Baume & Mercier () is a Swiss

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watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

founded in 1830. It is a subsidiary of the Swiss luxury conglomerate

Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jew ...

History

Baume & Mercier was founded as "Frères Baume" in 1830 by brothers Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume, who opened the watch dealership in Les Bois, a village in the

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. The Swiss watch manufacturer established a branch in

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in 1851 under the name "Baume Brothers", which led to expansion throughout the

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. By the late 19th century, the company had an international reputation, and its timepieces had set accuracy records and won a number of timekeeping competitions. In 1918, company director William Baume partnered with Paul Mercier to found "Baume & Mercier" in

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. The firm became specialized in manufacturing

wristwatch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

es, particularly models in unconventional shapes. In 1919, Baume & Mercier was awarded the Geneva Seal, the highest international distinction of the time for watchmaking excellence. During the

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, the brand embraced

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. In the 1940s, Baume & Mercier launched a number of modern watch collections, most notably the 2 Register

Chronograph A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has hour and minute hands on the main dial to tell the time, a small seconds hand to tell that the watch is running, and ...

. Early examples of this model with the double-caseback are rare and highly sought after, often fetching more than double the price of a later model. In the 1970s, Baume & Mercier introduced shaped timepieces such as the

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and Stardust models. In 1973, Baume & Mercier presented the Riviera, one of the world's first

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sports watches.

Recent history

In 1988, the Swiss watchmaker joined the

group. Currently, the brand offers the Clifton, Classima and Hampton collections for both men and women, the Capeland collection for men, and the Linea and Promesse collections for women. In 2015, Baume & Mercier bolstered its sports watch offerings by entering into a partnership with the celebrated American race carmaker

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. In 2016 the company sold "

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" models, named for the

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, in its Capeland and Clifton collections.

Baume

The short-lived, downmarket Baume brand was launched on May 15, 2018. Baume watches were sold exclusively online and assembled in Amsterdam. The brand used

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and Miyota movements.

Pricing

With an average selling price of between

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

2,000 and US$7,000, Baume & Mercier watches are in the lower-range

luxury watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

market. In 2016, Baume & Mercier began to present more affordable offerings under US$1,000 with the launch of its "My Classima" models, a sub-collection of its Classima collection of classic dress watches.

References

External links