The classic field watch has served as a blank canvas of sorts over the years for all kinds of brands in the microbrand space. It?s a sneakily challenging format to iterate on. Like the dive watch, it?s one of those platforms that was, arguably, perfected right out of the gate. And, like the dive watch, those new iterations tend to work best when a brand doesn?t try to reinvent something that isn?t broken, but simply puts their own unique stamp on a traditional design. That?s what Baltic seems to be going for with their new collection, introduced today, which they?ve dubbed the Hermétique. These first four ?Tourer Edition? variants take classic field watch tropes but spin them through Baltic?s own sensibility, which itself has become only more clearly refined in recent years as the brand has continued to mature. 
What I?ve always liked about field watches is that they are relentlessly unfussy. They are the objectification of the idea of ?neutral? in watch design. Simple to wear, simple to read, unobtrusive, but always good looking in their purest form, a simple arrangement of Arabic numerals against a high contrast dial. Baltic has taken the approach with the Hermétique leaning into those things that make field watches field watches, but have added tasteful accents that tweak the formula just a hair. First and foremost, these watches seem to be designed to disappear. The stainless steel cases come in at a very traditional 37mm diamater, and Baltic has taken the ...