Late last year Baltic released their first brand new model in a while, joining the likes of the Aquascaphe and HMS 003, the Hermétique field watch. Now, the popular French brand are introducing a limited edition version inspired by the frozen landscapes of glaciers. The new watch is called the Baltic Hermétique Glacier Limited Edition and features an icy textured dial.
Jumping straight to the dial, it has a cool asymmetrical pattern of ridges and recesses created with a stamping method. It reminds me of the Audemars Piguet dimple dial with the circular brushed finishing over top of the textured pattern. Visually, it’s designed to represent a glacier when seen from above, where giant slabs of ice slam into each other creating a dangerous landscape of ridges and crevasses.
There are two versions of the Hermétique Glacier dial being produced, one in white and one in black. Both colours are paired with a peripheral black minute track with overlapping hour markers, giving the piece a slightly retro sector dial aesthetic. The hour markers are made entirely from Super-LumiNova, giving them an intense glow in low light conditions.
These are arguably the most ambitious dials that Baltic have created to date, as they normally favour safe and traditional designs. It’s nice to see them pushing beyond their comfort zone, especially with a collection as visually unique as the Hermétique with it slim 37mm x 10.8mm dimensions and integrated crown. That crown gives the case such an unusual silhouette compared with the vast majority of other field watches while still adhering to the utility focussed qualities of the archetype.
Mechanically the Baltic Hermétique Glacier Limited Edition is identical to the core collection models, housing the Miyota calibre 9039. It’s an automatic movement with a decent 42-hour power reserve and an accuracy of -10/+30 seconds per day. One of its most important specs though is its size, being ultra-thin with a thickness of just 3.9mm to allow it to fit inside the slim case.
In terms of pricing and availability, the watch is €600 (approx. £510) on rubber strap or €665 (approx. £565) on steel bracelet. It’s limited to 200 pieces in each colour, making for a total of 400 pieces. That’s a great balance of accessibility and exclusivity.
The Glacier limited edition is a solid second act for the Hermétique and while it hasn’t reached the same level of hype as Baltic’s other collections in terms of public reception, it should be a serious consideration for any collector. Personally my Baltic hype is currently reserved for news regarding the teased Experiments collection.
Price and Specs:
More details at Baltic.
