12 QUESTIONS ONLY TO…
ETIENNE MALEC

ETIENNE MALEK

Founder BALTIC WATCHES

Etienne MALEC, 28 years old, is an entrepreneur and the founder of BALTIC Watches. He is living in Paris.

His passion for watches comes from his father who passed away when he was 5. His collection was one of the only informal connection between him and his father, one of the only way to get to know him better. After 10 years of true love for vintage watches, he decided to launch his own brand, because he felt that modern watches were lacking of … something. After two years of research & development, BALTIC was born.

Visit BALTIC WATCHES website

1. Do you remember your first watch?

Well I would say the first was the one I found the most appealing in my father’s collection, the one I worn first because she had « something » : a panda LIP chronograph with a Venus 178. A perfectly proportioned dial with this three big eyes looking right at you. This watch has really something special, a unique charisma that drove me into it at the first sight.

2. The 3 most iconic watch models?

LONGINES 13ZN, OMEGA Speedmaster 2998 & ROLEX GMT .

These one are even well-known because of their rarity, their timeless design or their high-end technicality but they have in common a huge presence. Some would say that iconic models have to be easily recognizable, but I’d rather prefer to characterize them as what they brought for the horology for itself (At least for my POV). The GMT has brought the myth of traveling, the Speedmaster to explore places where nobody has been before, and the 13ZN has shown the best we could technically & aesthetically do with a chronograph.

3. A noteworthy anecdote with one of your watches?

If I had never opened this old suitcase full of watches owned by my father and never worn that LIP at the age of 15, maybe I would never had developed this sort of love for watches. This watch was the trigger of something that I couldn’t even imagine few years later.

4. Are you more modern or vintage?

Well, I would say vintage… But if I’m running BALTIC today it’s because I never found what I wanted to find in the modern industry today. So both work!

5. I love Speedmasters because …

Speedmaster could be a guidebook to make what you could call a perfect watch recipe : a perfectly designed dial in a remarkably well engineered watch. You add a bit of moon dust, and you keep the recipe consistent and unchanged until today.

6. Your favorite Speedmaster?

The reference CK 2998-1 represents for me the best of the Speedmaster since its creation in 1957. It’s the absolute elegance of the Speedmaster. It does not have the same « professional » aspect as the successive references but I always found it perfect with its alpha hands.

7. A single personal item you would take with you for a long stay on the Moon?

I would bring a vinyle player with one record: The Dark Side of The Moon. Then you can properly learn how to fly!

8. You just won the lottery. Do you first buy a sports car or call a financial advisor?

I would probably go for a DB4 Zagato or a 250GT Lusso, but the lottery has to be big. Financial advisor…? Too young for that.

9. Where would you spend the next 24 hours if you had a teleporter?

I would try to go fifty years in the future, and see how the society has evolved.

10. How many times a day do you watch … your watch?

From 0 to 150 times, depending on what I need to do. Manipulating watches all day long is now a part of my job with BALTIC, although sometimes I just let my watch on my desk trying to not think about it for few hours.

11. The last watch you bought?

The last watch I bought was a small 34mm TUDOR without date from the 60’s. So comfortable!

12. What’s on your wrist today?

A BALTIC panda chrono in limited edition that we will launch soon.

Thank you Etienne.