Baltic’s latest Hermétique has a setting behind it that feels unusually right for a field watch.
The Hermétique The Rift takes its cues from Iceland’s volcanic landscape and arrives as a numbered limited edition in two sizes, including a new 34mm case that broadens the collection’s appeal considerably.
It marks Baltic’s first year as Official Timekeeper of The Rift, the gravel race held in southern Iceland where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
At a glance
- Baltic has released the Hermétique The Rift as a numbered limited edition of 200 pieces per size.
- The watch introduces a 34mm Hermétique alongside the existing 37mm format, with Iceland-inspired colours and heavy use of lume.
- Pricing is €620, with delivery listed for the end of October and the edition not planned for future production.
An Icelandic race gives the Hermétique its terrain
The Rift is not a polished city circuit or a branding exercise in name only.
The Icelandic race sends roughly 900 riders across volcanic tracks, loose rock and unpredictable weather, which gives this edition a practical context rather than a decorative one.
That matters because the Hermétique has always been one of Baltic’s more utilitarian watches, built around compact dimensions, a screw-down crown layout and a straightforward field-watch attitude.
For the seventh edition of the event, Baltic has translated the race’s landscape into a watch that feels closer to equipment than memorabilia.
The dial mixes lava black, moss green and glacial blue
The colour palette is drawn from Icelandic scenery, with black lava, mossy green and glacial blue informing the overall mood.
The dial itself uses a matte white luminescent centre, surrounded by a forged carbon railroad track and framed by two polished steel rings.
The hour markers are filled with Super-LumiNova BGW9 and C3, and some of them extend across both dial sections to give the layout a little more depth than a flat field dial normally offers.
The polished steel syringe hands also carry BGW9 lume, while the 0.5mm-thick indices are designed to deliver a strong glow after dark.
The new 34mm case is the real collector draw
The 37mm Hermétique remains in the line-up for this edition, but the 34mm case is the headline change.
It’s the first time the Hermétique has been offered at that diameter, and Baltic has adjusted the lug width from 20mm to 18mm on the smaller model to keep the proportions in check.
Both versions use a fully brushed 316L stainless steel case with a polished bezel, a double-domed sapphire crystal with internal anti-reflective coating and 150 metres of water resistance.
The case thickness is 10.8mm including the crystal, or 8.3mm without it, so the watch keeps the slim-wearing character that has helped make the Hermétique such an accessible daily option.
An integrated crown helps the watch sit comfortably on either wrist, an important detail for a compact tool watch that’s likely to be worn actively.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Baltic |
|---|---|
| Model | Hermétique The Rift |
| Edition | Numbered limited edition, 200 pieces per size |
| Case size | 34mm or 37mm |
| Case material | 316L stainless steel |
| Lug-to-lug | 42.5mm for 34mm, 46mm for 37mm |
| Thickness | 10.8mm, or 8.3mm without crystal |
| Lug width | 18mm for 34mm, 20mm for 37mm |
| Crystal | Double-domed sapphire with internal anti-reflective coating |
| Dial | Matte white luminescent centre with forged carbon railroad track |
| Lume | Super-LumiNova BGW9 and C3 |
| Movement | Miyota 9039 automatic with hacking seconds |
| Power reserve | 42 hours |
| Water resistance | 150 metres, 15 ATM |
| Strap | Vulcanized FKM Rubber Sport strap in light blue or black |
| Assembly | France |
| Warranty | 24 months |
| Price | €620 |
| Delivery | Listed for the end of October |
Straps, cycling kit and availability
The Hermétique The Rift is fitted to Baltic’s vulcanized FKM Rubber Sport strap, offered in light blue or black and in Small and Medium sizes.
The Medium strap is listed for wrists up to 20.5cm, while Baltic notes that its straps apart from the Mesh are compatible with the 37mm version.
The wider project also includes two cycling-focused extensions, with a hand-painted Specialized Diverge in Baltic colours available on request and matching Isadore jerseys and bib shorts completing the kit.
Both the 34mm and 37mm watches are priced at €620, with EU pricing including taxes and non-EU pricing excluding taxes and customs duties.
For collectors, the smaller case will likely be the one to watch, not simply because it’s new, but because it gives the Hermétique a sharper vintage-leaning proportion without sacrificing the automatic movement, sapphire crystal or 150-metre rating.
The Rift edition works because it doesn’t ask the event connection to do all the work, instead pairing a credible gravel-race story with a genuinely useful new size for Baltic’s compact field watch.
