"Homage watches" is one of the topics that's highly debated in the watch community. Some say it's just one step away from buying clones and they're just piggybacking off the work of others. Some say it's a great way to experience a watch you want on a budget. 

Now I'm not entirely against homage watches because I actually own a lot of them. However, I do have a preference for watches that do not look like exact copies of hype pieces, because I don't want to give the impression that I'm trying to deceive people by pretending to own a hype piece (whether intentional or unintentional).

In today's economy, it's really hard to splurge on a depreciating asset, which let's face it... if you're in the affordable watch space, everything is pretty much a depreciating asset. We all have to be discerning about where we put our money.

So I have these personal rules when it comes to homage watches. 

  1. It shouldn't be an exact copy of a hype piece
  2. It should have good quality quality materials in relation to the price
  3. Bonus points if it's a watch that's no longer made

Which brings us to Baltany's A11 watch!

Note that they sent this watch to me for review and I don't have to send it back. With that said, I'll be giving you the pros and the cons of this watch as fairly as I can.

If you're not familiar with Baltany Watch, they came out around mid-2021 in the Aliexpress space. They set themselves apart by providing good quality watches with smaller case sizes that are relatively affordable. I bought the W10 from them last year and I was happy with what I got. [Link: Baltany W10 Review]

Background about the A11

Back in World War 2, the US military developed the A11 specification to be issued to Allied soldiers. It was nicknamed "The watch that won the war". Produced by different companies like Elgin, Bulova, and Waltham, they had slight variations on how the A11 looked. Typically, they had 32 millimeters case diameter with 16 millimeters lug width. They were also made with chromium-plated brass and acrylic crystals -- they say to save the stainless steel for weapons production. The earlier ones had a white dial but later models were made with a black dial.

Source: https://wornandwound.com/military-watches-world-11-watch-won-war/

There are currently many companies that recreate the A11 watch in different price points, some quartz some automatic. So far one of the companies that have hit that sweet spot between price and specs is Baltany.

Specifications

  • Case diameter: 36mm
  • Lug to lug: 45mm
  • Case thickness: 12.5m (including the domed crystal)
  • Lug width: 18mm

While it doesn't follow the sizing of the original (32mm case diameter), it's been adjusted to modern tastes but still small enough to keep the vintage appeal as people these days are used to 40mm watches.

The case is made with polished 316L stainless steel --  a welcome upgrade from the chromium-plated brass of the original A11. It has a coin-edged bezel which adds visual interest to the case. At the back, there are some engravings but I don't think they signify anything in relation to WW2, since I couldn't find any information about the Specification number.

It has a boxy domed sapphire crystal which has anti-reflective coating. This time, it shows a lot less reflection than last year's Baltany W10.

The star of this watch has to be the dial. It has this flat rock texture look that's achieved with a hint of shimmer. This variant comes in this yellowish shade that, I can't explain why, but reminds me of old high school labs in retro pictures - like paint or plastic surfaces that age through years of chemical exposure. 

The numerals are printed/painted but slightly raised, seems to be due to thick superluminova application. The outer edge of the dial features a minute track with numerals at 10 minute increments.

It uses a sword-shaped hour and minute hand with lume at the center, and it uses a stick seconds hand with lume paint at one third of the way towards the tip. 

The watch comes with a brown leather strap in geniune leather. The buckel is polished, which matches the case. 

For the movement, it's powered by the Seiko NH38 which is the no-date version of the NH35 (a movement popularly used for watches in the $200-400 budget range). The NH38 beats at 21600 beats per hour and it has a power reserve of 41 hours. Also similar to the NH35, it hacks and it hand winds.

It has a water resistance of 200 meters and a screw-down crown, which is overkill for a non-dive watch but very much appreciated.

Pros

  1. The Unique Dial: Out of my years of scrolling through watch instagram, I've never seen a dial color and texture that looks like this. It's unique and I like that they were able to give their own twist to the A11. 
  2. No Ghost-Date Position: If you're unfamiliar with the term "ghost date position", it's when a watch has no date window but uses a movement with two positions: one for the date setting, one for the time setting. Companies often do this, perhaps for cost reasons. Some people get bothered by having a ghost date position so it's very much appreciated that Baltany listened to their customers and used the NH38 for this A11. 
  3. The use of modern materials: Given how the original A11 was made with chromium-plated brass and acrylic crystals, Baltany has made this watch with 316L stainless steel and uses sapphire crystal. Overall, it looks really solid and it feels hefty and well-made, a much better value than those fashion watches charging the same amount if not more. 
  4. Good Lume: While it's not crazy strong, it's still pretty strong. After doing a side-by-side comparison, my two Baltany watches can compete with the Exciton 2 lume. Even after some time, I can still see the thin line of loom at the seconds hand tip.

Cons

  1. After setting the time, sometimes the crown gets stuck: Sometimes (rough estimate 25% of the time), after setting the time, I have to push the crown in twice. At the first click, I don't see the seconds hand move so I have to push it again. Some commenters on the review video have said the crown stem might be too long.
  2. The hands blend into the dial: Because they're using light colored hour and minute hands, it blends into the light-colored dial. If you have bad eyesight this one might be hard to read. I just wish they used hands with more contrast against the dial, perhaps blue or black.
  3. The leather strap on this was just so-so: After a month of using, it's starting to show some cracks. On the bright side, this gives me an opportunity to change it up. I was thinking maybe get a stainless steel beads of rice bracelet so I can take advantage of that 200 meters water resistance.

Given today's global economic situation, be conscious about the exchange rate fluctuations. Take it from me as someone whose home currency lost over 10 percent of its value against the US dollar in the middle of this year (from 50PHP to 1USD to 57 PHP to USD -- and still climbing higher). In my head, I was still thinking of the old exchange rate, so because of my miscalculation, I did not realize I have reached the minimum threshold for customs to charge me.

I hope this written review was helpful! If you'd like to see the video with more footage about the watch, check this out!

If you would like to buy this watch, check out the links below. The one on Aliexpress is an affiliate link, which means if you buy using my link, I make a little commission at no extra cost to you.