Few hobbies work better in tandem than horology and motorsports. Impressive dials, colorful flamboyance, and calculated performance? Check and check. While many a watchmaker has created an automotive-inspired watch, however, how many have a bonafide racing team with which to test their timepiece?
The Baltic Scalegraph Tour Auto Limited Edition is both a celebration of the French brand’s third year as the Tour Auto official timekeepers, and a tool for the Baltic Racing team to take with them in the cockpit as they participate in the very same competition. The race takes participants—driving vintage performance cars—from Paris to Nice in different touring segments, all of which are open to spectators. The Baltic Racing crew will be driving a 1963 Lotus Elan 26R and a 1965 MG B—of course, they’ll also be sporting the new Scalegraph Tour Auto in a high octane field test for the sports chronograph watch.
In a nod to motorsports watch designs from the 1970s, the titular Scalegraph features a “Big Eye” layout, with off-white subdials at the 3 and 9 o’clock positions, making the minute sub-counter more legible at a glance while racing. A blue aluminum tachymeter bezel encircles the lighter blue dial, which in turn has an outer minutes railway in a middle-toned hue of blue, creating gentle layers of contrast directly inspired by the colors of the original Tour de France Automobile.
A large silver 12 market sits at the top of the dial with a midcentury sans serif typeface that continues with other text details on the subdials and the bezel. Hour markers are concentric index lines connected to Super-Luminova BGW9-coated dots in the railway, giving the appearance of a searing touring route that tracks around the face. Smaller details include sharp, Lumiova-coated hour and minute hands, with a metallic dark blue seconds hand. Blue and red concentric stripes also feature on the 30-minute subdial, while a light blue cross sections out the minute counter. A double-dome sapphire crystal with internal anti-reflective coating caps off the vintage look.
The Scalegraph Tour Auto is wrapped in a 39.5mm 316L steel case, measuring at a robust 47mm lug-to-lug, giving the watch a brawny appearance on the wrist. The 20mm lug width accommodates the beads of rice or steel flat link bracelet, and additionally-included navy blue Alcantara strap. Screw-down pushers and an engraved crown help give the Tour Auto 100 meters of water resistance, just in case you careen off the road and into a pond while racing to the finish line. Underneath it all is a manual-winding Sellita SW510-M movement that promises a 63-hour power reserve—plenty of time to take a few spirited laps followed by champagne on the podium. An engraved Tour Auto 2025 logo and numbering out of 400 adorn the caseback.
As an avid auto enthusiast who frequently struggles to pick the best watch to wear on each Sunday drive (it’s all about vibes, folks), I’m intrigued by Baltic’s bold marriage of motorsport inspiration and actual application with the Scalegraph Tour Auto. The Baltic Racing team’s Lotus and MG should also have some dashing livery to match.
Limited to 400 pieces, the Baltic Scalegraph Tour Auto Limited Edition will retail for roughly $1,909 (after currency conversion). Sales launch at the start of the Tour Auto 2025 on April 7th. Baltic
