This $650 Watch Absolutely Blew Me Away

I love an oxymoron. “I can resist everything but temptation,” said Oscar Wilde. “The budget was unlimited, but I exceeded it,” said a former president. But my favourite is this: “That cheap watch is excellent.” You see, watchmaking is one of those distinct industries in which excellence comes at a cost, one so steep you could put snow and a chalet on it and make a tidy income. There are good cheap watches and even great cheap watches, but at some point the bough breaks and the analogy falls, because it seems like making a cheap, excellent watch is nigh on impossible. That is, until now. This cheap watch blew me away.

Featured Watches:
Baltic MR01 Salmon
Baltic MR01 Silver
Baltic MR01 Blue

[samad]

This has always been my most favourite youtube watch channel, mostly for watches that I will never be able to afford.
Glad to see the channel is shifting course to more budget oriented watches that I can afford and will likely get.

[TheTownWatch]

Had some movement issues with my MR01 Silver dial. Baltic accepted it in for repairs no questions asked. Should be returned to me today. Looking forward to getting it back, it's a beautiful piece!

[ThCam]

Had a jaw drop at the first zoom on the dial, that's a beauty !

[aliyukaigamma]

Another cheap alternative to this watch is the Lobinni interlaken 1888. It also features the same hangzhou CAL 5000A movement + a date window for a mere $200. I think affordable mechanical watches are gaining traction and I’d love to see it being reviewed on this amazing channel.

[Rizvi]

When I first saw a "Lombinni" microtor watch I instantly thought someone needs to put a better face (set of dials and hands) to it and they can sell this $130ish watch for a $1000 easily. Baltic did that for $650! Fine work.

[noelkallu]

Those numerical metal Indices are just perfectly cut and pasted. ...and, what a dial! Stunning! 🖤

[salviatino]

Maybe I have lots of prejudices, but with significantly less than 700€ that you get a Tissot with an ETA movement, zapphire front and rear windows and water proof (100m). This Baltic is certainly beautiful but with a Chinese movement, plastic window and just splash-proof (3 ATM). Maybe this is just the confirmation that nothing beats a Tissot when it comes to the quality/price ratio.

[grahamcawthorne]

I have been considering purchasing one for a while, and since Baltic announced the pre-orders for the upcoming July 2022 batch my interest has been piqued once again. Needless to say, I paused this video half way through, moved some funds around and purchased a blue dial version from the pre-order in July. I know it's going to be even sweeter when it finally ships out in September. Thanks Watchfinder for helping me make what will surely be my favourite purchase of the year!

[northscylla]

An alternative to this watch I would also recommend is the Solas Starlight, 38mm with the same movement but with a sapphire crystal, date complication and an aventurine dial

[jwags]

I owned the salmon version from the original release. It was a beautiful watch, but unfortunately the movement felt extremely cheap. It didn't feel like a $650 watch. Some days I regret selling it, most days I don't.

[crh]

Like some other people here I've just ordered one of these, but then I read some of the negative comments on the movement accuracy and a 'cheap' feeling when handling one. Started to feel a little deflated at first but, you know what? I still think I'm gonna love this watch. The dial design is aesthetic perfection, case size is exactly what suits me, and I'll enjoy looking at some of the decorative elements of the movement through the case back. Pearlage AND cote de geneve stripes? Decent effort for a watch that price. I can deal with losing/gaining a minute or so a day as I'm a vintage lover and I'm used to that. Alright, it's no Lange or Patek but this is still one of the best-looking affordable indie brand watches right now and it's so good to see Watchfinder doff its hat to Baltic.

[pootube]

I don't own a single mechanical watch but I really enjoy this channel, that should indicate how strong the content is coming from this creator. Cheers boys!

[MrAumbra]

Been waiting months for availability. Was on waitlist for 8 months. Finally got confirmation of my order yesterday and BOOM, you do a video on it! Awesome.

[MrChunghau]

Ordered! IMO Baltic have made a desirable watch (and brand) through great design choices. This is a 36mm watch, which retail-wise, just would not sell well if it were made by the bigger watch companies - they just would not make it. But there is a niche Baltic have found it seems to be doing well. There was a point you made about ‘made in Hong Kong but assembled in France’ - why is ‘French watch assembly and regulation’ better (respected?) than it’s Hong Kong/Chinese equivalent? If ‘Made in Japan” can become something of a laughing stock to one of the elite manufacturers in the span of 30-40 years - then surely an even larger nation can reach that standard even quicker. South Korean cars, for example, had to be sold at half the price and double the warranty periods of their european counterparts a few years ago but today the price difference is a lot closer. The bigger amount of watchmakers in the world, the larger amount of competition there will be - for consumers this only be a good thing

[baxoutthebox]

I have the blue dial on beads of rice! Love it very much.

[jlg]

Why wouldn't a company like this just offer sapphire and higher water resistance? They could charge more and people would happily pay it.

[alberto]

Outstanding✅Not for me though ‼️
No bracelet and no water resistant is a deal breaker for me !! Bravo for the movement and dial decorations really remarkable 👍

[WriterandPhotographer]

Pre-orders now aren't available until September. Beautiful watch.

[mrbookends]

I bought the Lobinni watch with this same movement; I wanted the micro rotor and liked the Lobinni more than the Baltic. I think they stuffed too much onto the Baltic's dial and the price isn't right. That being said, my Lobinni ran +28 sec and I needed to adjust it almost immediately :-/

[itsalgud]

Usually your reviews are of watches beyond my means. This time however, you’ve picked a brand which I already own. I have a Bicompax 002 Chronograph with the Sea Gull column wheel movement. To my eye, the movement is the best part of this watch, It’s very nicely decorated particularly for a watch at this price. Unfortunately I can’t say that for the rest of the watch. The dial is nice, but nothing special, and the gilt hands look, well, cheap. The case is not impressive either. I never really bonded with this watch and it’s been up for sale for sometime. And that’s the other problem, they are rather high priced for the overall quality and it looks like I may have to take a beating on it to sell it. In all honesty this is probably true of most micro brands. Thanks for your review. I haven’t seen this watch you’re reviewing and maybe it’s a nicer piece in the flesh than mine. Regardless I do enjoy your reviews and your commentary. Keep up the good work.