Baltic is a brand on the rise, and they’ve got the reputation to back it. Everything I had seen or read talked about the finishing, and how it was on par with that of much more expensive watches. And yet I was skeptical. To be clear, I love seeing brands succeed, especially microbrands with a unique style, and I would never look to shoot holes in that success, but it seemed too good to be true. So that skepticism remained until I opened the little box from France and had my brain melted.
This Baltic Aquascaphe lives up to the hype, which is not something I can usually say. First up, kudos to Baltic for the minimalistic packaging, which includes the clever little outer carton that folds out and has integrated egg crate foam to protect the watch. Once I actually got to the watch itself I had to pause. The sunlight hit the gilt blue dial and just rippled across its surface. Admiring the simple but well-executed case and the elegant beads of rice bracelet, I was forced to reckon with my previous skepticism. This is a near-perfect skindiver, hearkening back to classic designs from the 60s while carving a path all its own through clever little touches.
Even the dimensions are perfect. The 316L stainless steel case has a tidy diameter of 39mm, putting it squarely in the unisex category. The proportions are that of a classic skindiver, with tapered lugs, no crown guards, and a bezel that just overhangs the sides of the case. Lug to lug comes to 46mm and still fits just about perfectly on my 6.5” wrist. The drilled lugs are 20mm apart. The domed sapphire means the watch does sit a bit tall at 12mm but this is not unusual for divers. It also distorts the hour markers and hands at angles, which is fun to photograph.
Within the Aquascaphe, beats the Miyota 9039. It is a great movement and there’s a reason it’s a darling of the microbrand world – the higher beat rate (and resulting sweep seconds) alone is worth the premium over the Seiko NH35 to me, and the 40-hour power reserve isn’t bad either. As I said, it’s a great movement, but it isn’t pretty, so thankfully Baltic eschewed going for an exhibition caseback and went for a more vintage-inspired and appropriate engraving of a diver swimming gracefully through the depths. I’m a sucker for a good caseback engraving and this one works well. It’s perhaps not the most imaginative illustration, but it’s nicely machined to the touch and it does hearken back to classics like the Longines Legend Diver quite effectively.
On to the included beads of rice bracelet, which is one of the finest I have seen on a watch in this price bracket. In fact, it’s nicer than those I’ve gotten from some of the larger Swiss brands. Again, the finishing shines through nicely from the brushed outer links to the push-button clasp, which features six (six!) micro adjustment points.
Perhaps the only letdown on finishing is the crown. Water resistant to 200m the Aquascaphe features a screw-down crown that to my eye is nicely sized and easy to operate. However, the tip of the crown features the Baltic B logo on a bead-blasted surface that feels a little gritty to the touch. It looks great, though.
The dial and the bezel, on the other hand, are a match made in heaven. The timing bezel has a sapphire insert that wonderfully complements the dial (more to come on that in a moment). A triangle at 12 o’clock is joined by numerals at 15, 30, and 45 minutes with dots for the remaining 5-minute intervals. The lumed markers are fauxtina similar to those on the dial, for a vintage look. They don’t glow quite as brightly as the markers on the dial but I like that they’re there, and quite legible. The bezel’s sapphire insert lends it a bit of a vintage look when paired with the fauxtina numerals, bringing to mind classic acrylic bezels. The bezel itself operates very smoothly and with a light touch. It’s unidirectional with 120 clicks and feels quite precise, with no excess wiggle. It fits in the Goldilocks zone for me: just right.
To the dial. The one I reviewed is the blue gilt option, though the Aquascaphe is also available in black or white. First, let’s take a second to talk about the fauxtina lume. Most of the time it feels like a shortcut to unearned heritage, even on the Olde Brandes that can more easily lay claim to it. Somehow Baltic makes it feel natural, down to the minimalist text: the brand name between 10 and 2, and Aquascaphe above the depth rating at the bottom of the dial. An interesting choice they made is the inclusion of triangular cutouts at 3, 6, and 9. At first glance, you might not notice that this is a sandwich dial, but those little flourishes help set this watch apart with its own personality. The handset is simple but effective: pointed batons and a lollipop seconds hand.
The dial finish itself is perhaps the most standout feature, with a beautiful blue sunray finish that turns to black in shadow. Light plays across this dial in interesting ways, giving it an almost liquid quality as you move your wrist. The effect is impressive and quite captivating in direct sunlight. Having printed hour markers rather than applied could have left the Aquascaphe feeling a bit flat, but the sandwich cutouts and the sunray effect lend the dial some welcome depth.
Individually, none of these features would be enough to earn the Baltic Aquascaphe a top spot in my collection, yet they are tied together beautifully, with bold flourishes and a cohesive vision. The Aquascaphe certainly recalls iconic dive watches and some comparisons may be inevitable, such as to the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe. Still, while it trades on some of those classic design elements it manages to avoid straying into homage territory through plenty of unique, modern touches.
The Baltic Aquascaphe retails for $630 USD on a Tropic strap or you can get the beads of rice bracelet for an additional $90. The price of the bracelet may be a bit steep, but the watch is a great buy at either price point, and I like having the bracelet. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay this watch is that it reminds me of a vintage Titus Calypsomatic I foolishly parted with years ago. I may not be able to get that watch back, but this one comes darn close. To purchase the Aquascaphe or learn more about Baltic and their other watches, visit their site at https://baltic-watches.com/en
