Well, sort of.
Baltic are a brand that flies just under the radar enough, that many enthusiasts may not be aware of the value on offer from the brand. One of the two signature pieces from Baltic is the Aquascaphe collection. The Aquascaphe offers, like all of Baltic’s pieces, a vintage inspired take on a classic market segment. In this case, the Aquascaphe takes heavy inspiration from dive watches of an era past.
With the latest iteration of the collection, Baltic have taken an altogether more tool watch inspired approach, adding for the first time a steel bezel to the timepiece. Not content with merely a material change, the brand has done away with traditional dive time markings, instead opting for a 12-hour GMT style rotating bezel.
The Baltic Aquascaphe SB01 maintains all the regular features present in the series. The case is a sturdy 316L stainless steel, an industry standard at this point. The vintage inspiration remains at the forefront of design and construction with the use of double domed sapphire crystal, and a gorgeous black grained sandwich dial.
The piece maintains a practical and user friendly 20mm lug width and sleek 39mm diameter accompanied by a thickness of only 10mm.
The addition of the 12-hour bezel insert drastically changes both the look, and the function of the Aquascaphe. No longer a practical 200m diver, the watch becomes a heavily water-resistant quasi-GMT / dual time piece.
The second change accompanying the bezel is the use of a larger “maxi hands” handset, filled generously with BGW9 luminescent material. This ensures that the watch is highly legible at night and that whilst rotating the bezel, it is much easier to read and track the time zones of your choosing.
The Aquascaphe offers not only quick release tropic rubber straps, but also a quick release beads of rice stainless steel bracelet. Available for an RRP of $840.00 AUD on rubber and $970.00 AUD on bracelet, the new Baltic Aquascaphe SB01 is a real contender for best in class for budget divers on the market today.
