News: The New And Improved Baltic Bicompax 002
Back in 2017, a Kickstarter arose, and boy did it make one hell of an impression—I am of course talking about the original Baltic Bicompax 001. This 38mm beauty with its vintage good looks and accompanying affordable price-tag became rather popular within the community. So, in early 2020 when the Bicompax received a gorgeous salmon sector dial, the community inevitably went mad for it. The only problem being, it was limited to 100 pieces. Lucky for us, this isn’t. Introducing the new Bicompax 002.
The original Baltic Bicompax was released on Kickstarter in 2017
Although most things stay the same with the new 002—like the 40s styled aesthetics and the manually winding SEAGULL ST1901 movement—the biggest changes this time around is to the dial. The watch now features a sector dial, reminiscent of one Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Chronograph—another watch styled after the great Bicompax watches of the mid 20th century.
Don’t worry, I’m not about to start comparing a watch that costs just shy of £600 to a watch that costs more than ten times that; so, let me get to the point. For that just shy of £600 you get a cracking little watch with a manually winding chronograph, all encased in a timeless, 40s Bicompax design.
The Baltic Bicompax uses the SEAGULL ST1901 manually winding chronograph movement
Everything is there: a 42-hour power reserve, an optional display case back, hand assembly; you really get your money’s worth with the 002. I can’t remember if I mentioned, it’s also really good-looking, especially with the new dial. A stepped circular brushed chapter ring and sandy matte double finish proudly feature under the 002’s Hesalite dome. The watch comes in silver, black and a deep, rich blue; the finishing of which really helps the dial transition in the light revealing its detail.
If you’re shopping around for a new watch and you only have a couple hundred pounds to spend, you could always get the time-only HMS. It has the same timeless design as the 002 but features the Miyota 821A automatic movement and costs just over £350. But if you can make up the extra £250 and want a manually wound chronograph with some vintage flair, you can’t go wrong with this offering from micro-brand Baltic.
The new Baltic Bicompax 002 costs €679.00 (£619.87)
