*NWA* Mr. Jones Watch!

I'm visiting London and I was desperate to get my hands on a Mr. Jones Watch (MJW), Baltic, and Christopher Ward. I ticked off the first two, but the last was a bit too far for me this time (1h+ outside of London).

First, MJW. What a fun experience it was and highly recommend a physical visit over the online store because inventory is separate, you get a cool MJW tote bag, and they have some special watches (more on this below). It's located near Covent Garden in the Seven Dials. It's a very walkable neighborhood with lots of hip stores - Neals Yard, Japanese sock place, "Home slice" a pizza place, wine bars, etc. MJW feels perfect in this 'hood. Colorful entrance as you can see here.

Watches like the left and right with a colorful painting in the back. This, the tote bag illustration, and another wall drawing is done by a woman who assembles the watches! A very authentically cool company.

I ended up getting Ricochet (pinball robots) and I got my friend the number cruncher.

They come with a plain black leather strap, but you can swap straps for free on the spot with any of these. I opted for a nylon dark green strap, while my friend chose the mesh one (super comfortable by the way).

For the Ricochet and a few others, they do different variations to test our colors and textures. They brought out like 10 different Ricochet ones for me to choose from AND it was slightly discounted. There's nothing wrong with them, just not the standard production model.

This is the standard one with a turquoise background, light green palm tree, blue lower pinball machine, and orange/pink robot.

My robot is more sparkly. I preferred the darker green palm tree and a more distinctive upper turquoise background, but you can't customize it.

Example I found online of a purple background. There is a pink one too!

Heres the tote bag and a Seven Dials map/box sleeve that you only get if you physically visit.

Its a fun watch and am super happy to finally have one.

A quick word on Baltic for those that are still on the fence. Almost all WC'ers and YouTube watch folks praise Baltics with few criticisms. I wanted to desperately handle one to really see how they are.

The MR01 was disappointing in person, partly because it was so hyped. The finishing of the dial and numerals were nice, but the polished, plain bezel and the case overall were a bit flat. The watch was also super light and felt "like a toy" as my non-watch shopping buddy commented. The numerals were a bit oversized and while YouTubers describe it as modern, I felt it detracted from the dressiness and classiness of the watch.

I didn't handle the bicompax chronograph, but it looks nice.

The Aquascaphe was, on the other hand, not bad. It doesn't look as nicely finished as the blancpain bathyscaphe (obvious point, but worth stating because in pics the Aquascaphe looks very nice). It had more heft to it, the fauxtina wasn't as bad as I thought, the bezel clicks were sturdy, and crown pulling/time setting were clean (unlike my Lorier!).

The beads of rice bracelet was a bit cheap feeling, but you can't complain given the price. I think I'd keep it on the BOR bracelet. I'm still on the fence on the watch, but I respect Baltic for their designs.

I also tried the new field watch, which is light hearted, but not sturdy feeling. A "dressy field watch" or a "fieldy dress watch" as the SA commented offhand.

I asked if baltic would ever consider a watch with nicer movement and they said by year end or early next year a dress watch with a Swiss movement is coming! Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading and do you agree with my slightly critical take on Baltic? Are you going to come to London to visit MJW?