You’ve all seen the somewhat smug #IYKYK hashtag on social media, its use littering your IG feed, making you Google the picture with the rising panic of your #fomo. In the early years of Baltic watches, there was certainly a feeling of, if you know, you know about this Paris-based watchmaker that had tapped into the zeitgeist of the 1940s steel chronograph and calatrava aesthetic that was sweeping the vintage watch community. Tastemakers such as Bulang and Sons were early collaborators with founder Etienne Malec and his team, and if you saw a post on IG, it would almost certainly have been with a #IYKYK flavour. Half a decade is not a long time in the watch industry in many ways, with big brands working this far ahead in their planning of new launches. Therefore, it makes it a considerable feat that Baltic has become not only one of the hottest names in watch collecting circles, but also the fact that is has so many models under its belt; it truly is a strong show of agility.

One watch that is particularly close to the collective heart at Revolution is the salmon dial Baltic Bicompax Pulso Revolution Edition that sold out in minutes at the end of 2021. The watch was heavily inspired by the prototype that Baltic donated to our Pink Dial Project auction that performed incredibly well. The production version had the classic 1940s steel step-case and a stunning pink sector dial with pulsation scale and signature ‘Revo Star’ on the dial. The 250 pieces sold out quicker than you could say “Bicom…”! You can read more about the watch and the history of Baltic here.

With a Bicompax that rocks, a brace of time only pieces that are hard to beat in the looks and value category (have you seen that applied Breguet numeral dial? #IYKYK) and a dive watch that has seen more iterations than a ship has seen ports, the brand has a foothold in the industry that is admirable, and yet it still has a cool-cache amongst collectors that many brands would give their left lug for. For its half-decade journeys around the sun, the brand is celebrating with a splash of colour that is inspired by the 90s, the decade in which its founders came of age.

The Baltic Aquascaphe is available in a number of iterations, including Classique, Bronze and GMT, in a range of hues and bezel options. There is also a dual crown version that takes its inspiration from vintage compressor case dive watches and it is this version on which Baltic has built its birthday take. Like all Baltic watches, the Aquascaphe Dual Crown 5th Anniversary, to use its full correct title, is hand-assembled in France and has a trio of 90s streetwear-inspired colours on the dial, one chosen by each of the founding team. The dual crown design has one crown for winding and setting the time and the other for rotating the internal bezel.

Etienne, Paul, Clement each chose a colour to make the steel watch with black dial a little more fun for the big event. Designed especially for summer, the internal bezel sports purple indexes between 12 and 4 o’clock, the hour markers and minute hand are surrounded in a summery shade of turquoise green, while the seconds hand was dipped in a bursting tint of orange. To really bring out these colours, the watch will come with two rubber Tropic-esque straps, one in turquoise and the other in purple. Of course, in the same shades as the dial – these boys are all about the details.

The watches will be made available in 200 pieces, each numbered and with a unique caseback engraving. Never to be repeated, this will be a future collectable, no doubt. So be quick…

Tech Specs

Baltic Aquascaphe Dual Crown 5th Anniversary

Movement: Miyota 9039 Automatic, 42 hours power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, 60-minute dive bezel
Case: 39mm steel case with two crowns
Dial: Black with purple, turquoise and orange accents
Bracelet: Two rubber straps (turquoise and purple)
Price: TBC
Availability: 200-piece limited edition