I’m no watch expert.

I do find my interest in watches expanding though. I regularly go on sites like Hodinkee & Worn & Wound just to name a few. In the last couple of years I have been learning about how they work, what types there are, and seeing what styles I gravitate to. I definitely don’t need another expensive hobby and watches like many things I’m into can get very pricey. But I kept finding myself on these sites and watching YouTube videos on mechanical watches.

Wearing an Apple Watch on my wrist basically everyday since 2015 had made me want to see what else is out there. I thought maybe I feel this way since its been 3 years since I updated it. While that was true my interest in the mechanical world continued to grow… I know I’m not the first person to go down this path but I wanted to share my experience.

This year I splurged and got myself the stainless steel Apple Watch Series 7. I was upgrading from an aluminum Series 4 and was really excited to see the larger screen and have a more durable sapphire display. When I first got it I was so overjoyed. Its weight felt way more premium and its display always on now greatly improved its usefulness. I now had a watch I didn’t have to struggle with to see what time it is. This case change while small definitely made me more excited to wear it.

I don’t really use my Apple Watch for much fitness or activity tracking. I know lots of people love it for that but for me I use it a lot more for notifications and iMessage. Being fully in the Apple ecosystem Apple does a really great job of showing you useful info on your watch. Like the now playing screens or Apple TV remote that you don’t even have to select its just there as it should be.

As the months went by the honeymoon period was beginning to end and my new Apple Watch stared feeling more and more the same. It was definitely an improvement on my past one but I still had an itch for a mechanical watch. I think this is also in part due to other feelings I’ve had with wanting to be more mindful of how online I am but thats for another article. I think I’m having different feelings on technology and will probably write about it more in the future. But back to watches.

The main things I wanted in a mechanical watch are:

• An easy to service movement
• A simple readable dial
• A diver style watch
• Brushed metal finish
• A seconds hand
• Little to no complications
• Not cost thousands of dollars

In reading about watches and seeing videos I started finding out what kind of qualities I wanted. The watch world is endless and there is often watches that tick lots of boxes then have one or two fatal flaws that bring them down. Not that there is something wrong with them but there are so many options you can find something pretty close to your perfect watch. In that way I feel like you don’t really need to compromise when looking for a watch. With an Apple Watch there are choices but in large parts you are shown one watch from Apple and if it’s not to your fancy your kind of out of luck.

In the middle of this curiosity for mechanical watches I did finally buy one. A very nice Hodinkee collaboration with Timex that is a really nice dive watch. After getting it and wearing it I started to miss seeing my iMessage and other Apple Watch notifications. I know I’m contradicting myself but after wearing it I found myself wanting my Apple Watch again. I thought maybe I’m just into mechanical watches but I shouldn’t buy one. Ultimately I returned it. There are lots of things people are into just cause they find them interesting but never own.

But this wasn’t it and I knew why…

In the middle of developing this new interest I found one brand that really spoke to me. A French micro brand called Baltic. Baltic has in my opinion some of the nicest watches out there. They make the Aquascaphe which is a vintage inspired dive watch which is my current favorite watch style. And most importantly for me they were in a price point that I can afford. To many times I would find a watch I really liked but it would cost thousands and be way out of reach. If I was honest with myself I returned that Timex watch because I knew my heart wanted a Baltic Aquascaphe.

After a few more months of wearing an Apple Watch everyday. I knew that I still wanted to try and see if a mechanical watch could be something I’d enjoy. But I would be going for the watch I really wanted this time a Baltic Aquascaphe. Despite being nervous about its price point at €520.00 I took the leap.

One month into owning an Aquascaphe I am in love with the watch on my wrist.

When it arrived I was so excited to try it on, to feel its weight, and see how it looked on my wrist. Was it gonna be too small or too large? I am a very thin guy and my wrists are tiny so I wasn’t sure how the 39mm case would look on it. I am used to the larger 45mm Apple Watch so I thought maybe it would look more fitting having a smaller watch. As it turns out I feel like the Baltic fits my wrist better than my Apple Watch.

So which one did I get? Like the Apple Watch you can often have several design choices for one watch. I wanted something that was versatile that can be a great everyday watch that always feels modern. That I could dress down or dress up in a fancy occasion. Of the many options they have I felt the fondest for the Steel Bezel SB01. It’s got a beautiful brushed metal bezel that matches the case perfectly. Also matching my titanium wedding ring which is another reason I went for this configuration. It’s thin with a 10mm case height adding 2mm counting the double sapphire glass.

It came with a really nice signed rubber strap, but I ultimately changed it for a perlon strap that I think makes it look better as an everyday watch. This also made it more breathable when wearing it which was a plus. Coming from the Apple world it was really cool to see how inexpensive getting others straps can be. You can definitely spend more money here but this band I think fits the watch perfectly.

The watch face is a very simple dial. It has 3 lines of text on it and it’s glorious. I can’t believe how many watches Iv’e seen that had amazing designs only to be overly cluttered by text on the dial. I know for some watch enthusiasts its not even about telling the time but for me its pretty essential to a mechanical watch. Having this black dial with just the 12 hour mark text and steel bezel containing the rest of the hours make it very readable which is really important to me.

In the month that I’ve owned it I haven’t worn my Apple Watch much. I now greatly prefer it to my fancy computer on my wrist. There is a sense of quietness to it. It only has two functions telling the time and making me happy which it does both quite well. I don’t intend to sell my Apple Watch I will still wear it and enjoy it when I do. But for the most part I like wearing my Baltic more. Its going to be something I hold onto for years to come that I can keep running with some maintenance here and there. I know thats kind of unfair to the Apple Watch but it’s still a compelling point to a mechanical watch.

We only have so much time in the day, in our lives, and my watch reminds me of that. It lets me know if I’m gonna be late or if I have some time to spare. I hope I don’t go down the rabbit hole and buy 20 watches but I am definitely enjoying my Aquascaphe. Its my watch, my default, what I want on my wrist everyday.