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Baltic’s Hermétique feels like a little bit of a secret weapon to me. It’s riffing on vintage watches in a much more subtle way than many of the brand’s earlier releases, and has proven to be a great canvas for creative dial variations and is, honestly, one of the only bronze watches I actually like. When it was announced back in 2023, there was some grousing about the case size, but putting the watch on makes it clear that 37mm is exactly right for a watch in this style. It’s sleek (thanks in large part to the inset crown) and thin, and can be dressed up or dressed down – it’s just a very solid watch at a very easy to digest price point (check out Ed Jelley’s hands-on thoughts from the original launch right here). And while there’s a timeless, almost generic (in a good way) quality to the Hermétique, you can’t really fault Baltic for wanting to capitalize on the seemingly irrepressible desire of watch lovers to adorn their wrists with loud colors in the summer months. Hence, we have the new Hermétique Summer collection.
These are watches that do exactly what it says on the tin. They’re the same Hermétiques we’ve become familiar with, but with dial colors that pop up when you search the #summerwatch hashtag on Instagram. Specifically, Baltic tells us they are drawing inspiration from the “California of the 70s.” Not being a Californian, nor alive in the 1970s, I can’t really speak to this personally, but as an evocation of a summery ideal, I think these dials work rather well.
The colorful center sectors of each dial have a glossy finish, and are available in pink, orange, yellow, or turquoise. The color is balanced by an out railway sector in black, with a brushed finish. Like other Hermétique references, the hour markers are solid blocks of BGW9 lume, which is the most obvious contemporary flourish in a watch that’s otherwise been given imbued with quite a bit of vintage charm.
The 37mm case is in stainless steel, and affixed with a double-domed sapphire crystal. The watch is only 10.8mm tall with the crystal, and just 8.3mm thin without it, so it’s truly thin and easy to wear. It has also a compact visual presence thanks to the inset crown mentioned above, which helps to give the watch an uncommonly symmetrical appearance that is almost disconcerting at first, until you realize what they’ve done. The case is water resistant to 150 meters, so it can be worn worry free in all but the wettest environments (and, honestly, probably in those too).
While you can purchase the Hermétique Summer watches on the same stainless steel bracelet Baltic has used in previous releases, I think for the full summer effect you really need to opt for the color matched vulcanized rubber strap. Baltic, of course, is not the first brand to use a brightly colored strap to add some verve to an already colorful dial, but it’s an effect that really works and takes something that could conceivably be toned down in certain situations to a look that is constantly demanding that you retrieve your sunglasses. Isn’t that what a summer watch is all about?
The new Hermétique Summer collection is available now and starts at €550 on a strap. Baltic
