This obvious-yet-handsome homage to the Tudor Black Bay Pro is done up in an original colorway, but is that enough to set it apart from the competition of other homages that, frankly, released years ago?
Let's start off with an overview. This off-white colorway gives it a really vintage look, although the date wheel at 3:00 is not color matched. What does match the vintage appeal is the heavy patina that's been applied to all of the lume. That lume: Swiss super luminova. It's a GMT, and inside is the Seiko nh34. The case has a really classic design; it's really stealing a lot of the “sporty-yet-tooly” aesthetic that Tudor originally designed and it works well, of course. There's a reason the original watch sold so well- it's because it looks great. A fixed bezel adorns the dial, with those GMT markings. A solid caseback holds in the movement and on this bracelet, there are screw links which are really nice for swaps. The clasp is branded with Baltony's logo, and two side pushers release it to reveal that it is fully milled. Now it's a tool watch, so you'd want it to have decent water resistance, and there is; 200m. Part of that is probably due to the beefy, screw-down crown that adorns the case at 3:00.
Now that we've done a once over on visuals, let's get into the watch’s specifications and dimensions. A measured 39.5mm diameter actually differs from the listed 39, and an opposite story is true for the Lug to Lug, where my measurement was 47.8 and the listed is for 48.5mm. The watch comes in at 13.4 mm thick which is slightly larger than normal because of that GMT movement. The case is made of 316l stainless steel and so is this bracelet. Over the dial is a sapphire crystal with a very healthy coating of AR anti-reflective coating which works wonders. The Baltony AR coating has been renowned by other watch reviewers as being some of the best that we've seen around for the price, which stands true. Inside is an nh34, which is an automatic Seiko GMT movement. Now this is a recently released movement and, since it has been released, it has stormed form Med the market of affordable watches. If you're going to get an automatic GMT, chances are (in 2024) that you're buying an nh34. Water resistance is rated at 200m, and part of that is due to the screw-down crown. The dial, as reviewed here, is off-white, but it is also available in a Black Version. On that dial, there is Swiss super luminova in off-white. A healthy coating as well! This model has your choice of a 316l stainless steel bracelet or a leather strap in either black or brown, depending on the color way.
Heritage
I've given Baltany a score of 4 out of 10 in the past, and I think that stands true. While some may argue it's a Chinese brand, and therefore there's not very much name recognition I would argue that, in the past couple years, brands like Baltany have only been getting more popular and garnering more of a reputation. Brands like Baltany and San Martin are undoubtedly the top of the food chain in this segment of the market, so I think 4 out of 10 is more than fair.
Value
For Value I, once again, give Baltany a high score for this watch a 7 out of 10 is received. Now, it's no secret that Brands out of China often have really great value propositions; getting away with higher quality materials and better components for less. This watch is no different. The likes of which from Seiko would easily double or even triple the price. I'm not going to give this a 10 because its competitors in San Martin actually have released very similar watches that go for less. The SN054 from San Martin retails for a similar price as this,.but that watch has been out for years, and if you look today the Baltany runs you $220, while the San Martin is on sale for maybe $150. While they do retail for the same because this watch has been released so much later on the San Martin life cycle has already started spinning its wheels and it's already on sale. Now it's also worth comparing it to the original, which is the Tudor black Bay Pro, and that comes in at $4,225, so in that regard either of these watches are excellent value.
Case
Let's talk about the case. Part of the appeal of watches in this segment- tool watches- is that they are quite basic in their construction and are therefore able to take a beating before they look really beat up. While that is nice, it means that this case isn't all that complicated as a result. It's all sort of basic: you see a brushed finish applied almost everywhere, except for bevels which are polished. The fixed bezel’s markings are done in black paint, and the case back is sterile. A large screw-down crown sits in the normal position, and is polished on the end. All in all, nothing stands out as unique, or even particularly interesting, but that doesn't mean it looks bad. This case is only going to score a 7 out of 10.
Dial and Hands
Inside the case is arguably this watch's weakest component: the dial and handset. I'm not saying it took any risks that didn't pay off… because it didn't take any risks. This dial is a flat, neutral color, with Baltany printed on it. The snowflake handset is also the same as Tudor's, done up in polished steel. Large, very patinated sections are painted on and act as the watch’s markers. I think the hour markers are a bit too oversized, which, of course, was probably done on purpose as a design choice. I'm just not sure it fully works. Overall I think the dial is sort of boring, and so I'm going to give it a 4 out of 10 for the dial.
Lume
This watch has heaps of Swiss lume throughout. The glow of its blue Super Liminova can be seen everywhere you'd want it: the hands and hour markers all glow with the substance. The lume is bright, but faded quickly, even though it was still perfectly functional at the end of my testing. There is also no lime present on the bezel markings, which some could have a problem with. The line scores a 6 out of 10.
Movement
Inside here we have a nh34, although you won't be able to see it past the closed case back. The nh34 is an automatic GMT movement from Seiko which is about as standard and reliable as you can get for the money. Any sort of automatic GMT movement was sort of out of question until a couple years ago when Seiko released this, so it's still a bit of a novelty item at the price. It has a 40h hour power reserve, which is bog standard, but really nice to see. Having a GMT on an automatic watch on your hand for under $300 is pretty remarkable so let's give this a 6 out of 10 for movement.
Bracelet or Strap
Moving off the head of the watch and onto the bracelet, we have a stainless steel bracelet. As I mentioned earlier there is a strap option as well, which would be a color-matched leather strap. Let's focus on the bracelet. Polished sides but brushed everywhere else. A fully milled clasp ties everything together, which is really nice to see. I will say sometimes the snap doesn't quite happen on the first try so you might have to press a little bit on that clasp but I think that might be a problem with my unit, so I will not dock it against them. There are three levels of micro adjustment, which is okay. I really would have loved to see five levels or perhaps even an advanced clasp with some sort of glide on it, but that's okay. The clasp is brushed on the top, brushed on the sides, and there is a bevel right there which is polished. On my average size 7in wrist I took off three links, and there are still four removable links remaining, so it really should be able to fit your wrist no matter what and with those three levels of micro adjust you shouldn't have a problem fitting this. If, for whatever reason, you don't want this on a bracelet, it's 20 mm in lug width so you should have a 20 mm strap lying around. All of this means a 7 out of 10.
Fit
On my roughly average 7 in wrist, it's no surprise that this roundabout 40 mm wide, 20 mm lug width watch fits great. That's a pretty standard size nowadays for sports watches, and I have a pretty standard size wrist, so it's no real surprise that this fits well. One thing of note is that that crown does protrude a great deal, so I wouldn't want to wear this watch particularly tight. I think it looks great in the provided bracelet, but it also is plain enough to really work with any strap you want. One thing that may hold this watch back is its thickness.
Versatility
Something I love about tool watches in general, and especially with Tudor designs, is how versatile they are. They are tough enough to be worn anywhere with the water resistance to go with it, and yet subdued enough to fit in anywhere. You can wear it to work and fancy events just as well as you can wear it to the beach. I really think this watch does a great deal in terms of versatility the only reason I could see arguing against that is of course that bright orange GMT hand so I'm going to give it an 8 out of 10 for versatility
Originality
Now the dreaded category for many Chinese Brands: originality. Cutting to the chase, I'm giving this a 1 out of 10 for originality. Put next to the Tudor Black Bay Pro, not a lot to spot in terms of differences. The Tudor is not available in a white or off-white, and also perhaps the indices are slightly larger here. Even things down to the upside down 8 at the 18 hour mark on the GMT bezel are still present in the Baltany. It really is a one to one copy.
Diameter: 39.5mm
Lug-to-Lug: 47.8mm
Lug Width: 20mm
Thickness: 13.4mm
Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel
Strap: 316L Stainless / Leather
Crystal Material: Sapphire w/ AR
Movement: Seiko NH34
Water Resistance: 200m
Lume: Super Luminova
Crown: Screw Down
Color Options: Off White / Black
Heritage: 4/10
Value: 7/10
Case: 7/10
Dial and Hands: 4/10
Lume: 6/10
Movement: 7/10
Bracelet or Strap: 7/10
Fit: 7/10
Versatility: 8/10
Originality: 1/10
WatchScore: 58/100
So what’s the verdict?
Scoring a 58 out of 100 the Baltany S6 073 scores quite highly… in fact a 58 is my second highest score I've given out! Bested only by a different Tudor homage in the Watchdives wd1970s, which is homaging the Tudor black Bay 36, this watch is hard to argue with. It is an extremely accurate homage, which will obviously turn some folks off, but what you get is far better quality than the price suggests. It looks great, is built great, and does very well as a simple, versatile tool watch. The only flaw in this release is its timing. At the time of release, competition have been around long enough to be on sale, which hinders this model… for now. If you are interested in picking up this handsome model, do so at Baltany’s own site here.
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