Amongst the tens of thousands of watch brands which exist and have existed, only a few stand out. Only a few are known for doing something specific, unique, and different. For pioneering a case shape, debuting a new complication, or for specializing in one particular type of watch. What Ferrari is to the automotive world and Apple to the computer universe, there is one Blancpain and Doxa in the horological sphere. Each known for a particular invention or for coming up with a new way of designing and utilizing watches. When we look at the micro/independent watch market, there are a few brands which benefit from the same reputation. RZE for its lightweight and tough titanium tool watches; Lorier for its elegant neo-vintage adventure pieces; Christopher Ward for its high-quality and well-rounded collections. And each year a new brand pops. Each year there is one which hovers over hundreds more. One which becomes known for something proper. 

Ubiq could be one of them. After a successful first release, the Dual which we looked at last year, the Singaporean brand is back with another striking creation: the Trek. A titanium exploration/field watch with lumecast hour markers and pre-order prices starting at $239 USD. What seems to set Ubiq apart from the sea of brands is a unique combination of original designs and incredible prices. Generally, affordable watches come with generic designs and expensive watches with singular ones. We don’t often have both wrapped in one watch. Although I’d say these are becoming more and more common nowadays. (We’ve talked about a few of them on Mainspring.) In for review is the Blackmint which comes with a striking DLC-coated titanium case, the first of its type to be featured here. So another cool feature which further supports the nascent theory that Ubiq could become the next golden child of micro and independent horology. But only time will tell. 

Specifications 

Let’s get something right off the bat here: the Ubiq Trek is not your commonplace affordable exploration watch. It’s much more than that both from technical and visual perspectives. I’d say it’s very impressive given the fact that the brand is young and only in its second release, though the first one was already quite something from a design standpoint. So we have a DLC-coated titanium case—DLC stands for diamond-like-carbon, a mixture of diamond and graphite crystal structures bound to the titanium via a chemical vapor deposition process—which has a hardness rating of 600HV. So the Trek is a nimble piece of tactical-looking horology measuring 38mm in diameter, 44mm lug-to-lug, 11.1mm thick including the crystal, and comes with a 20mm lug width. Being made of titanium, and shipped on a marine-recycled plastic and one-piece nylon straps, this model is light and comfortable on my 6.50”/16.5cm wrist. Also true on the optional DLC-coated titanium bracelet. 

In terms of movement, Ubiq proposes two options: either a Miyota 9039 (4Hz/42 hours of power reserve) or a Seiko VH31 mecaquartz sweep-second caliber (2Hz/2 years battery life) which are both excellent options. The aforementioned $239 USD price tag is for the Seiko variant while the Miyota version will set you back $369 USD. And so you have all of the prices: the bracelet can be had for an additional $99 USD on pre-order which would bring the total price of the Seiko variant to $338 USD and of the Miyota variant to $468 USD. And for either prices you will so benefit from NASA-levels of BGW9 lume (here applied lumecast elements for all markers), a flat sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating, and 100 meters of water resistance thanks to a 5.8mm screw-down crown and uncoated case-back. Pardon my French but that’s a crap-load of outstanding specifications for whichever version you decided to go with. 

And that’s one of the first crucial elements of this review—and release—which contributes to the potential classification of Ubiq as being the next golden child of micro/indie horology. Not only do we find in it a lot of the specifications which have taken for granted—the good lume, water resistance, and movements—but extra ones—the DLC-coated titanium case and lumecast blocks, all for a reasonable price according to your humble servant. Moreover, having had the opportunity to study the bracelet up-close, I’d admit I was positively surprised by how nice it is. Light of course but also fully articulated and adjustable with screws, quick-release spring-bars, and an on-the-fly micro-adjustment partially made of naked stainless steel. A clasp, I might add, of the ratcheting type which means you can tighten it whilst wearing the watch. I prefer this type over those which require removing the bracelet from the wrist to re-adjust it. 

Design 

And so the Ubiq Trek is also a phenomenon on account of the singularity of its design. The latter comprises elements we’ve seen on the Dual and some which are new. But all elements put together create something novel and one which also shines for changing the way a field/exploration watch can look like. What is similar to the Dual is the handset and the squircle shape for the non-numerical hour markers. The handset is proper to Ubiq but draws inspiration—even vaguely so—from plongeur style hands where one is painted in a different color than the other. Here the hour hand is painted matte yellow whilst the minute hand is polished steel, and both resemble an obelisk. However again the hour hand differs from the minute hand for it has a flat tip whilst the other has a rounded one. Just by looking at two of the three hands we can see the result of the brand’s intense design work.

While lumecast applied markers aren’t new they remain rare today. And so it feels as though Ubiq took a gamble by using this new technology for its second model. But visually it works as it creates a superb three dimensionality which is reinforced by the raised track on which is printed the 24-hour military scale. The latter is one further element which contributes to making the Trek different and fresh as this scale is typically printed inside the hour track on field watches, but outside of it on GMTs. (Perhaps a GMT version of the Trek is in the works?) On the military scale each hour is printed in black numerals and in-between we find yellow hash-marks to separate them. At the cardinal points there are yellow triangles to accompany the large lumecast hour blocks indicating the 12, 3, 6, and 9, and the squircle markers are connected to the minute track by way of white lines—it all looks and feels uber tactical and purposeful. 

And Ubiq’s singular design language transferred onto the case which means a lot of bespoke parts were made for the brand. (Something important we will get back to shortly.) The compact case has a technical short wingspan—the L2L is 44mm—as well as a visual one, with short lugs that turn down like small claws and wide chamfers which accentuate this effect. There are also oblique dips between the upper section of the lugs and the mid-case which reduce the visual footprint of the upper case area which further makes it appear short and nimble. So it makes sense to find a small crown (5.8mm in diameter) which is not deprived of effective knurling to make it easy to operate. (The latter looks like a backward-moving wave. It’s cool.) All of this on a watch costing $468 USD (at most) during the pre-order campaign is quite spectacular and shows with greater clarity what the Ubiq Trek is all about. 

The Heart of the Matter

Watch reviews repeat themselves a lot and we self-proclaimed journalists like to repeat ourselves a lot. I do. And it’s hard to not fall into the newly created clichés which have been broadcasted ad nauseam for the past couple of years round’ the earth. Which is why once again I would say two things: (1) creating a new version of an ubiquitous genre of watch (nice pun eh?) isn’t easy; (2) creating singular designs requires bespoke manufacturing processes which raise the costs of making said watches. And many brands small and large justify jacking up prices for that very reason while others find ways to raise prices accordingly and reasonably. How much more a brand charges most likely depends on where the watches are made—or how much profit they want to make—but here Ubiq didn’t depart too much from the pre-order prices of the Dual—$519. Oh wait, it’s actually cheaper although technically it is more bespoke. Hell. 

You see what I mean? I don’t think we should be paying $338 USD for the mecaquartz variant of the Trek on the bracelet or $468 USD for the automatic version on said bracelet. But more. The former is 30% cheaper than the latter and both are more than reasonably priced for what you get. Again: a DLC-coated titanium case, a matching bracelet with on-the-fly micro-adjustment mechanism, sapphire crystal, 100 meters of water resistance, and lumecast applied hour markers for mind-warping nighttime readability. Shoot…I’m starting to think that either big brands charge way too much for what they make or that small brands charge too little. Either big brands want to pay their CEOs cushy salaries and need to cover their massive overhead, or small brands like Ubiq want to earn just enough and need to maintain humble operations in order to perpetually give us affordable great watches. I’m creating an unnecessary chick-and-egg situation but you get my point. 

Conclusion 

If you liked what you saw today then you should now this: the Ubiq Trek will be available for pre-order June 21st-30th, 2025, at the following prices: $239 USD for the mecaquartz versions and $269 USD for the full lume meca (because heck there are also these versions!), and $369 USD for the automatic versions and $399 USD for the full lume auto. That’s 20% off the full retail which will kick in at the end of the campaign. And as mentioned above, you can add the bracelet for an extra $99 USD at the discounted price which means during the pre-ordering campaign you will at the most spend $498 USD. And there is more that could have been said about the non-DLC coated versions which have, for example, a 1200Hv scratch resistance which further elevates the value of these incredible watches. 

So don’t miss out on Ubiq’s second and outstanding release by clicking here. 

Thanks for reading.