Baltic Aquascaphe-Now open for pre-order.

Sorry to read this... but the watches are being shipped as planned, so just a tiny bit more patience is required. 👍

Can’t wait to get mine. Fantastic watch

Here you go @MTROIS

Today a package showed up totally unannounced and earlier than expected, I’m not complaining!

If, like me, you were concerned about the clasp being bulky like many modern ones, I’m happy to say that it’s quite nice, similar to the good old ones.

Thank you Greg. Much appreciated. So I take it that the numerals and plots on the bezel have some lume, correct?

Gorgeous watch... and pics!! Congrats!!
Can't wait to get mine....

Yes! It’s rainy and overcast today, so not the best day to charge lume, but it is in all places

@micampe great to see the black dial version!

I'd just managed to convince myself I didn't need one of these (the blue variety) but that is a real stunner!

I must stop looking at this thread!!

Guess whom got a little package delivered earlier this afternoon?
Unpacking to follow later today.... (can't wait)
Edit: apparently it was picked up yesterday in Paris and was delivered today (East coast USA)!!!! 😲

Love that tropic strap!!

Ok, gents. It is time of unwrapping + 24 hours so time for a few pics and some early comments concerning this beautiful watch!

First, the unwrapping:
Watch box came nicely tucked in a cardboard box and everything was in great shape, no damage.

Love the seawater background on the outer box...



Below the outer box, in the bottom of the parcel was a little envelope including a change tool to push spring bar through lug hole and the spare tropic strap:



And here is the watch box (blue “leatherette”), with some spare links for the metal bracelet and the users guide in the bottom of it, all inspiring some very serious quality of what is left inside:



And finally, here she is:





Now, to the watch! Since the metal bracelet was too loose on my ~7”-71/4” wrist, I decided to remove the bracelet to install the tropic strap. That was done in a breeze thanks to the embedded system in the back of the end links that allow to quickly squeeze the pins out of the lugs.
Interestingly, installing the strap was a bit more of a pain than I anticipated because the spring bars used did not allow me to use my standard Bergeon or Omega spring bar tool as there was no groove you could use to push the pin in the bar. I decided to put some tape on the back of the lug to ensure that I was not going to scratch it when pushing the pin with a flat surface. Not a big deal, but I will try to find a better pair of spring bars for next time. (Lugs are 20mm apart). Anyhow, here she is on my wrist:




Dial is gorgeous, very dark indeed, and the nice blue reflections come especially out in bright lighting... so not very visible in these indoor shots:



With a side shot to show you thickness and screw-in crown, although I am wearing the watch a bit loosely since I am in between two settings on the strap (more on this later):



Here are a couple of shots in day light:



Lastly, here is a “lume shot” after only a few seconds of loading with UV light:




So here are some initial thoughts on this watch:

- the build quality is quite high for this price point and right off the back, the watch comes in above my expectations!
- the watch has a definite vintage feel to it, one of the main reasons why I wanted to get this piece! 39mm case size (but feels a bit smaller with the bezel width), nice warm color of the lume material, lovely appearance of the “sandwich” construction of the dial and plots at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock.
- love the railroad track of the dial, the vintage font used for the 12 numeral, and also enjoy the cleanliness of the writing with only three lines of text total!
- I will need to evaluate this a bit more, but intensity and duration of lume seems average, I would say. Certainly not as bright as my SMP bond or even my Rolex BLNR, but I will check again when fully loaded.
- bezel is nearly flat (contrary to what some pics online suggested), great feel, especially when you rotate it: solid grip and it is not too easy to rotate, unlike a modern sea-dweller 43 that drives me bonkers as the slightest touch on the bezel makes it turn! Super Minor detail: bottom of the arrow at 12 o’clock “bleeds” when you look at the watch under an angle. Only when you are face on will you see the arrow, and only the arrow.
- crystal is nicely curved on the periphery, but actually flat in center.
- case is brushed everywhere and lugs have a nice shallow curvature. Well done.
- bead of rice bracelet had a very solid and high quality feel, but since I am not wearing the watch on it, I won’t comment on it just yet.
- the tropic strap has a nice SS tang buckle with BALTIC engraved on it. My grief with it, and one of the few I have with the watch so far, is the fact that it is a bit too tapered for my taste. The consequence, especially for someone like me who has a wrist on the rather larger size (but not large by any stretch of the imagination), is that the strap is a bit “wobbly” inside the buckle as there is a bit too much spare space in there for the narrow strap. Here is a pic:



Not sure if I am conveying the idea, but I would have preferred for the strap to only taper from 20mm to perhaps 18-16mm, but not thinner. Small potato!

- movement seems to be running at +4-5 sec/day so far, not bad and I enjoy the fact that it does not feel “cheap” when you pull out the crown to set time: the click inspires confidence.

In conclusion: great watch, quality and value for this price point. Definitely recommend it for a daily wearer or a casual watch. Very classy and sporty at the same time.

I am very happy with this addition!! Bravo Baltic!! 👍

I've had this in my diary for a few days now but sort of hoping someone reports some kind of issue or something before then so I can convince myself not to buy one!

That black dial really is a beaut!