The Swiss maison d’horlogerie Baume & Mercier, founded in 1830, has had a proud track record of producing watches that consistently embody an ideal of excellence and affordable luxury for everyday living. In January 2018, at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Gèneve, Baume & Mercier revealed its very first in-house mechanical self-winding movement, the Baumatic calibre.
Based on this Baumatic calibre, the maison has released the Clifton Baumatic collection, comprising five new models that epitomise the brand’s masculine identity while offering an array of outstanding characteristics that raise the bar in watchmaking.
Designed “for the confident and urban man,” the collection features an immaculate white or intense black dial. The understated, easy-to-read display features slender riveted hour-markers, slim lancet hands and an oversized date aperture at 3 o’clock. Topped with a domed sapphire crystal, the minute track – in anthracite grey or white – follows the perfectly proportioned curves of the 40 mm polished or satin-finished steel case. Water-resistant to 50 meters, the transparent case back reveals the new Baumatic BM12-1975A calibre.
This timepiece attaches to the wrist with an alligator strap that fastens with a pin buckle. The strap is easy to change without the need for a tool and comes in dark blue, deep black or warm brown for the two-tone version. A five-row bracelet in polished or satin-finished steel, which fastens by means of a triple folding buckle with security push-pieces, is also available.
The Baumatic calibre, on which the collection is based, tackles some of the real problems encountered by self-winding watches, and provides innovative solutions in four distinct fields: It has a high-performance of 120-hours or 5-days power reserve; can be adjusted to a precision rate of -4/+6 seconds per day and offers a stable level of precision throughout the whole of the power reserve; is resistant to magnetism to at least 1,500 Gauss, a resistance 25x higher than the current ISO norm; and the quality of the various lubricants used make it possible to prolong the maintenance service intervals beyond the generally recommended five years.
The Clifton Baumatic collection is an epitome of advanced watchmaking that fulfils every aspect of Baume & Mercier’s motto: “Accept only perfection, only manufacture watches of the highest quality.”
