Introducing: The Ba111od Chapter 8 Family Legacy Special Editions
Until now, I’ve spent most of my time looking at Ba111od’s integrated-bracelet sports watch, the Chapter 7. With that piece, the brand has created an affordable entry into this popular genre. But what about other models in the lineup? Today, we’ll look at the Chapter 8. However, this is a special pair of watches celebrating the company’s lengthy history of watchmaking in Neuchâtel. The Family Legacy Special Editions are our focus.
While the continuation of Baillod watches was restarted in 2019 by family member Thomas Baillod, the company originally began making watches in 1775. If we look even further back, the family name can trace its roots in Neuchâtel to 1341. To celebrate over 250 years of watchmaking presence in the canton, the small independent company decided to produce two pieces inspired by historic pocket watches. Let’s have a closer look at the Family Legacy Special Editions.
Photo: Peter Wiederholt
First, a look at the pocket watch
To create the Family Legacy Special Editions, the Ba111od team used a 19th-century pocket watch as inspiration. As we’ll see, the hands, dial design, and case inscriptions influenced the modern watch’s design. Even the original crown provided direction.
The Ba111od Family Legacy Special Editions
My pal Jorg originally covered the Chapter 8 back in August 2025. The latest models use the same footprint, but as we’ll see, they take a simpler, more traditional approach to the aesthetics. A 41mm by 48mm 316L stainless steel case is available in bare or PVD 5N-gold-plated formats. The 12.75mm thickness includes a domed sapphire crystal with an antireflective coating. An onion crown, located at 4 o’clock, looks as if it could also be at home on a pocket watch.
While the watches have a dressy appearance and come with crocodile-patterned leather straps, they offer ample protection from the elements. Each has a 5atm water resistance rating, and perhaps the deployant clasp could be swapped to something more appropriate for light usage in water.
Guilloché, sunray, and slender hands
We had the chance to go hands-on with the gold-plated model, and our time with it revealed a rather attractive, albeit somewhat uncommon, watch. You see, it’s not often that a company releases such a traditionally styled dress watch, especially at a relatively affordable price. The Family Legacy combines a guilloché pattern in the center portion of the dial with a sunray finish on the outer section. This surface is also used for the offset sub-seconds display. Black pad-printed ink is used for the logo, Roman-numeral hour markers, Arabic-numeral 10-second indicators, and chapter rings. Slender black hands find a home in the plated model, while blued hands add the right level of visual distinction to the stainless reference. All in all, it’s a well-balanced, clean dial devoid of any date windows or extraneous clutter. From our point of view, it looks expensive.
The Soprod C110 inside
Under the dial, the Family Legacy Special Editions use the automatic Soprod C110. The 33-jewel caliber has a power reserve of 42 hours and runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour. It’s also visible via a screw-in case back with a sapphire display. The movement has striping and a nice level of detailing. The surrounding steel, though, is a lovely engraved tribute to the company’s history. Details include a motif and references to the company’s founding.
Overall thoughts and availability
Ba111od has succeeded in producing an attractive dress watch with a clean, classic design. Some may bemoan the 41mm diameter, but let’s remember that not everyone is interested in a petite timepiece. Regarding pricing, each version is available for order on the brand’s website for a price of CHF 1,110. For anyone considering a watch with traditional characteristics but modern dimensions, the latest Ba111od is certainly worth a look.
