ReviewIn The League Of Extraordinary Calibres: Baume & Mercier’s New Baumatic Watches
Under the loupe in this edition of The Watch Guide is the magnificent Baumatic movement, the first in-house Calibre to grace Baume & Mercier watches under the Clifton collection
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The hunt for a no-nonsense dress watch with a high-precision automatic movement, in a certain category, is now over with the new Baumatic from Baume & Mercier. The highlight of the watch is undoubtedly the movement beating at its centre—the ‘Baumatic’ BM12-1975A calibre. By incorporating this in-house movement, Baume & Mercier has become the first brand from the Richemont Group to offer a watch with a silicon balance spring and a high-performance escapement; a step in the right direction, if you ask us.
The Inception Of An Ingenious Movement
The horological feat and highly ambitious task to create a mechanical, self-winding in-house movement was always on the brand’s checklist. But this ambition eluded its offerings until the Baumatic collection’s release due to logistic issues or other roadblocks time and again. The stars finally aligned for Baume & Mercier, and a partnership with the newly-founded Richemont Research & Innovation teams and the state-of-the-art facilities of their ValFleurier manufacturing unit led to the inception of the brand new Baumatic movement. The innovative process that came to fruition this year has already been declared a major success courtesy the extremely competitive price that Baume & Mercier offers the Baumatic collection at.
The series has some mighty impressive technical features such as the silicon escapement and a grand five-day power reserve. The team at Richemont, after extensive research, came up with the TWINSPIR™ technology, which is ‘applied to a new hairspring with a composite structure, combining two cores of silicon’. The movement takes into account the watch wearer’s ease. With reduced friction between the components, the sparing use of lubricants cuts down the need for frequent servicing. The overall anti-magnetic movement, in a nutshell, is extremely efficient, reliable and accurate to -4/+6 seconds per day.
Stellar Variations
The brand has introduced not one or two, but five new, diverse watches under the Baume & Mercier Clifton collection. Exuding a contemporary appeal, while still honouring traditional watchmaking ideals, these timepieces are hugely successful among all watch connoisseurs, new and seasoned alike. The Baumatic collection has a particularly elegant steel case measuring 40mm in diameter, without compromising on the Clifton’s masculine persona. The polish on the case is refined, giving it a true luxe appeal, which translates to the curvaceous lugs as well and domed sapphire crystal over the dial. The contemporary stylised watch has dial options in pristine white or intense black, and legibility is key, heightened by the faceted and applied baton hour markers. Complementing the urban man’s character, the long, slender lancet hour and minute hands sweep across the dial, where a functional date window marks its presence adjacent to three o’clock.
A gorgeous movement like the Baumatic’s can’t be kept in the dark, behind solid steel, hence it’s no surprise that the Swiss watchmakers have wisely picked a transparent caseback for all their models. A durable alligator leather strap with a pin buckle is the perfect modern spin to a 1950s look. The plethora of colour options that the leather straps are available in—dark blue, deep black or warm brown—are all easily interchangeable. There is also one variation available in a solid five-row steel bracelet with a triple folding clasp.
A Cut Above The Rest
A watch that needs a special mention is the Baumatic 5 Days Chronometer for its sheer technical advancement. The Baumatic movement powering this particular variation is chronometer certified, joining the league of watches from brands such as Rolex, Breitling, among other elite brands. The COSC certification speaks to the extreme accuracy of the movement, which operates at a frequency of 28,800vph. This Baumatic is water resistant to a decent 50m mark, and is accompanied with a black leather strap featuring slate-grey stitching.
The Clifton Baumatic line is the brand’s first collection with an in-house movement. A brand new offering, this powerhouse of a series is here to stay, and though we can expect Richemont Group to extend the accurate calibre to other brands, for now, it sits exclusively in the Baumatic series.
Share your thoughts on the supremely advanced Baumatic collection in the comments section below. Head to Ethos Watches Boutiques to shop for the latest watches.
