Baltic Presents A Trio Of Gold PVD Watches
Baltic is one of those recent watchmaking brands that never ceases to surprise us, it set a path early on and nothing takes it away from that direction and that is healthy when many choose to surrender to market pressure and follow the crowd, but in Baltic this doesn’t happen, without wanting to reinvent the wheel, its emphasis has been on the production of watches with a vintage design, in moderate sizes, reliable mechanical movements and at very moderate prices that hardly leaves anyone out. And it is in this sense that they now present us with a trio of watches chosen from his classic line that for the first time come with a gold PVD.
The choice could not be any other, led by the beautiful MR01 and the classics Bicompax 002 and HMS002. The three watches mentioned above now wear a stainless steel case with a gold PVD, which is an absolute first for the brand, until now the closest we had seen was the Aquascaphe Bronze but in a totally different category.
The new watches do not present any geometric, dimensional or technical changes, maintaining all the original design but now in a more refined form, if that is possible, substantiated on a shiny black dial with gilt accents. If we already thought they were beautiful, now they are a lot more.
Before we analyze each of them, let’s talk about the common points, in addition to the round steel case with gold PVD, they feature drilled lugs, a polished finish on the surfaces and brushed on the sides, domed hesalite glass, fluted crown with brand’s signature, open case back, black glossy dial, applied gilt accents and faceted leaf hands, mechanical movement and a black calf leather strap.
The new MR01 continues to wear the same 36mm diameter case, 9.90mm thickness (8mm if we don’t count the glass) and 44mm lug-to-lug distance, with a water resistance of 30m. The dial, which unlike other models does not come with a grainy texture, features a smooth black surface where we find the usual Breguet numerals, two centre hands, a small seconds with a Guilloche pattern at 7:30 and a railway minute track. Inside, the expenses continue to be covered by the automatic movement Caliber 5000A micro-rotor by Hangzhou that offers up to 42 hours of power reserve.
The most recent Bicompax 002 and HMS 002, which share the same base design, feature a stepped case with the same dimensions as their peers, substantiated at 38mm in diameter, 13mm in height (10mm if we don’t consider the glass) and 47mm lug-to-lug distance, and a water tightness of 50m. It should also be noted that the Bicompax adds two push buttons to the crown that control the chronograph function. The black sectorial dial features a centre crosshair design accompanied by three centre hands, followed by a ring with a brushed background where the Arabic numerals sit and finally a peripheral minute track. The Bicompax 002 also add two registers at 3 and 6 o’clock formed by a running seconds and a 30-minute counter. Inside, there is the manual movement Seagull ST1901 in the Bicompax and the automatic movement Miyota 8315 in the HMS, offering 42 and 60 hours of power reserve respectively.
The three watches arrive at prices of €545 for the MR01, €565 for the Bicompax 002 and €385 for the HMS 002, all prices do not include taxes, which represents a slight increase in the prices of the last two and the maintenance of the MR01 price.
Our Opinion
The classic collection with the inclusion of this new trio is more mature and this we believe will be reflected not only in demand for existing customers but also in attracting a new, more conservative audience that still looks at the brand with some scepticism.
Even if we run the risk of making it obvious, in one sentence ‘We really liked it’.
Read more here.
General Specifications:
Brand: Baltic
Model: MR01 Gold PVD, Bicompax 002 Gold PVD, HMS 002 Gold PVD
Dial: Black
Case Material: Stainless steel with a gold PVD
Case Dimensions: 36 mm x 9.9 mm x 44 mm (MR01), 38 mm x 13 mm x 47 mm (Bicompax 002, HMS 002)
Crystal: Hesalite glass
Case Back: Open-through
Strap: Black calf leather strap
Calibre: Hangzhou 5000A (MR01), Seagull ST1901 (Bicompax 002), Miyota 8315 (HMS 002)
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds (HMS 002), small seconds (MR01, Bicompax 002), chronograph (Bicompax 002)
Winding: Automatic (MR01, HMS 002), manual (Bicompax 002)
Frequency: 28,800 Vph (MR01), 21,600 Vph (Bicompax 002, HMS 002)
Jewels: 30
Power Reserve: 42 Hours (MR01, Bicompax 002), 60 hours (HMS 002)
Price: € 545 (MR01), € 565 (Bicompax 002), € 385 (HMS 002) all plus VAT
