Altitude guide: the 838–880 series and what "front access", "open dial", Hi-Sensitiv and Cardinals mean

Altitude was born in Morteau, in the French watchmaking Jura, and since 2013 is made by the Danish house Delite. It is the brand with the most variants in our catalogue — seventy instruments in brass, chrome and stainless steel — which is exactly why it helps to understand how it is organised. Here is the map.

The series by diameter

• 838 — ø71 mm: the mini. Clock, barometer, thermometer and hygrometer in brass for helm stations, narrow bulkheads and small boats.
• 842 / 843 — 97 mm, front access: brass (842) or chrome (843), with a front-access bezel. Clock, clock with radio silence periods, barometer and thermo-hygrometer.
• 848 — 97 mm, brass: the classic compact series, with the open-dial barometer and the tide indicator.
• 852 — 127 mm, front access: the classic 127 mm format in brass: clock, barometer, baro-thermo-hygrometer, thermo-hygrometer.
• 858 — 127 mm, brass Hi-Sensitiv: the widest range: clock (also with Arabic numerals), Hi-Sensitiv open-dial barometer, tide, moon clock and thermo-hygrometer. Plus its decorated variants: 858NL with the navigation lights on the dial and 858SF with the signal flags.
• 866 — 150 mm: the generous format, including the Cardinals series (866CA) with the compass rose: clock, Hi-Sensitiv barometer, Cardinals barometer.
• 880 — ø224 mm: the large format: clock, barometer, combinations such as the clock with baro-thermo-hygrometer and the 880SHIP pieces with ship motif (signed Barostar).

The terms in the product sheet, explained

Front access

The bezel opens from the front: you can set the time or change the battery without dismounting the instrument from the bulkhead. Practical on board, where the back is usually inaccessible.

Open dial

A cut-out dial that leaves the barometer's aneroid mechanism in view — the capsule and the linkage that move the hand. As decorative as it is precise.

Hi-Sensitiv

The high-sensitivity aneroid capsule Delite fits in its best barometers (also in Schatz 1881 and VION): it reacts to very small pressure changes, ideal for anticipating the weather on board. Read how to read and calibrate an aneroid barometer.

French, English or bilingual dial

The language of the dial wording (e.g. Beau temps / Variable / Pluie or Fair / Change / Rain). Purely aesthetic: the hPa scale is universal.

Radio silence periods

The sectors marked on the clock dial recalling the periods in which, by maritime tradition, silence was kept on the distress frequencies. A nod to classic seamanship.

Cardinals, navigation lights, signal flags

Three dial decorations: the compass rose (Cardinals), the sidelights and masthead light (NL) and the flags of the international code (SF). Same instrument, different character.

And versus Schatz 1881?

Schatz is the solid-brass classic with hinged bezel and ship's bell strike; Altitude is more sober, more varied in sizes and decorations, and somewhat more accessible. Many customers combine both: a Schatz in the saloon and a 97 mm Altitude panel in the wheelhouse. See the Schatz 1881 range and the complete Altitude range.

Hesitating between two series? Ask us — we usually answer the same working day, in English.