Description
Baltic has taken its Hermétique field watch to Iceland and come back with the most elaborate dial the model has worn. The Hermétique "The Rift", announced on 9 October 2026, pairs a forged carbon outer track with a matte white luminous centre, and — the more significant news for a lot of people — introduces a 34 mm case alongside the existing 37 mm. Two hundred pieces per size, EUR 620 excluding tax.
The reference point is Iceland's volcanic rift: black basalt, moss green and glacial blue, translated into a dial rather than printed onto one. At this price, with this level of dial construction, it is the sort of watch that makes the sub-EUR 1,000 conversation uncomfortable for everyone else.
Design
The 316L stainless steel case is fully brushed with a polished bezel, 10.8 mm thick including the heavily double-domed sapphire crystal and 8.3 mm without it. The 34 mm measures 42.5 mm lug to lug on 18 mm lugs; the 37 mm measures 46 mm on 20 mm lugs. The crown is integrated and flush-mounted, which keeps it out of the wrist and lets the watch be worn on either hand — a Hermétique signature rather than a Rift one.
The dial is the reason to buy it. A matte white central section is fully coated in Super-LumiNova BGW9 and framed by polished steel blades, outside which sits a forged carbon sector carrying the railway minute track. The hour markers are applied solid blocks of luminous material 0.5 mm thick, in moss green C3 and glacial blue BGW9, with blue Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 and green batons between. Hands are polished steel syringes filled with BGW9, with a lollipop seconds hand. The strap is a vulcanised FKM rubber tropic-style sport strap, and the caseback is engraved "HERMÉTIQUE THE RIFT" with the edition number out of 200. Water resistance is 150 m.
Specifications
- Case material: 316L stainless steel, fully brushed with polished bezel
- Case diameter: 34 mm or 37 mm
- Case thickness: 10.8 mm with crystal, 8.3 mm without
- Lug-to-lug: 42.5 mm (34 mm) / 46 mm (37 mm)
- Lug width: 18 mm (34 mm) / 20 mm (37 mm)
- Crystal: heavily double-domed sapphire
- Crown: integrated, flush-mounted
- Water resistance: 150 m
- Dial: matte white Super-LumiNova BGW9 centre, forged carbon outer track with railway minutes, polished steel framing blades
- Indices: applied 0.5 mm solid luminous blocks in C3 (moss green) and BGW9 (glacial blue)
- Hands: polished steel syringe with BGW9, lollipop seconds
- Movement: Miyota 9039, automatic, 24 jewels, no date
- Functions: hours, minutes, hacking seconds with stop-seconds
- Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve: 42 hours
- Accuracy: rated -10/+30 seconds per day
- Strap: vulcanised FKM rubber tropic-style sport strap
- Limited edition: 200 pieces per size (400 total)
- Price: EUR 620 excluding tax (EUR 744 including VAT), same for both sizes
- Announced: 9 October 2026
What's Exciting
Forged carbon in a dial at EUR 620 is the headline, but the applied 0.5 mm solid luminous blocks are the better detail. Most watches at this price print lume into a recess or paint it onto a flat marker; cutting and applying solid blocks of Super-LumiNova as the markers themselves is a construction normally found several thousand euros higher, and it is what gives the dial its depth when the light goes. Running two lume colours — C3 green and BGW9 blue — against a fully luminous white centre is a three-layer dial in all but name.
The 34 mm is the quietly important part. The small-watch revival has produced plenty of 36 mm compromises and very few genuinely small tool watches with real water resistance, a modern automatic and a proper lume job. A 34 mm case at 42.5 mm lug to lug, 150 m and a flush crown is a specification that simply did not exist at this price last year. The Miyota 9039 is the sensible choice rather than the exciting one — 4 Hz, hacking, no date, no ghost position — and at EUR 620 nobody should be asking for more than that.
History
Baltic was founded in Paris in 2017 by Etienne Malec, starting with a Kickstarter for the bicompax chronograph and growing into one of the most consistently well-judged microbrands in the business. Its line has stayed narrow and vintage-literate: the Bicompax, the Aquascaphe diver, the HMS, and more recently genuine ambition with the Spaceone collaboration and the Tour Auto rally timers.
The Hermétique arrived as Baltic's take on the mid-century field and "hermetic" waterproof cases, with its distinctive flush crown and tall domed crystal. The Rift continues the brand's habit of tying editions to places and events rather than to celebrity — and this one comes with a cycling story in Iceland behind it. Adding a 34 mm to the collection, rather than another colourway at 37 mm, is the more interesting decision.
