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- This Is The New Baltic Prismic And It’s Absolutely Spectacular, Omega Updates The 41mm Constellation With Meteorite Dials, Vulcain Releases The Grand Prix, New From Minase And Revolution x Minase
This Is The New Baltic Prismic And It’s Absolutely Spectacular, Omega Updates The 41mm Constellation With Meteorite Dials, Vulcain Releases The Grand Prix, New From Minase And Revolution x Minase
The Baltic Prismic is really unlike any other cocktail dress watch out there
It's About Time
February 15, 2024
Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. Am I wrong, or is Baltic on a sure-fire path to becoming the best microbrand? The new Prismic might not be for everyone, but you can’t deny it’s unlike anything else on the market.
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In this issue:
This Is The New Baltic Prismic Collection And It’s Absolutely Spectacular
Omega Updates The 41mm Constellation Collection With Brand New Meteorite Dials
Vulcain (Re-)Releases Their Most Elegant Watch To Date, The Grand Prix
Minase’s New Limited Edition Horizon GEN DLC Is Very, Very Black
Revolution Teams Yp With Chopard For A Really Beautiful Lucent Steel L.U.C 1860 Timepiece
Today’s reading time: 7 minutes and 53 seconds
👂What’s new
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When a brand has a fantastic year, like Baltic had in 2023, there are only two things that can happen - they can either have a slump year or go even harder and outdo everythign they’ve done in 2023. And they’ve done a lot. There was the brilliant new Hermétique Tourer line, their incredible colorful take on the field watch. They updated their classic watches - the MR01, HMS 002 and Bicompax 002 - in a wonderful gold/black colorway. And they introduced the incredible Experiments Premier Quatrième Perpétual, a perpetual calendar that was part of the brand new line of haute horology watches and was supposed to be auctioned off at Only Watch.
Seeing as how we’re in Februrary, and Baltic is introducing a brand new collection, they are going for the latter of the two options - going harder and outdoing 2023. The new collection is called Prismic, made up of four super-thin watches with incredible colors and even better shapes and refractions. No wonder, seeing as how the collection is inspired by the geometric shapes and luminous refractions of a prism.
Starting off with the case, it gives away the Prismic’s intent. Sure, it takes on the shape of a traditional dress watch, but Baltic points out that they went more in the “cocktail” watch direction with the flashy dials and actually complicated case construction. The case comes in at 36mm wide, just 9,2mm thick (an even svelter 7,4mm without the double domed crystal) and has a lug-to-lug of 44mm - all together an incredibly wearable offering. The case is made of five distinct parts with different finishes and materials - the bezel, lugs and caseback are made of stainless steel and are embedded onto a Grade 5 titanium case with a slight grainy finish. The bezel shows off subtle finishing differences on two levels: the upper part is polished, contrasting elegantly with the lower part, using circular brushing. The lugs are polished on top and horizontally brushed on the sides. It’s not a sports watch, but a better water resistance than 30 meters would have been appreciated (although, this depends on whether Baltic means actual 30 meters, or just hand washing).
The material, finishes and colors get even wilder when you see the dial. All of the four possible color options have a deep guilloché pattern radiating from the center of the dial. The pattern is interrupted with a brushed sector where Baltic placed the applied and polished indexes which have an almost pyramid-like shape. At 6 o’clock was the seconds sub-counter with a grained dial. Even the hands are absolutely spectacular - dauphine shaped, deeply brushed on top and with highly polished chamfers. I really do suggest you click through to the Baltic website to see more detailed photos. There’s so much to see.
The Prismic collection comes in four colors - purple, green, salmon or grey blue. All of them have a high shine on the dial and look completely unique and unlike anything else on the market. It’s great to see how well Baltic is working with color.
To keep things thin, Baltic is using the hand-wound Peseux 7001 caliber, which is just 2,5mm thick and developed by the Swiss ETA manufacture. It beats at 21,600 vph and has a decent power reserve of 42 hours. Out back is a sapphire caseback, which is a great thing, as the movement is just as beautiful as the dials. Decorations include diamond polished bevels, Côtes de Genève on the bridges, soleillage of ratchet and crown wheel, blued screws and beading of the main plate balance wheel. The watch comes on either an Italian calf leather strap or a beautiful new brushed, braided mesh stainless steel bracelet. It look supple and very retro, with a sliding clasp and a quick release system.
The new Baltic Prismic collection is available for pre-order now and the pre-order window closes in 10 days, on February 25th at 4PM Central European Time. The first batch will be delivered in July 2024 and the second in October. Pricing is set at €990 for the leather strap and €1,050 on the metal bracelet, both without VAT. It’s an incredibly busy watch, but in the best possible way. I think Baltic has another hit on their hands, can’t wait to see what else they have in store. See more on the Baltic website.
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In a lineup of perfectly acceptable watches, the Constellation stands out as the one controversial watch from Omega. Despite being their second oldest collection, proceeded only by the Seamaster, the Constellation, with the claws on the bezel, integrated bezel and very 80s look, is an acquired taste. Some will tell you they adore it, others will say it’s the ugliest thing ever made. Now Omeg has modernized the Constellation in their largest size, the 41mm, with 5 new colors with meteorite dials.
Despite Omega also making a mid-sized Constellation in 39mm, the new meteorite dials come only in the larger 41mm, three in steel and two in gold. Aside from the new dials, it’s still the same Constellation, meaning it measures 41mm wide, 13.5mm thick and with a pleasant 44mm lug-to-lug. The recognisable claws on the bezel are polished and present on both the gold and ceramic bezels and the case has rounded half-moon facets.
There are a lot of firsts in this collection. It’s the first time the Constellation is available in 18k Moonshine gold and the first time the 41mm models are available with a steel bracelet. Depending on the colour, the bezel is either ceramic (black ceramic for the silver version, green ceramic on the PVD green version) or metal, with the Roman numerals in positive relief obtained by laser ablating (for the blue, Moonshine and Sedna versions). The blue version has a bezel in grade 5 titanium.
Speaking of the color, it comes from a PVD coat that is applied to the Muonionalusta meteorite found in Sweden. It’s a mostly iron-based meteorite with a significant proportion of nickel that has a classic Widmanstätten pattern. The available coatings are Sedna PVD gold, Moonshine PVD gold, green PVD or blue PVD. The silver model isn’t PVD coated and has been finished with a galvanic treatment. Depending on the model, the applied markers and the Constellation star are either black PVD, 18k white gold, 18k Moonshine gold or 18k Sedna gold.
Inside the steel models is the calibre 8900 while the calibre 8901 is in the gold models, with the difference between the two being a solid gold rotor and balance bridge on the latter. The movements have a co-axial escapement, a silicon balance spring, double-barrels in series and a Master Chronometer certification. It beats at 25,200vph and has a 60 hour power reserve.
The new Omega Constellation 41mm Meteorite dial watches are available now in a range of prices. The blue retails for €10,300, the silver and green for €10,700 and the gold €46,600. See more on the Omega website.
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Imagine having the luck to be called the Watch of Presidents. That’s what Vulcain is called, seeing as how their watches have been on the wrists of every significant president since Harry Truman. To do so, you need to make an elegant watch. And Vulcain has been doing so for decades. Now, the brand is going through a new renaissance led by French watch-wunderkind Guillaume Laidet, re-releasing some of their greatest watches. Next up on the release docket is the Grand Prix, an incredibly simple and elegant timepiece that Vulcain describes as the epitome of “discreet luxury”.
The new Grand Prix comes in a very simple 39mm wide and 12.7mm thick (could have been a bit thinner) fully round case that has short and sharp lugs. The finishing is a combination of polished and brushed, with a tiny bezel with no markings. On top is a double-domed saphire crystal, water resistance is 50 meters and it’s overall very elegant.
The dial continues the elegance, but also makes it clear that this watch is very retro-inspired. It’s a domed dial that comes in three colors - Champagne, Light Grey or Black - with a semi-glossy sunray finish. The hour markers are polished, applied, very thing and vintage looking. The hands are equally as elegant and retro looking with their pencil shape.
Inside is the Landeron L24 Swiss automatic movement, a clone of the ETA 2824-2, making it very servicable and robust. It beats at 28,800vph and has a 40 hour power reserve. The watches come on either a black or a brown leather strap closed by a pin closure.
Now, the best part of the watch - the price. While Vulcain has made a fantastic comeback, they have gotten a reputation for their high prices, putting them in a bracket of their own. This new Grand Prix, however, is very fairly priced - CHF 1,190. See more on the Vulcain website.
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The Japanese micro brand Minase has become renowned for three things - their precision metalwork, their incredible dials, and highly complex cases like the one on the Minase 7 Windows, a rectangular watch with seven sapphire glass apertures flooding the dial with light. For their latest release, they are experimenting with colors, or the lack of color, with an ultra limited 25 piece Horizon GEN DLC.
Based on the Horizon case, this new version comes in a 38mm wide diameter and instead of the regular silver edition you now get a deep, deep black DLC coat that has a matte finish with several shiny black details. This darkness is appropriate, as the GEN in the name derives from the Romanized spelling of the “玄” kanji character which has many meanings, among which are darkness, depth and mystery.
The dial is equally as black, as it’s a steel disc covered in the same black PVD. All the details are equally as black, creating a black void of levels and shapes. It’s all very cool. Accentuating the dark dial are lume-filled and polished steel hands and a 3 o’clock date display.
Inside is a movement that Minase does not name, but they do say that it’s based on the ETA 2892 ébauche. It’s assembled with MPS lubrication-free bearings, complete with the ETACHRON regular system and Minase’s drill head logo incorporated onto the rotor. Power reserve is 50 hours. The watch comes on a rubber strap with stainless steel deployment clasp and side pushers
The Minase Horizon GEN DLC is now available for purchase and priced at CHF 4,700. See more on the Minase website.
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Right there at the start of the article that introduces Revolution’s new collaboration with Chopard, the incredibly beautiful Lucent Steel L.U.C. 1860, Revolution founder says: “Of all the collaborative projects I’ve made in the past decade, it is this watch, the Chopard L.U.C 1860 in Lucent Steel with untreated gold guilloché main dial, that I’m proudest of.” That is an incredible statement, as Revolution has worked with some of the best watch brands on limited editions. But come on, look at it, it really is incredible.
This is a truly elegant watch, measuring just 36.5mm wide. The case is made out of Lucent Steel, Chopard’s proprietary steel alloy that’s responsibly produced, much harder than regular steel and has a very different shine than other steel cases. It’s a simple affair with straight lugs, a smallish bezel and a domed sapphire crystal on top.
The dial is made out of 18k yellow gold, engraved with a hand guilloché pattern. The hour markers are applied and faceted, chevron shaped and rendered in white gold. At 6 o’clock is a snailed tunning seconds subdial and the hands are also made out of white gold and dauphine shaped.
Inside is the L.U.C 96.40-L caliber, wound by a 22k gold micro-rotor with the L.U.C logo engraved. It has a 65 hour power reserve and COSC certification. Upon a closer look at the back sapphire crystal’s periphery, you’ll be able to see a subtle “REVOLUTION EDITION” imprint. The watch comes on a brown calfskin leather strap.
The new Chopard L.U.C 1860 Revolution Edition is limited to 50 pieces and it’s on sale now. Deliveries will be in batches, from mid-February to mid-April. Price is set at $25,200. See more on the Revolution website.
🫳On hand
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⚙️Watch Worthy
A look at an off beat, less known watch you might actually likewatches
The first thing that struck me when unboxing the watch was the sheer size and weight of it. The 7B ships on a quick-release stainless steel bracelet and includes a nylon and rubber strap. I took it off the bracelet and popped it onto a nylon strap of my own for the initial evaluation. My wrist is pretty average, measuring in at 6.75” and I couldn’t help but notice how large the watch wore and how heavy it felt on my wrist, especially without the bracelet to balance it out. The 7B measures 42.5mm wide by 13.2mm thick with a lug-to-lug measurement of 49mm. On paper, it sounds a lot like a Seiko diver or other similarly chunky watches, but when worn it does feel like it’s taking up all of its specified dimensions. It’s perfect for those looking for a tough, chunky, knockaround watch that you’ll probably never have to worry about. Let’s break down the case dimensions and geometry to uncover how the dimensions translate into real life.
⏲️Wait a minute
A bunch of links that might or might not have something to do with watches. One thing’s for sure - they’re interesting
The shuttered site The Messenger, run by Jimmy Finkelstein and Richard Beckman, spent $50 million in less than a year, leaving 300 employees out of work and a seven-figure bill owed to vendors. This is the story of how to burn cash and alienate people: a look at the Messenger’s implosion
Nuclear weapons laboratories don’t often help solve serial-killer cases. But in the investigation of Efren Saldivar, data from such a lab provided the clinching evidence that led to his conviction on six counts of murder.
“These are organized crime rings that are committing large-scale fraud” is not something you expect to read in a piece about academic journals. But so is the scale of the bribery in the world currently. Frederik Joelving unpacks the issue in this deeply researched tale.
👀Watch this
One video you have to watch today
Remember how everybody believed that 23andMe would put a stop to fatalities from genetic diseases? Or how it would solve unsolved crimes because people would voluntarily send in their DNA? Yeah, that didn’t happen. In fact, 23andMe went from a $6 billion valuation to a penny stock. Crazy story.
💵Pre-loved precision
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