The Baltic MR Moissanite Final Edition

Baltic was founded in Paris by Étienne Malec and launched via Kickstarter in 2017 with a captivating duo of 1940s-inspired models. Onwards and upwards, the brand now has over ten collections under its belt, many with an emphasis on mid-20^th-century aesthetics, and keeps prices in check by outsourcing movements and assembling them in Besançon, France. Released during the pandemic, the MR01 proved another smash hit, channelling an elegant slim Patek Philippe Calatrava dress watch vibe with a thin Chinese micro-rotor movement (hence its name) for under EUR 700. Marking its swansong, Baltic bids (a temporary) farewell to the MR collection with the MR Moissanite, a sleek tuxedo-style dress watch with an inky black dial and a sprinkling of gleaming lab-grown moissanite stones on the bezel.

Following the release of the MR01 with its off-centred small seconds counter at 7 o’clock and applied Breguet-style numerals, Baltic unveiled the MR Roulette in 2024. Respecting the compact dress watch proportions of the MR01 – 36mm x 9.9mm – the MR Roulette took its dial design from a collaboration with A Collected Man with a roulette-style dial. The new MR Moissanite is available with the aforementioned dial configurations, each with a glossy black dial and a moissanite-set bezel.

Honouring the classic Calatrava case with integrated lugs (a novelty in 1932), the 36mm case now features a moissanite bezel. The next best thing to lab-grown diamonds, lab-grown moissanite is composed of silicon carbide (diamonds are composed of carbon atoms), has a Mohs scale hardness of 9.25 (diamonds 10), but a higher refractive index, meaning it produces rainbow colours when hit by light. Set into the bezel, the baguette-cut moissanite stones add a flamboyant touch.

The MR Moissanite Roulette features a double-sector layout with two circular-brushed tracks with white Arabic numerals: minutes on the periphery and hours on the wider track intersected by the small seconds at 7 o’clock. Set against a glossy black background, the sharp, faceted dauphine-style hands, the snailed small seconds counter, and the double tracks add a technical touch that tempers the flamboyant sparkle of the moissanite bezel. Baltic’s designer, Jas Rewkiewicz, describes the tension produced between the disparate elements. It’s a design that is “high & low, refined and in-your-face, dressy and irreverent at the same time”.

The MR Moissanite Classic is, as its name suggests, more classical, adopting the MR01 dial design with a peripheral minutes track, elegant, polished leaf-shaped hands, and beautifully executed, polished Breguet numerals applied to the dial. With its less technical dial, the sparkling moissanite bezel is more at home in this context. Both dials are protected by a vintage-style domed hesalite crystal.

The Hangzhou calibre 5000 is an ultra-thin automatic movement with a micro-rotor, a 4Hz frequency and a 42-hour power reserve. Measuring 30mm x 4mm, the movement fills the caseback. Compared to earlier editions, the decoration has improved, with modern, darkened bridges and plates that match the black dial, featuring grained finishes and perlage.

Each MR Moissanite dial variant is limited to 100 pieces and marks the swansong of the MR collection as we know it, with an update in the foreseeable future. The models on an Italian calfskin strap retail for EUR 1,100 while those paired with a beads-of-rice steel bracelet retail for EUR 1,160 (both prices excluding taxes). More information at baltic-watches.com.