Baume & Mercier Builds on the Baumatic with New Day-Date/Moon-Phase Models

Baume & Mercier marked a milestone in its 190-year history with the 2018 launch of the Baumatic, its first in-house-developed movement, inside a three-hand date timepiece of the same name. Last year, the Swiss brand upped the ante by adding a module to the Baumatic base to produce an impressive — and, at just shy of $25k in gold, accessibly priced — perpetual calendar. For this year’s Watches & Wonders online launch event, Baume & Mercier further expands the Baumatic line with one of the attractive “small complications” for which the brand is perhaps best known. Here is the lowdown on the new Clifton Baumatic Day Date/Moon-Phase.

The watch’s 42-mm rounded case, in either stainless steel (Ref. 10548) or 18k rose gold (Ref. 10547) features satin-polished, double beveled edges and frames a domed, glare-resistant sapphire crystal that covers the gradient, lacquered gray dial. Balanced on the dial are two subdials at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, the former indicating the day of the week, the latter displaying the moon’s phases on a starry sky background inside an aperture of smoked sapphire, surrounded by a 31-day date scale. The riveted, trapezoid-shaped hour markers an faceted, Alpha-shaped hands are typical elements of Baume & Mercier’s Clifton collection,

The BM14 Baumatic movement inside the watch is the latest evolution of the original Baumatic movement, noteworthy for its silicon anchor and escape wheel, the proprietary Twinspir technology (more detail on that here) that aids in optimal thermocompensation, and the five-day (120-hour) power reserve, with accuracy ranging from of -4/+6 seconds per day. In addition to these technical advancements, the mainplate is sandblasted and embellished with a perlage motif, and the openworked rotor — made of gold in the rose-gold watch — has a côtes de Genève finish.

Both the steel and the gold models of the Clifton Baumatic Day Date/Moon-Phase are fastened to a dark blue alligator leather strap accentuated with a subtle detailing: tone-on-tone blue stitching on its top surface, and burgundy stitching on its underside. The steel model uses a steel triple-folding clasp with security buttons, while the rose-gold model has a gold pin buckle with satin and polished finishes. Prices are $4,400) in steel, and $12,200) in gold; both are set to hit retailers in October.