tuscany’s heart.

Fontana comes by his interest in watch design naturally from his grandfather, Ilvo Fontana. In 1942 Ilvo was commissioned by the Italian government to design a watch for the Italian navy pilots. At the time, the goal was to ensure that the wristwatch was big enough so that the pilots could instantly read the time in all weather and light conditions. His grandfather drew the designs, but the production order never came through, and the plans remained in a drawer somewhere.

Until Italo Fontana brought the plans back out, revised them, and introduced the watch models under the U-Boat name. The design is done solely by Italo Fontana, using only Swiss movements. U-Boat loves to experiment with materials, using bronze, carbon fiber, steel, titanium, tungsten, carbon, ceramics, and more.