Introducing Baltic Goes Black And Gold With Three New Takes On Core Models

For the same price as a standard MR01 (€545) and a slight increase in price on the Bicompax 002 (€565 instead of €540) and HMS 002 (€385 vs 360), Baltic is now doing 316L stainless steel cases with gold PVD coating and black dials. There's not much new here; there are two automatic time-only watches plus one manually-wound chronograph with two subdials. But the new look of PVD gold is striking enough (and demand for the MR01 was high enough on release) that we thought enthusiasts might appreciate getting a heads-up. 

The cases remain the same, as do the movements, so check the specs below. It's exactly what you expect, but man do they look good.

Alright, I said it already. These look darn pretty good. I remember my early days of getting into watches and feeling like I really wanted a watch with a touch of gold. Just like a lot of collectors on a budget, I gravitated toward gold PVD watches to scratch the itch. I went for the gold-toned Casio A500WGA-9 world timer (which I suddenly feel the need to dig out of a drawer and wear) but I wish that these watches would have been around.

The blue-dialed MR01 is still one of my all-time favorite affordable watches, one that I recommend to a lot of people every month. But while salmon dials have had their moment and seemed to be the most popular of the brand's MR01 releases, we'd do good to remember how rare vintage yellow gold Pateks with black dials are. These dials definitely play off some of that vintage Patek vibe and the gold PVD-applied Breguet numerals on the new MR01 are striking. It goes to show that rarity isn't the only reason those vintage watches go for big bucks. They're stunning. While I don't see myself picking up a third Baltic any time soon, you could do far worse than these new releases. 

Brand: Baltic
Model: MR01, Bicompax 002, and HMS 002

Diameter: 36mm (MR01), 38mm (Bicompax 002), 38mm (HMS 002)
Thickness: 9.9mm (MR01), 13m (Bicompax 002), 13mm (HMS 002)
Case Material: Stainless steel 316L with gold PVD coating
Dial Color: Black
Indexes: Applied Breguet hour markers (MR01), Sector dial with polished and applied hour markers (Bicompax 002), Sector dial with polished and applied hour markers (HMS 002)
Lume: None
Water Resistance: 30m (MR01), 50m (Bicompax 002), 50m (HMS 002)
Strap/Bracelet: Stitched Saffiano black strap

Caliber: Hangzhou CAL5000a Micro-rotor (MR01), Seagull ST1901 (Bicompax 002), Miyota 8315 (HMS 002)
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds (MR01), Hours, minutes, column-wheel chronograph, with running seconds at 9:00, 30-minute counter at 3:00 (Bicompax 002), Hours, minutes, central seconds, stop-second (HMS 002)
Power Reserve: 42 hours (MR01), 42 hours (Bicompax 002), 60 hours (HMS 002)
Winding: Automatic (MR01), Manual (Bicompax 002), Automatic (HMS 002)
Chronometer Certified: No
Additional Details: Engraved crown, High-domed hesalite glass.

Price: €545 (MR01), €565 (Bicompax 002), €385 (HMS 002)
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: No

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