Baltic Aquascaphe Bronze

The brainchild of a young, passionate French collector who wanted to offer handsome vintage-inspired pieces at reasonable prices, microbrand Baltic has been successful – rightfully so – with its two existing collections. One of them is named the Aquascaphe, a dive watch inspired by icons of the 1950s, packed with retro-styled elements. Following the development of the brand, this watch now comes in a new material, with multiple updates on the case and dial. Let’s look at the new Baltic Aquascaphe Bronze.

Baltic Watches is the brainchild of Etienne Malec, a young Frenchman who has inherited his father’s passion for watches – something he shared with us some years ago. An avid collector, his father spent years putting together a collection of exceptional timepieces, some of which have inspired the designs of Baltic’s first two models. The creation of Baltic Watches was a way for Etienne to fulfil his passion for watches (and he is truly passionate). After successfully funding its first collection via Kickstarter, Baltic introduced a sportier watch, the Aquascaphe, a retro-looking dive watch with a truly cool design and great quality of execution.

Based on this watch, the brand wanted to offer something a bit more urban, a bit dressier, with warmer tones. While gold PVD wasn’t an option for Etienne, he has decided to go for bronze – a material that makes sense in an aquatic context and is trendier than ever. The case of the Baltic Aquascaphe Bronze remains almost identical to the steel models, with a 38mm (39mm for the bezel), with its brushed surfaces, lugs holes and very instrumental shape. The novelty comes from the material, a stable bronze alloy – CuAL8 – composed of aluminium and copper, as opposed to standard bronze (copper and tin), which has a tendency to develop a stronger and faster (toxic-looking) green patina. The case of the Baltic will slowly but ever so slightly change over time to become less gold coloured.

The first change on the case with this Baltic Aquascaphe Bronze is the addition of a crown guard module, framing the bronze oversized crown. The second evolution concerns the bezel, which is unidirectional with 120 clicks. While the steel models feature a sapphire insert with a track printed on the inner side, this new version has a full-bronze bezel with a brushed finish and an engraved scale. Other specifications include a screw-down crown, a screwed steel caseback (for safety reasons), a highly domed sapphire crystal and 200m water-resistance.

For the occasion of this new Baltic Aquascaphe Bronze, the dial has also evolved with small details that give this model its own personality. The dial has the brand’s signature blue colour with gilt markings and a sunray brushed decoration. The evolution concerns the markers, as the triangular indexes have been replaced by Arabic numerals. In the same vein, we see “maxi” hands for the hours and minutes and a white lollipop seconds hand. The display remains without a date.

Powering this watch, and what helps to keep the price reasonable, is the movement inside this bronze case, a Japanese Miyota 9039. An alternative to the Swiss counterparts (ETA and Sellita), this movement is reliable, largely used and has proved to be a secure option. It beats at 4Hz, has 42h of power reserve and features a stop-seconds function. The watch is worn on a blue “tropic-like” rubber strap, soft and comfortable, closed by a bronze pin buckle.

Price and availability

The Baltic Aquascaphe Bronze is now available (14 May 2020) on the brand’s website. Its production won’t be limited although the 300 first pieces will be individually numbered. It will be priced at EUR 750 (taxes included) or EUR 625 (without taxes).

More details at baltic-watches.com.