The Stylish Union Glashütte Belisar Chronograph Silvretta Classic 2024

Union Glashütte, one of Swatch Group’s brands located in the Saxon town of German watchmaking fame, returns with a refreshed version of its retro Belisar Chronograph. Taking advantage of the exceptional product placement afforded by the upcoming Silvretta Classic vintage car rally in July, Union Glashütte revisits its Belisar Chronograph in copper-coloured tones.

Since 1998, the Silvretta Classic has pitted beautiful vintage automobiles in a rally that meanders through the stunning scenery of the Austrian and Swiss Alps. Last year, we covered another UG chronograph celebrating the Silvretta Classic with a bright ‘Salzburg’ red dial. The Belisar has a more overt retro character with its piston-style pushers and diamond-shaped fluted crown. However, it is also a fun model with striking colour combinations like this black, white and yellow model or these chronographs released earlier this year.

The 100m water-resistant stainless steel case is large, with a diameter of 44mm and a thickness of 15.01mm. The tapering lugs feature a vertical brushed surface and a polished bevel extending to the screwed-on case flanks.

The novelty here is the new copper-coloured sunburst dial that changes tone depending on the light. Inspired, they tell us, by a colour used on cars in the 1970s and 1980s, it certainly stands out. Compared to earlier Belisar models, the dial has a few changes. The tachymetre scale bordering the dial is wider and now incorporates a red pulsometer scale. The railway track is replaced with a simpler track with printed indices, and the stylised Arabic numerals are now substituted by printed baton hour markers.

The three snailed sub-dials are matte white with black borders and markings; the 30-minute totaliser at 3 o’clock has a red area from 0 to 5 to evoke the rev counters of historical automobiles, and the 12-hour counter incorporates the date aperture with a white background. The date can be adjusted via a pusher in the case at 10 o’clock.

Boasting more lume than earlier models, the hour and minute hands and the dots appearing at the tip of the hour indices are treated with Super-LumiNova. The central chronograph seconds hand has a red arrow-shaped tip, matching the red hands on the chronograph counters.

Powered by a modified Valjoux 7753 base, calibre UNG-27.S1 is an automatic cam-operated chronograph movement with an anti-magnetic silicon hairspring and a robust 65-hour power reserve.

Availability & Price

The Belisar Chronograph is available with a stainless steel bracelet or a rally-style perforated leather strap. This stylish, well-built chronograph is a limited edition of 200 pieces and retails for EUR 3,450 (incl. tax). For more information, please consult union-glashuette.com.