Militado Dive Watch ML20: Sinn U1 Diver Homage

This is the Militado ML20 — and in many ways, it represents Militado trying to move up a level.Up until now, we’ve mostly seen from this brand the usage of quartz movements, like VH31, and entry-level Miyota or Seiko automatics. Solid value pieces, sure — but very much budget-first watches.This time, though, Militado is stepping into a bit more serious territory: better materials, a more refined build, and an upgraded 4 bits per second automatic caliber inside.Of course, that also means a step up in price — so the real question is simple: did Militado pull this off, or did they stretch a little too far? Well we have it here - Let’s find out.

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Design

Let’s start with the design — and yes, this one will probably look very familiar.

Militado is clearly drawing from a well-known German tool-diver template, and if you’ve clicked on this video, you probably already know exactly which watch that is. Originality, then, is not the strong suit here - which is something that needs to be said upfront.

The original German diver brings a whole range of proprietary technologies to the table: advanced surface hardening, specialised steels, and materials that simply aren’t achievable at the price point of this Militado. So, none of that is present here - and well that's absolutely fine. This is a very different proposition, aimed at accessibility rather than technical innovation.

However, what Militado has done instead is focus on proportions and execution. This diver feels more compact, more controlled, and visually less bulky than many other watches in this style. That alone makes it more versatile, and frankly more wearable, especially for people who want to try this aesthetic without committing to a large, overbearing case. There are also small changes to the dial layout. They’re subtle, but enough to mix this up a bit.

That said, this is very much a serious tool watch, not a novelty piece. Militado has stepped up the quality of execution here. All the premium materials, tolerances feel tighter, and the surface treatment in particular deserves mention. After about two weeks of handling, this finish has proven noticeably more resistant to fingerprints than many sandblasted watches I’ve handled — including earlier Militado models.

Functionally, most of the fundamentals are handled well. The bezel was actually a bit of a surprise, and in a positive way — something we’ll dig into properly a bit later. Legibility also looks very promising, with a clean, high-contrast dial and plenty of room for lume application.

However, while there are a couple of elements here that I genuinely didn’t expect to see from Militado at this price point, there is also at least one component that I think should have been included — and isn’t. And I’ll come back to that a bit later in this review.

One thing that is quite noticeable, though, is how slim the case feels for a 200-metre-rated diver. And that has a lot to do with what’s going on inside rather than any clever case trickery. So, let’s talk about the movement.

Dimensions

So, examining dimensions, we have a case diameter of 39 millimetres, 20 millimetre lug width.

Lug-to-lug comes in at about 46 millimetres, keeping things compact and wearable.

And the case thickness is just over 11 millimetres, 11.3 to be exact - which, as I just pointed out, is genuinely slim for a 200-metre diver. And in terms of weight - on the bracelet, the watch comes in at around 136 grams, giving it a solid but well-balanced feel on the wrist.

Case

Zooming on to the case, we’ve got a solid stainless-steel construction with a very classic, functional silhouette.

The lugs are nicely sculpted and curve down to hug the wrist. There’s nothing particularly flashy going on here — it’s a straightforward, tool-focused case design, and originality isn’t really the goal.

One practical detail I do appreciate is the inclusion of drilled lugs. On a dive watch like this, that’s genuinely useful, making bracelet or strap changes much simpler.

The crown is positioned at four o’clock and slightly recessed into the case. There are no traditional crown guards, but because of the crown location, it stays out of the way and wears comfortably. The crown itself is nicely sized, signed with a small crow-foot logo, and the knurling is well executed, offering plenty of grip. It’s also, of course, screw-down.

Flip the watch over and you’ll find a flat, sterile, sandblasted caseback. Combined with the screw-down crown, this gives us a stated water resistance of 200 metres — exactly what you’d expect from a capable everyday diver.

Crystal

Up top, we’ve got a perfectly flat sapphire crystal. According to the listing, it includes an anti-reflective coating, and in use it does a good job of controlling reflections, which helps keep the dial very legible.

The crystal sits just slightly proud of the bezel — only by a fraction of a millimetre — and while it’s minimal, it does add a bit of protection for the bezel insert. Combined with the high-contrast dial, legibility here is excellent, and the use of sapphire gives us the expected level of scratch resistance.

Dial & Lume

Turning to the dial and it is one of the real strengths of this watch, and Militado has clearly got this part right.

The matte black dial background is very well executed. It absorbs light nicely and allows all the other elements to really pop, giving the watch excellent contrast and legibility. Everything here is printed rather than applied, but the execution is clean and precise, and it works really well for this kind of tool watch.

I also like the use of red accents — they add just enough visual interest without breaking the overall balance. The date window sits at six o’clock, it’s colour-matched to the dial, and it integrates cleanly without cluttering the layout. Overall, the dial feels well judged and nicely proportioned.

Now running my usual 15 minutes lume test and One big advantage of this design is the sheer amount of space it allows for lume. Not just on the indices, but also on those broad syringe-style hands. And if you had any doubts about lume performance, this15-minute lume test should clear that up quickly. This watch delivers a strong, long-lasting glow, and according to Militado it is BGW9 — which does look like the case here.

Bracelet and Clasp

Moving on to the bracelet — and overall, this is very well executed. It’s very similar, if not identical, to the bracelet I’ve seen on another Militado diver in this style that I reviewed recently. Tolerances are solid, and we’ve got inverted end links, which definitely helps with wrist fit. The integration with the case isn’t absolutely perfect — if you really scrutinise it, you can see a slight mismatch in curvature — but at this price point, that’s very much nitpicking. The end links are also slightly recessed, which is a nice detail and adds a more refined look. The bracelet itself is an H-style design, fully sandblasted to match the case, and it uses screw-linked construction. The screws look and feel more premium than you might expect at this price, and the bracelet is fluid, flexible, and drapes very nicely on the wrist. It genuinely looks more expensive than it is.

The clasp is Militado’s familiar double-pusher design, with a milled inner scissor mechanism and a pressed outer shell. It’s solid, secure, and perfectly functional. My only real criticism here — and this is that something I flagged earlier — it's the lack of on-the-fly adjustment. At this price point, it would have been a welcome addition. That said, there are plenty of micro-adjustment holes, so getting a comfortable fit isn’t an issue. The watch does have a bit of heft, but it’s well balanced, comfortable, and wears very nicely overall.

Verdict

So let’s talk about value. At around $220 before tax, this Militado sits in a more competitive part of the market — but for what you’re getting here, I’d say the pricing makes sense. The overall level of construction is solid, the lume performance is genuinely strong, and details like the anti-fingerprint surface treatment do add real, day-to-day usability rather than just sounding good on a spec sheet. Is it perfect? No. The lack of on-the-fly adjustment on the clasp is the one thing I keep coming back to. For me, that would have elevated the experience significantly — especially on a dive watch. That said, it’s not a dealbreaker, more of a wishlist item. And to be fair, Militado doesn’t currently offer on-the-fly adjustment across their catalogue, so this isn’t an isolated omission. Also, the good news is that this price is definitely not fixed. With upcoming sales, discount codes, and if you’re part of my cashback team, it’s very realistic to bring that price down by another 10 to even 20 percent — and at that point, the value proposition becomes very compelling.

Bezel

Let’s talk about the bezel. The bezel is sandblasted to match the case and features a pronounced, gear-style grip that’s comfortable and easy to use. The aluminium insert works well here, and I like this particular silver colourway — it allows the numerals and markings to stand out clearly, with just a subtle hint of red accents for contrast. This is a 120 click unidirectional bezel. At twelve o’clock, we’ve got a nicely lumed triangle, exactly as you’d expect on a diver. What I didn’t expect, though, is the quality of the bezel action. This is genuinely very good. It’s tactile, nicely ratcheted, and has virtually no backplay or side play for that matter. In fact, I think it’s even better than what I experienced on a previous Militado diver I reviewed recently — and that had a pretty good bezel to start with. So, this is one of those bezels that’s simply satisfying to use, and at this price point, that’s a pleasant surprise. No complaints here at all.

Movement

Inside this ML20 is the PT5000 automatic mechanical movement, based on familiar Swiss architecture and a definite upgrade over the quartz VH31 or entry-level Japanese movements we’ve seen from the brand so far.

In practical terms, that brings some real benefits: a smoother sweep of the seconds hand, of course, quicker and snappier date changes, and a generally more refined feel in operation.

On paper, there’s also an improvement in accuracy. The PT5000 is typically rated at around plus or minus 12 seconds per day, which is a tighter tolerance than even on the entry-level Swiss calibres. Real-world results will vary, of course, but at least on paper this is a step forward.

We do need to mention this movement's history though. When the PT5000 first appeared a few years ago, there were questions around long-term reliability. Since then, though, we’ve seen it adopted more widely across the market, especially in the last few months- which suggests those early concerns may have been addressed. Time will tell, but confidence in this calibre does appear to be growing.

One area where the movement choice clearly pays off is case thickness. Compared to something like a Seiko NH35, the PT5000 is slimmer, and that directly allows this watch to remain impressively lean despite its 200-metre water resistance.