Baltic are a French watch brand. You would likely not have guessed this from the name “Baltic”, although this is instantly cleared up if you read about the company on their official website.
The Baltic brand gets its name in a form of tribute to the father of the company’s founder Etienne Malec. For those not familiar with European geography, the Baltic Sea is a body of water that lies between Eastern/Northern Europe and Scandinavia.
Baltic does not hide or misrepresent their construction facilities or parts used. You may find cheaper watch brands hide, or simply not mention where their movements and watches are made, but Baltic is not like this at all. It is very easy to find out exactly what their processes are by visiting their website.
As for the Aquascaphe in particular, it is quite clear that the brand intended to make a watch that was a little different from the modern dive watches we are all familiar with.
Table of Contents
Dial & Bezel
A very traditional dial layout and design. If you were unaware of when the Baltic brand was made, you would assume that this was a watch that had been released several decades ago – which I assume is exactly what was intended.
From the color scheme of the dial with the off-white hour markers to the shape of the hands and bezel. This is a dive watch that is certainly not another clone of the Submariner. Instead, the colors Baltic have chosen to use do certainly not have a “brand new” look. The blue is somewhat dated and certainly not bright or in your face. Once again, this is very congruent with the overall feel of a retro dive-style watch.
Unusually, the dial features a lonely number 12 and a combination of shapes. Each quarter is divided by a triangle, with a circle place at every other hour interval, this matches well with the numbering used on the bezel.
The overall look of the bezel is very understated. A singular triangular marker and 3 intervals at each 15 minutes are the only numbering featured, keeping the bezel fairly minimalist.
A simple rectangular pattern on the side of the bezel ensures it is easy to grip and turn. This is not a cheaply made bezel and has 120 clicks around the dial with minimal pullback.
Case & Bracelet
At first glance, the caseback of the Aquascaphe is reasonably well-detailed and has quite a lot going on. Baltic do not put its logo anywhere on the caseback and instead has a classic image of a man diving in the sea. Originally this is what a watch like the Aquascaphe would have been used for (and still can be), although in modern day it is obviously used for fashion purposes.
Around the outside of the case are the brand name, along with the various specifications of the watch which are discussed in further detail later. The case back uses the standard screw-down method that everyone will be familiar with. This makes it very easy to service the movement if and when required.
This Aquascaphe has a classic rice bead style of stainless steel bracelet. This is more welcome on a “smaller” dive watch instead of the solid steel link bracelets we see on most of the modern pieces. It should be noted that you can order an Aquascaphe with a rubber bracelet which is less expensive than steel. Personally, I think that the steel matches the retro style of the watch a lot better, but some people may not like this.
On the clasp, you can see the brand name “Baltic”. This is printed in a soft and tasteful way and is certainly not too over the top or loud.
Specifications
As you can see, the lume on the Aquascaphe is not bad at all. This shot wasn’t taken in a fully darkened room, yet the dial, hands, and bezel are all very visible. The fact that the hour markers are a slightly different shade of lume to the hands is also quite useful as everything is easily identifiable.
Baltic has chosen to use an automatic Miyota 9039 for this watch. When you think of Miyota you may first think of cheap brands like Invicta, but this is really not the case with the 9039. This is a much more accurate and reliable movement than their budget stock ranges. Furthermore, it is used by a lot of microbrands selling watches in the $400-$800 range of watches, so fits the Aquascaphe pretty well.
The case size of the Aquascaphe is 39mm, which is very sensible, it doesn’t look too large or small and is pretty much the perfect size for a retro-dive style watch. As you will have likely noticed already, the glass is domed, which is a cool feature as it distorts the dial as you move your wrist. Of course, this is a sapphire crystal as you would expect for the price, and protects the dome shape from any unwanted scratches.
If anyone cares, the watch has a 200 meter water resistance. Although who actually dives with a nice watch like this in modern day? Certainly not me.
Where To Buy
As Baltic are a smaller watch brand, the only place to get a 100% confirmed legitimate watch is from their official website. Like many other relatively new watchmakers, Baltic runs a direct-to-consumer model of business which means that there is no middleman or 3rd party dealer involved.
Whilst this may be problematic for anyone who wanted to try the watch on in person first, it does at least cut down the price – since only Baltic make a profit and not another watch dealership.
The only other way to find a Baltic watch is on eBay or at a dealer that sells preowned watches and happens to have one in stock. It is possible to find a Baltic watch at a bargain price on eBay, but you will likely have to wait for a long time if you are looking for a specific model to become available.
