Time+Tide takes on Tour Auto with Baltic
Russell SheldrakeIt’s an adage that gets trotted out time and time again, but cars and watches go incredibly well together. The combination of high octane motors and high horology movements seems to have synergy like nothing else, so when Baltic invited me to join them for this year’s edition of Tour Auto, I had to jump at the opportunity.
For those unaware, Tour Auto is possibly the world’s best vintage car rally taking place today. With a slightly different route every year, but always starting in Paris, it sees 200+ vintage race cars compete across closed road rally stages and racing around tracks as they travel the length of France over the course of a week. This year, roughly 250 vintage race cars were travelling from Paris to Nice over the course of a week, and I was lucky enough to come along for the ride.
I’m writing this with a bit of a heavy heart, as I’m not actually able to complete this year’s Tour. While I sit on the Eurostar back to London, the convoy continues from Clermont-Ferrand and eventually reaches Nice on Saturday afternoon. But the four days that I did get to spend with this hardcore group of motoring enthusiasts was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
As you might have guessed, the reason for my attending the rally was to truly road test Baltic’s new limited edition watch – the Scalegraph x Tour Auto – which has been made to mark another year of the French brand being the official timekeeper of the event.
We started in Paris, inside the halls of Parc de Exhibition where all 250 competing cars, and a few extras, were lined up in what can only be described as a feast for the mechanically minded eye. With more 911s than I have ever seen in one place, not to mention a host of Jaguar E-Types, there was so much to see – I won’t be afraid to admit that I got slightly overwhelmed. Luckily, I had Baltic founder Etienne Malec on hand to walk me around and point out the real stars of the show. While the two Baltic cars were obvious choices, there was a BMW M1 from the 1980s that was drawing a lot of attention, and would more than live up to it once we got driving the next day.
There were also some familiar faces in the crowd, with another young watch brand CEO competing: Thibaud Guittard of Alto was driving his Porsche 904 GTS in a striking Daniel Arsham livery. Even Richard Mille had entered a car – a Lancia Stratos being driven by the founder’s son. But we were there to follow the boys from Baltic in their Lotus Elan 26R and MG MGB FIA as they took on the pack.
This experience was entirely unique for me, and so it makes it hard to describe as I have little to compare it to. But a journey of this epic magnitude, following cars that you would never expect to see in your lifetime as they roar through picturesque French villages is one of the most unforgettable experiences I will ever have. Standing trackside as they battled for position, kissing apexes and occasionally spinning off, you could see just how hard these old cars were being pushed. A prevailing sentiment was just how good it was to see these museum-worthy cars being used for what they were built for. It’s a sentiment I feel we in the watch community can all share, as we love to see watches on the wrist, rather than shut up in a safe.
On the first day, we witnessed an E-Type and 911 come together as they exited a fast, sloping corner on the track – so these drivers are clearly in this thing to win, with no messing about. Just from the sheer noise that they made coming down the home straight, you could tell that these old cars have been well-maintained and perform like new. Now all I need is the flexibility to be able to get in and out of them, and maybe I can join them next year…
Have a wonderful weekend!
Russell and the Time+Tide Team
Watch meme of the week: tariffs, tariffs, and more tariffs
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It seems to have been the topic of the week, and the meme accounts could not ignore it. How much of an impact the Trump administration’s tariffs will have on the watch industry is yet to be seen… But we can still make fun of it.
Wristshot of the week: Cartier everywhere
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It might seem a little self-indulgent of us, but the wrist shots from our Cartier round table at Watches and Wonders last week have really stuck with me, and it’s hard to choose just one from this selection.
Time+Tide shop pick of the week: Baltic Scalegraph x Tour Auto
And here’s the watch! The Baltic Scalegraph x Tour Auto, a limited edition of 400 pieces, hits all the right vintage motorsports notes, with a “big eye” subdial layout and Gallic tones. Under the hood, you’ll find the manually wound Sellita SW510-M, providing for a 63-hour power reserve.
The Baltic Scalegraph x Tour Auto is a limited edition of 400 individually numbered pieces and is now available for pre-order from the Time+Tide Shop. Price: €1,750 (excl. VAT), A$3,350
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week
Kiss, Marry, Kill: we round up our favourite (and least favourite) releases from Watches and Wonders 2025
It’s become a bit of a tradition for the Time+Tide team to wrap up Watches and Wonders and the broader “Geneva Watch Week” every year with a game of ‘Kiss, Marry, Kill’ – but instead of schoolyard crushes or celebrities, we’re picking watches. It’s a great way to get a temperature check on the Week That Was, as well as a way to get a glimpse at the different tastes of everyone on the team. Watch above (and read here for more).
Tudor tease upcoming new Formula 1 team watch at Watches and Wonders 2025
An interesting little piece of Tudor news that was somewhat lost in the noise that was Watches and Wonders 2025 is that there’s a new VCARB team watch on the way from the brand – timed to release around the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. Jamie has the scoop here.
Every new Rolex introduced at Watches and Wonders 2025, including the brand-new Land-Dweller
Looking for a guide to all of Rolex’s 2025 releases? We’ve got you covered. This year, we’ve been treated to an entirely new collection – the Land-Dweller – taking cues from the Oysterquartz models of years past, with a brand-new, high-beat movement to boot. If it’s classic Rolex you’re after, fear not – we’ve got GMTs, Daytonas, and Sky-Dwellers aplenty. And we didn’t fare too badly when it came to our predictions, either… Borna has all the deets here.