Every year, French microbrand Baltic, one of our favorite relatively affordable watch makers, releases a special edition of one of its most attractive and desirable watches. The Scalegraph is made as a regatta timer, associated with autosports, or released in the classic black-and-white configuration. However, each was a special edition that quickly sold out. But today Baltic is introducing a new non-limited edition for all those who missed it last summer.
The new Scalegraph is exactly the kind of watch that has propelled the Baltic to cult-favorite status. You get a vintage-inspired watch – not necessarily reminiscent of a specific model – at an excellent price (less than $2,000 on a bracelet), with lots of good looks and added utility.
Baltic’s new model is a stainless steel chronograph that is 39.6 mm wide and 14.1 mm tall – slightly larger than the older chronograph, given its more contemporary diameter and automatic movement, but still highly wearable. The design of the watch takes into account all the famous chronographs of the past without veering into “tribute” watch territory – meaning a model that completely rips off something like a Rolex Daytona or an Omega Speedmaster.
You may ask where the name Scalegraph came from? The brushed aluminum bezel insert, complete with useful tachymeter scale, neatly answers the question. Inspired by classic midcentury automotive chronographs, this most useful timing device can be used to calculate everything from speed to distance traveled to, for example, the number of widgets produced on the factory floor in a given period of time. (Provided you have a basic understanding of high-school math, which I don’t. That’s why I write about watches.)
Three dials—champagne, blue, and grey—are available at launch. Each is subtle and beautiful, featuring triple chronograph registers in polished metal rings that match bar-shaped hour indices and shiny steel sword handsets. A 1/5-second hand in a contrasting (yet complementary) color frames the dial, offering precision to those who actually want to use the chronograph for its intended purpose. (Possibly: the timing of beautiful old cars going very fast around hairpin turns.) While the metallic gray dial is perhaps the most restrained choice, its red crosshairs within the running-seconds subdial are most visible – which is more subtle within the metallic champagne dial. However, for the full seaside summer feel, we recommend the bright blue version.
