NWA: Microbrand gem gifted by a colleague
I was surprised and honored today by an unexpected gift from a colleague that is an avid watch collector. We had a recent discussion about microbrands, chronographs, Baltic’s recent dominance in the WC microbrand tourney, and the (in)famous Seagull chronograph movement (among other watch nerd topics). He kindly offered to let me try out his Baltic Bicompax and I gladly accepted since I have been intrigued by this model. Today he stopped by my office and said he wanted to gift me the piece… I was floored!
This is the Bicompax 001, one of the two debut models for Baltic after its successful Kickstarter campaign in 2017. The dial layout differs from the current iteration (the 003) due to its simplicity and minimalism, as it lacks the Arabic numerals and the sector dial of the current version. It’s case size is 38mm, which is pretty much the sweet spot for my 6.5” wrist.
Speaking of the (in)famous, inexpensive Chinese mechanical chronograph movement from Seagull, and how allegedly shoddy and unreliable it is… check out the Timegrapher stats. Keep in mind that this piece is around 7 years old. Perhaps there are some duds out there, but certainly not this one!
Overall, I’m feeling very impressed by this outstanding microbrand piece, but even more grateful for the kind gesture from my colleague!
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What an awesome gift, Especially to another collector!
That's awesome
Cool bicompax, man! Great colleagues and friends too. Cheers and enjoy!
I believe the issue with the seagull chronograph movement is that it’s hard to find someone to service it, not that it’s unreliable.
Looks like yours is running perfectly so no need to worry about that, what a nice gift!!