About this project
BALTIC Watches: Neo-Vintage Watches Assembled in France
€514,806
1,044
BALTIC is inspired by the raw beauty of the icy Baltic sea. Baltic watches are traditional with minimal, modern styling.
We are a family of watch connoisseurs with a passion for traditional craftsmanship. We believe the most timeless and desirable watches are often the simplest however, it seems many modern watch brands add unnecessary complexity to their designs. For this reason we decided to create BALTIC. We want to focus on a more authentic approach, bringing together the purest watchmaking techniques to create a vintage-inspired timepiece for your wrist.
The results are neo-vintage, 1940’s-style watches with mechanical movements and well-proportioned cases inspired by the traditional Step Case watch (recognisable by its distinctive ridge or step surrounding the hesalite glass).
Initially BALTIC will offer two different models: a 38mm manual-winding chronograph and a 38mm automatic three-hander. Both will be available with six different dial variations (you will be asked to choose the one you like at the end of the Kickstarter campaign).
BICOMPAX 001. CREAM is a two register chronograph with a light cream colour dial. The indexes are painted in black, as is the railway. The chronograph central seconds hand is blued, while the other hands are black. The French words “BICOMPAX MANUEL” are printed in red across the bottom of the dial.
BICOMPAX 001. BLACK & SILVER is a two register chronograph with a black dial and silver hands. The indexes are painted in white, as is the railway. All hands are chromed. The French words “BICOMPAX MANUEL” are printed in white across the bottom of the dial.
BICOMPAX 001. BLUE / GILT is a two register chronograph with a night blue dial. The indexes are painted in gold, as is the railway. All hands are gold-coated. The French words “BICOMPAX MANUEL” are printed in gold across the bottom of the dial.
BICOMPAX 001. BLACK / GILT is a two register chronograph with a black dial. The indexes are painted in gold, as is the railway. All hands are gold-coated. The French words “BICOMPAX MANUEL” are printed in gold across the bottom of the dial.
BICOMPAX 001. SLATE GREY is a two register chronograph with a slate grey dial. This dial features a special “Sunray” finish, giving it a more modern look. The indexes are painted in white, as is the railway. The hours and minutes hands are blued, while the rest are painted white. The French words “BICOMPAX MANUEL” are printed in white across the bottom of the dial.
BICOMPAX 001. GOLD DLC is a two register chronograph with a black dial and a DLC-coated case. The indexes are painted in gold, as is the railway. The hour and minute hands are gold-coated, while the rest are painted white. The French words “BICOMPAX MANUEL” are printed in gold across the bottom of the dial.
Check more pictures from people who already tested our watches : #balticwatches
HMS 001. CREAM is a three-hand automatic watch with a cream dial. The indexes are painted in black, as is the railway. The hour and minute hands are blued, while the sweeping seconds hand is painted white. The word "AUTOMATIC" is printed in red across the bottom of the dial.
HMS 001. BLACK & SILVER is a three-hand automatic watch with a black dial. The indexes are painted in white, as is the railway. All hands are chromed. The word "AUTOMATIC" is printed in white across the bottom of the dial.
HMS 001. BLUE / GILT is a three-hand automatic watch with a night blue dial. The indexes are painted in gold, as is the railway. All hands are gold-coated. The word "AUTOMATIC" is printed in gold across the bottom of the dial.
HMS 001. BLACK / GILT is a three-hand automatic watch with a black dial. The indexes are painted in gold, as is the railway. All hands are gold-coated. The word "AUTOMATIC" is printed in gold across the bottom of the dial.
HMS 001. SLATE GREY is a three-hand automatic watch with a slate grey dial. This dial features a special “Sunray” finish, which gives it a more modern look. The indexes are painted in white, as is the railway. The hour and minute hands are blued, while the sweeping seconds hand is painted white. The word "AUTOMATIC" is printed in white across the bottom of the dial.
Check more pictures from people who already tested our watches : #balticwatches
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All hands are thin, leaf-shaped. As you can see in the macro-pictures below, the angle divides it in two faces.
Our watch straps are made by French leather craftsmen, highly recognized in the industry for their skills and their impeccable design quality. They already work for renowned watch brands and their skills greatly enhance our watches.
Our straps are 20/18mm with 7 holes. They fit 16 to 19 cm wrists perfectly and are available in three different colours: black, dark brown and light brown.
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You will be able to choose which of the three leather bands you want when you complete the survey at the end of the campaign.
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We like to think that the BALTIC spirit comes across in our watch boxes too. They will be made out of cork which is an organic and natural material that we don’t usually come across for this type of product.
Here is an example of how the Perlon looks :
To get one or several Perlon straps, make sure you add 15€ per unit to your contribution.
OPTION N°2 : EXTRA BALTIC LEATHER STRAP (+35€)
If you would like to get another BALTIC leather strap, make sure you add 35€ to your contribution. You will be able to choose amongst these three straps :
OPTION N°3 : OPEN CASEBACK (+30€)
If you choose an exhibition case-back for your BALTIC watch you will be able to see the movement. This type of caseback shows off the movement and gives you access to the fascinating hairspring oscillating back and forth.
OPTION N°4 : WATCH ROLL (+40€)
Our four slot watch roll is available in black or brown leather. The roll accommodates watches of almost all types and sizes under 43mm in diameter. The watch roll is held closed by a thin leather strap.
SPECIFICATIONS :
Thibault Pellegrin - Western Director of Lange & Sohne. « This is an awesome watch that you need to catch now »
Ted Gushue - Managing Editor @Petrolicious « The BICOMPAX chronograph has a great feeling on the wrist and is definitely a crush for the budget. Its the first time that I back a project and I'm already looking forward to your next release. Keep up the great work guys. »
Francois-Xavier Overstake - Luxury Watches Specialist « A lovely and affordable neo-retro watches. BALTIC are refined and elegant watches"
We invited you to come to our workshop to try our prototypes over the past four months and we gathered your feedback. And you approved !
We received over 200 appointment requests from people in France who tried our watches and viewed the parts and skills that go into them. We travelled around Europe and the USA to let people try them too. Why? Because we wanted to bring this project to life and these watches must be handled, tried & manipulated to really feel what it does on the wrist : a pure vintage watch feeling.
Check what people have to say about our watches on Instagram here : #balticwatches
IMPORTANT : You'll get to choose your watch variant(s), straps and accessories options after the campaign ends!
BALTIC s’associe à un univers froid, brut, d’inspiration nordique. Cette ambiance minimaliste et naturellement puissante, nous l’avons trouvée tout autour de la mer Baltique.
BALTIC est une ode à la montre ancienne : nous voulons offrir une gamme néo-vintage mécanique, accessible, reprenant certains codes des montres des années 1940. L’idée est de s’approprier les caractéristiques d’époque, qui à notre sens, offrent le plus de cachet : un diamètre proportionné, un boitier aux lignes « brutes », un mouvement mécanique et l'utilisation d’un verre en acrylique.
Les designs de nos montres sont inspirés des boitiers dits « step case », caractérisés par la présence d’une «marche» entourant le verre. Cette caractéristique, servant autrefois à mieux protéger les montres, confère aux Baltic un aspect brut et moderne.
La gamme BALTIC se compose de deux modèles différents: un chronographe manuel 38 mm et une trois aiguilles 38 mm. Les deux seront disponibles dans six cadrans différents. (Vous serez invités à choisir la couleur à la fin de la campagne Kickstarter)
La BICOMPAX 001. CRÈME est un chronographe à deux compteurs avec un cadran de couleur crème. Les index et le chemin de fer sont peints en noir. La grande aiguille du chronographe est bleuie tandis que les autres sont noires. La mention «Bicompax manuel» sur le cadran apparaît en rouge.
HMS 001. CRÈME est une montre automatique trois aiguilles avec un cadran crème. Les index et chemin de fer sont peints en noir. Les aiguilles des heures et des minutes sont bleuies et celle des secondes est blanche. Le mot "AUTOMATIQUE" est en rouge.
IMPORTANT : Vous pourrez choisir votre déclinaison de montre une fois la campagne terminée. Nous enverrons un questionnaire par email.
Risks and challenges
The assembling company based in the Besançon area is a family-owned business that has been working in the watch industry for over four generations. And we’re fortunate to be working closely with a trusted supplier established for over 20 years. With these two partners our watches are in good hands. We will try our best to respect the schedule but we have the responsibility to warn you that a slight delay to the production process might happen. We will keep you updated if there are any changes and we will always be here to answer any questions you might have.
Over the past few months we have showed our prototypes to many watch connoisseurs, journalists and influencers to get feedback about the watches, straps and packaging. We gathered an incredible amount of valuable feedback and we want to thank you for it.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the project from the start and to all our backers!
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Funding period
- (35 days)