Last year I had the opportunity to handle and review the Baltic Shield from Karlskrona Watch Company. The company is located in Connecticut, USA. The Baltic Shield was a huge success from the feedback and comments on the watch forums. Karlskrona is now following up that success with the launch of the Nordic Shield. The Nordic Shield uses the same case, bezel and crystal as the Baltic Shield with some minor improvements. The real eye catching feature with the new Nordic Shield is the classic white dial with it's back and red color details.
The Nordic Shield watch has an all brushed finished case and bezel with a gloss finish ceramic bezel insert and is supplied on a new soft black rubber dive strap. The watch is comes in a nice quality zippered black leather storage/travel case with a printed Karlskrona logo.
Watch Specs:
• Depth rated to 300m / 1000 ft.
• Movement: Seiko NH35 automatic (hacking).
• Case: 316L stainless steel, brushed finished with drilled lugs.
• Case dimensions: 43mm diameter without crown, 49mm lug to lug.
• Case thickness: 13.5mm
• Lug width: 22mm
• Bezel: 120 click unidirectional rotation, ceramic insert, lumed markers
• Crystal: Domed sapphire, anti-reflective coated on the interior.
• Screw down crown and case back.
• 22mm Black rubber dive strap and zulu strap supplied with watch
• Watch comes with a 12 month warranty
Among the many well thought out design features, one I have to mention is the dial and handset combination. The bold hour markers and hands combine to make this one of the most legible watches out there. When it is very important to clearly read the time at a glance, the Nordic Shield easily accomplishes this. Another eye catching feature is the white dial and the way the hour markers are treated. The black outline around each hour marker anchors the marker and gives them excellent visual definition on the white dial. Several watch companies miss this element when printing on light colored dials, the Nordic Shield got it right. Another nice color detail is the subtile use of red for the name text and the tip of the sweeping second hand.
The watch that I received has the brushed finish well executed, the brushed finish is even and very well done. The bezel has firm, smooth clicks to it's rotation. The bezel sits high and allows for a very good grip even with wet hands. The crown at 3:00 is a nice knurled design element on the Nordic Shield and when the crown is screwed down it integrates nicely into the case side without the use of crown guards.
In my opinion the Nordic Shield represents a nice overall build quality and an incredible value for the price. Whether you are an up and coming desk diver or a serious diver and collector, in my opinion, the Nordic Shield has a lot to offer.
Now, let's get to the photos:
