Walking around the floor of the Hands On Horology event a few weeks ago and talking to attendees, one of the watches that was repeatedly brought up as an attention grabber was the Baltic Hermétique. The London show was the first opportunity many guests had to get up close and see the field watch in person, despite it launching in 2023 and from what I heard, the reception was overwhelmingly positive. More than that, at the Baltic stand a rumour was spreading: a Baltic Hermétique Summer collection was on the way. Now that rumour comes to fruition with the release of a quartet of brightly coloured Hermétiques.
The original Hermétique was quite a sombre watch that leant into its field watch sensibilities but the potential of the collection to be fun was seen when Baltic released some textured dial variations inspired by glaciers. Even then, though, the colours remained conservative white and black. However, there’s nothing conservative about the bright orange, yellow, pink and turquoise offerings of the Hermétique Summer.
Specifically, the colours are inspired by the retro nostalgia of 1970s California. The yellow sun of the golden state, the slightly orange tint of sepia photographs, the vivid blue of the Pacific Ocean and the bubblegum pink of bikinis on heat-hazy beaches. While I’m traditionally a fan of orange watches, I actually find myself drawn more to the blue in this instance. It ties in the best to that Americana angle, like a denim jacket or a classic baby blue Cadillac.
Of course, you can throw out that Americana angle completely as it doesn’t actually have any bearing on the watches themselves. They’re still 37mm field watches with integrated crowns and a three-hand display featuring a peripheral railway minute track in black. With the block colour dials you could almost consider this Baltic’s accessible answer to the Rolex Oyster Perpetual, the colours being similar to those on the now discontinued Celebration Dial edition.
Inside the watch, protected by its 150m water resistance rating, is the Miyota 9039 automatic movement. As noted in our article on the most common microbrand movements, the 9039 is incredibly popular because it’s the Japanese brand’s premium ultra-thin calibre, making it ideal for the Hermétique’s slim 10.8mm thickness. It has a 42-hour power reserve, which is the current industry standard for entry-level mechanical watches.
It’s priced at €550 (approx. £470) on FKM rubber strap or €615 (approx. £525) on beads of rice or flat link steel bracelet. For a watch that has the level of chatter surrounding it as the Hermétique, that’s a steal. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in these bright, attractive shades, the Hermétique Summer becomes the next summer craze similar to the Citizen Tsuyosa in 2023. It’s clear that people love colourful watches with clean dials and Baltic have nailed that archetype here.
Price and Specs:
More details at Baltic.
