Vintage Bubbleback And Modern Sturdy Baltany Watch

A Quick History of The Bubbleback

While Rolex wasn't the first watch brand to produce an automatic movement, its Bubbleback was undoubtedly the first successful automatic watch. Rolex patented its first self-winding wristwatch in 1932 and introduced the Bubbleback a year later, in 1933. Despite the ubiquity of the name, Rolex has never engraved "Bubbleback" anywhere on a watch, nor has it officially recognized the nickname.

Nicknames are often given to watches because of their unusual appearance or colors, "Bubbleback" was named due to the case's rounded back and tall protrusions, which were meant to accommodate the rotor of the automatic movement without increasing the overall dimensions of the watch. "Bubbleback" is also known as ovettone or "Little Egg" in Italian and "Little Coffin" in Cantonese Chinese, both because of its unique appearance.

As the technology of the automatic movement improved, the movement became thinner, eliminating the need for Bubbleback’s unique curved case back, and the case design was improved as well. The Bubbleback line of watches was only produced for about two decades, it was discontinued in 1955. Most of the Bubbleback models during this period are more straightforward. Some later variants included a date function, which eventually evolved into the brand's signature Datejust.

An important part of Rolex history, the Bubbleback is one of the most important watches ever produced by the Rolex brand and remains a hot-selling item on the pre-owned market.

Baltany Bubbleback Watch Design Thoughts

A lot of people think that the Bubbleback's design looks dated, and yes, this model doesn't get as much recognition and acclaim as many of the other coveted retro models from the Rolex brand. The protruding back of the Bubbleback is due to the need for the function of an automatic watch, but it once had a prominent position and identity in the history of the watch. It has become an unmistakable part of the retro elements of the watch. When it comes to the Bubbleback, we will always be able to recall the history and stories of many watches. Baltany has reintroduced the Bubbleback with a modern approach, it is also a tribute to this iconic piece in the world of horology.

During the designing process, Baltany considered not only continuing the classic shape of the bubble back in the shape of the case but wanted to improve the wearability of the watch. We came up with a design which adjusted the case from the original 34mm to 36mm, and by arching, and flattening the case appropriately of the case back, the case uses a combination of sanding and polishing effects to create a more visually appealing watch.

In the choice of dials, we certainly took plenty of inspiration from the vintage designs, but to be called a Baltany’s Bubblecask, we’ve infused certain elements of our own as well. The remade of the Baltany looks for inspiration from the old but not exactly repeating the same old designs.

Vintage things can often remind us of the good old days and come along with unavoidable nostalgic feelings. What color gives the vibe of old and retro? We asked the supplier to deliver samples about a dozen times, and ended up choosing black, warm dark brown, and vintage blue with a vintage feel, and we believe that once a wearer put a Baltany bubble back watch on the wrist, once can easily recognize the good old times.

How to make this Baltany bubble back watch more durable, so that wearers don't have to worry about daily use, A daily beater has to be tough! We have optimized the configuration by thickened micro-dome sapphire glass, coated with AR film, and by giving it a screw-in crown and case back. Every watch has been tested for water resistance in up to 20 ATMs. By constructing the case with 316L stainless steel, all these combined make this Baltany Bubbleback an excellent tool watch.

Precision and legibility are paramount. The luminous light we use is the original brand of Swiss super-Novalumin butter-colored luminous light. Among retro watches, this luminous light is the best choice in our own opinion, bright and yet long-lasting. For this particular design, we came up with two models: a sub-second and a big three-hand. We aim to produce high-quality watches that more people can afford with a market-proven movement. Pricing is critical due to the sensitivity of the potential wearer. NH35 is a good choice in this regard. But the sub-second movement conforms to this size ratio, and we don't much of choices. Seagull's ST1701 is the only movement that can fit the bill. It is not as proven as the Seiko NH movements, It is being used in our dirty dozen mechanical watches, so it is tested somehow with favorable feedback. To ensure the reliability of the movement, we tested and adjusted each movement twice before pushing it on the market. Although the overall performance is slightly weaker/not as good as the NH35, overall it is still a very solid movement.

Introduction of Baltany Bubbleback

Rolex bubble back has tons of models such as California dials, Arabic numerals dials, Roman numerals dials, three-dimensional scale dials, classic Mercedes-Benz hands, ordinary pencil hands, and more.

To meet the preferences of potential buyers, Baltany bubbleback watches have also launched a variety of them to meet probable demands:

The big three-pin retro automatic mechanical bubble back watch is powered by the NH35 movement. It has three dials: brown, black, and blue. There are two combinations of California dial + Mercedes-Benz hands and dot dial + pencil hands.

The sub-second automatic mechanical bubble back watch is powered by the Seagull ST1701 movement. It comes in two colors, blue and black. This blue dial is particularly popular, and the third batch of watches is currently on sale.

There are also three bubble-back dress watches, which are a large three-pin automatic watch, a sub-second automatic version, and a quartz sub-second version. In the bubble-back version of the dress watch, Baltany watches remade the dial of the linen pattern, and the quartz bubble back is an enamel yellow dial.

Below is a catalog, link, and specifications for all current styles and colors of Baltany bubbleback watches.