Micro Tournament Championship: Baltic Vs. Lorier
Rules:
• Voting is based on the overall brand, not the individual model or sample photo.
• There are no rules on how you should choose, but you are welcome to civilly debate quality, value, heritage, etc.
• Voters are encouraged to look at the hashtags for threads on individual brands or visit their sites.
• Poll closes apx 11PM ET 3/30.
• Be respectful of all the brands and members, even if the vote does not go your way. This is meant to be lighthearted fun to raise awareness of 64 microbrands.
•Ties will go to the brand with the most unique user-owned photos of their watch on this thread.
Good luck and have fun! All posts and results will be tracked under #microtournament
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Watch enthusiast who insists on the next watch being the last.
Northeast, US
Member since
Last active: 13 min ago
6.50” / 16.51 cm
Check Out The Lineups Here:
Baltic
Lorier
Read the Final Four recap and see the updated bracket here.
Gotta be Lorier!!!
😬😬😬😬😬😬
which to vote????
Baltic. Availability and sapphire crystal.
Out of sheer saltiness I vote for Lorier
Let’s hope it’s a close fight !
Baltic…
Lorier…
Aquascaphe…
Hyperion…
😁😁😁
Whatever outcome, I’m just glad and quite surprised that both these brands got to reach the finals. Maybe Lorier would be a better winner, just because they aren’t as marketed in the mainstream as Baltic is at the moment.
Here we go 🙌
Can't argue with the final. Flipped a coin and it went to Baltic. 🤷
I like Loriers but can’t do hexalite, so gotta be Baltic and sapphire for me! (Plus I love my Blue Gilt Aquascaphe!)
Neither brand is really my thing, but Lorier is just a bit more appealing to me.
50/50 (107 votes) split as of this posting
Didn't Baltic win already? Or maybe I mis remember.
I could have sworn that Kurono Tokyo would be in the final, oh well
Just before the tournament started I received a box from Lorier with a thank you card that said "Vote for us in the Microtournament Final! Thank you! L&L". With one of these inside.
I don't know, maybe it got lost during delivery but I received no such bribes from Baltic. So you know where my vote is going. 🙂
All jokes aside two great finalists. And a ton of greats that didn't even get this far. Microbrands add so much flavor to this mental disorder...I mean hobby.
Baltic makes beautiful watches Lorier is more interesting
Time to let it go Lorier as I did when my horse faded away 😞
Yes, they look good and they are affordable. If you wear it once in awhile and never really set the time like many of us do you will be happy with it. If you have worked on the other side and sold them then you have had to deal with so many returns that you hope to never see the brand again.
Yup. Bad reliability in the past for sure apparently.
Meh to both.
Zelos
So..... You want sapphire on your watch or not?
Zelos
🎖🏆🏅🥇😎🥂
Wow surprising honestly. Great lineup though, super cool
Voted Lorier. Congratulations Baltic. Wish Kurono had made the cut. I want a Dornbleuth. 😁
How do I actually get one? Do I have to go to Japan? The website always says sold out 🥲
How do I actually get one? Do I have to go to Japan? The website always says sold out 🥲
Sign up for the email list and follow on instagram. The sales windows are very, very brief (sometimes hours, sometimes minutes) but announced weeks prior. Apart from one model line they only sell online.
Poll closed for voting. Congratulations to Baltic!
Full recap here.
It is primarily the micro rotor cheap Chinese movements that are the problem. If it has a Miyota or Swiss movement you get the expected reliability for the price point (somewhat accurate but shouldn't give you much trouble for a few years) finishing and case is solid for price point, but overall I would rather save up for something a little better myself.
So that one specific model and not the entire brand as you originally mentioned? Got it.
Have multiples of Miyota 9 series for many many years, and it’s a known solid movement for the price. And personally very happy with “micro” brands saying we’ll within the sub $1000 price point. It’s crazy that a chunk of people in this hobby assume that everyone needs to “save up” for something “better”.
Each to their own I guess.
So that one specific model and not the entire brand as you originally mentioned? Got it.
Have multiples of Miyota 9 series for many many years, and it’s a known solid movement for the price. And personally very happy with “micro” brands saying we’ll within the sub $1000 price point. It’s crazy that a chunk of people in this hobby assume that everyone needs to “save up” for something “better”.
Each to their own I guess.
I have known more than one company that stopped selling Baltic because of the return rate for failures. I was being nicer then I needed to be by saying other watches from them might be better. If you have had good luck with them and enjoy the watch then I am happy for you and I hope that continues to be the case.
When I said save up for something better that was not a dig on micro brands, which I own many including Nodus, Weiss, AnOrdain, Fears, Farrer, and Unimatic among others. My permanent watch collection ranges from sub $100 to timepieces that I cannot justify the cost of.
What I meant was pass on Baltic, you may have to pay more for a similar style but it will be worth it. That is only my opinion from my experience.
Everyone is allowed to collect how they want, the only rule should be do not put yourself in financial trouble while doing so.
I wish you good fortune in your collecting journey.
I have known more than one company that stopped selling Baltic because of the return rate for failures. I was being nicer then I needed to be by saying other watches from them might be better. If you have had good luck with them and enjoy the watch then I am happy for you and I hope that continues to be the case.
When I said save up for something better that was not a dig on micro brands, which I own many including Nodus, Weiss, AnOrdain, Fears, Farrer, and Unimatic among others. My permanent watch collection ranges from sub $100 to timepieces that I cannot justify the cost of.
What I meant was pass on Baltic, you may have to pay more for a similar style but it will be worth it. That is only my opinion from my experience.
Everyone is allowed to collect how they want, the only rule should be do not put yourself in financial trouble while doing so.
I wish you good fortune in your collecting journey.
Fair. I wanted clarity on whether it’s the Hangzhou movement specifically or if it’s a brand issue across Baltic you have experienced.
OR if it’s a Miyota 9 series (which Baltic uses a lot) issue that cause the returns. Which, frankly would be quite surprising from everything I’ve read and experienced with that movement.
But if it’s indeed issues across the brand (which I haven’t seen anyone bring up in detail thus far into the tournament), then I appreciate your feedback on possible concerns with owning Baltic.