Introducing: The Baltic MR Roulette

What We Know

Baltic has brought back a not-so-old classic with the new MR Roulette. "MR" stands for "micro-rotor," and the watch shares a lot with Baltic's super-successful MR-01 (their first Calatrava-style micro-rotor release). The stainless-steel case is still 36mm by 9.8mm (with 44mm lug-to-lug), with vertically brushed bezel and drilled lug holes. Inside is a Hangzhou CAL5000a micro-rotor movement with 42 hours of power reserve. The difference is in the dials and hands, but it adds a fresh and sportier look to the lineup.

These aren't exactly a new design for Baltic. They previously did the same design in a vibrant blue with A Collected Man and one with an ancient Chinese font. The new dials stick to the same base colors – black, silver, salmon, and blue – and all but the black dial have a grained main dial with two brushed areas: the inside hour track and outside minute track with hashmarks. The running sub-seconds dial, placed at 7:30, has a circular guilloché. The black dial has a glossy center finish. All models use a serif font designed by Baltic, with the sectors on the hour track giving it the "roulette wheel" design and name. While that design might be new to Baltic, it's a design used by other brands (mainly Patek) for dials in the past. Both the black and blue models use a printing color that's slightly yellow-hued, from what I can tell from the pictures.

The models all launched on July 4 but they're not limited editions so don't worry about being too late to the party. The first 100 pieces of each color are numbered, while the rest will just be standard models like the current MR-01. Prices are €565 on leather strap and €605 on a variety of steel bracelet options offered by Baltic.

What We Think

Let's rewind three years. The release of the Baltic MR-01 in 2021 wasn't the first I had heard of Baltic, but the affordable price and vintage styling convinced me to grab one of the watches on a whim. The one I wanted – the salmon dial – was already sold out, so I snagged a blue dial instead. I really loved the Breguet numerals and feuille hands and it was a perfect watch for me at the time. One qualm that I had was that the Hangzhou movement's micro-rotor really felt rattly and loose on the wrist – something I've experienced not just on my example but others. That, of course, is what you get with a very affordable movement and something that probably won't surprise many people.

These new dials might have the same base color, but these colors hit different with the new dial design. That's possibly because a roulette dial is sportier than the last release. While the salmon and blue were my favorites on the MR-01, this time I'd lean toward either the silver or the black dial. With the bolder dauphine hands and extra text on the dial, the monochromatic color seems to work best, to my eye. Keep it on a grey or black strap and you have a solid Calatrava-style watch to wear.

The Basics

Brand: Baltic
Model: MR Roulette

Diameter: 36mm
Thickness: 9.8mm
Lug-to-Lug: 44mm
Case Material: 316L Stainless steel
Dial Color: Blue, silver, salmon, or black
Indexes: Printed "roulette" dial layout with Arabic numerals on grained or glossy dial
Lume: None
Water Resistance: 30m
Strap/Bracelet: Italian leather strap or metal bracelet