The new Baltic Hermetique

S.H. · Oct 26, 2023

hiddevdl
I would agree... What is the point of the watch being mechanical if the movement is that inexpensive? At that price point the movement will probably be very inaccurate and poorly adjusted. I like the design of the new Baltic Hermetique, but I really think Baltic missed it with their 'disposable' movements. Especially considering the €745 the watch costs within the EU with the flat link bracelet (tax included), I would have expected more of its movement than the Miyota 9039 which costs even less than $75 for Baltic.

Welcome to the modern industry. A salaried competent watchmaker is quite expensive by the hour... If the movement cost less than 100 or 200e, it is a no brainer to swap it with an new one, most brands do this. There are no individual serial numbers on low end movements such as seiko 6r, eta 2824 and 2892, miyota,... They are designed to be swapped at service IMHO.

hiddevdl · Oct 26, 2023

S.H.
Welcome to the modern industry. A salaried competent watchmaker is quite expensive by the hour... If the movement cost less than 100 or 200e, it is a no brainer to swap it with an new one, most brands do this. There are no individual serial numbers on low end movements such as seiko 6r, eta 2824 and 2892, miyota,... They are designed to be swapped at service IMHO.

For me, that would take away the charm of the watch being mechanical. A big part of the beauty of mechanical watchmaking to me is the craftsmanship and durability of a mechanical movement. I wonder what the point of buying a mechanical watch at this price point is if the movement is designed to be swapped at service. I am aware this is the case for a lot of small brands in the modern industry, but this is definitely not the case for all (micro)brands at this price point. Serica, for instance, released a new field watch about two weeks ago featuring a COSC spec soprod M100 movement for €990 (tax included) on a bracelet.

https://www.serica-watches.com/produit/6190-denali/

Schermafbeelding 2023-10-26 om 16.42.38.png

S.H. · Oct 26, 2023

So? If a new movement cost less than the cost of labor it will be swapped. Or maybe serviced in a low cost country, it can happen too.

Charm has nothing to do with it, and I don't see how the serica (soprod movement) is relevant... They are two guys pumping out a few thousand watches per year : outsourcing a traditionnal service to a specialized subcontractor is of course possible, but at what cost?

I seem to recall that @Archer had talked about this recently, he is more up to date than me in modern watches.

kohster · Oct 26, 2023

I think there's a place for low cost mechanical movements. Just as one point, it allows a more accessible/affordable price point for people to get into the hobby purely from a collecting standpoint. Low cost movements also allow people who are wanting to get into actually working on the movements themselves a way to start experimenting and learning without as big of a financial risk. Last thing that comes to mind is that there's a place for these lower cost watches overall to be a prized heirloom just as much as the fancier ones. Sentimental value can come into play at any price point, and I can definitely see how in some situations the externals of the watch would play a larger factor than the internals, so just swapping out the movement to give a watch a new lease on life could be totally sufficient for that purpose.

S.H. · Oct 26, 2023

Of course there is... But as a guy who gets paid for it, when I announce that servicing a 4r or 7s seiko for example costs the same base price (except parts, price may vary) than any other 2824 or 2892 watch because it represents the same amount of work, the client often change color hearing that, and go out to buy another one. That said, I do service a few of these each year, even after saying that a movement swap by Seiko at the mothership cost 40% less. Some people value my work, other are specifically attached to their watch, etc.

So all hope is not lost but for the millions of lower cost watches pumped out each year, even if they can be serviced, I wonder what proportion of these are traditionally worked on.

kohster · Oct 26, 2023

I can see a lot of parallels to other industries/products out there. One that pops to mind is cars. Lower cost cars democratized (if you will, not sure I'm in love with using that word in this context, but it's the best I can come up with at the moment) personal transport, allowing tons more people the ability to move about much farther and faster than ever before. And a lot of the same cost/benefit discussions take place in terms of the cost of repairing individual parts/components vs wholesale replacement of entire subsystems, the value on the time of the skilled laborer who's doing service, the overall value (sentimental, collectible, monetary) of the entire object, etc.

sxl2004 · Oct 26, 2023

Nothing wrong with a Myota movement. All mine are working reliably.
Just enjoy the watch. Not every car has a BMW engine 😉

khanmu · Nov 14, 2023

Mine arrived today, it feels robust and well made, and will make a great simple daily wearer/beater:

The new Baltic Hermetique

S.H.

hiddevdl

S.H.

kohster

S.H.

kohster

sxl2004

khanmu

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