In January 2018, Baume & Mercier unveiled a surprising new caliber in a new timepiece at a very attractive price-point: the Baumatic BM12-1975A caliber will be exclusively available in the new Clifton Baumatic watch from September 2018 on, with prices starting at $2,750.
What makes this release so remarkable is the fact that Baume & Mercier addresses several real-life problems of mechanical watches, namely
– Sensitivity to magnetic fields (the watch is resistant to magnetic field of 1500 gauss)
– Increased autonomy (120 hours or 5 days)
– Chronometer precision (-4s/+6s per day over the entire 120 hour power reserve)
– Durability (less frequent service intervals)
A New Caliber:
The BM12-1975A caliber is a proprietary movement: The team behind it spent more than four years working on the new automatic movement that also features the first Richemont silicon balance spring, anchor and escapement wheel called “Powerscape escapement” (the Clifton Manual 1830 from 2017 was already fitted with a new silicon balance spring, but not with a silicon escape wheel and lever).
The construction aims to compensate for temperature variations and helps improve accuracy, which is measured at an impressive -4/+6 seconds per day throughout the entire power reserve of 120 hours. Additionally, thanks to the use of silicon and non-ferromagnetic materials, the BM12-1975A is resistant to magnetic fields of up to 1500 gauss (which is 25 times more than the required 4,800 A/m to meet the ISO 764 standard specifying the minimum requirements and test methods for magnetic resistant watches) and does not require a closed caseback or additional soft iron inner cage. Which means that, thankfully, the new caliber is still visible through the sapphire crystal on the caseback of the Clifton Baumatic. Also, the date is slightly bigger than usual which is a big plus for legibility.
5 New Watches
Baume & Mercier’s team decided to equipp the Clifton Baumatic with a classic, 40 mm round case (with brushed sides and a polished top), curved lugs, a domed sapphire crystal and to offer a choice of five dials with a porcelain-like finish (one with crosshair in the center of the dial). The case is water resistant to 50 meters, the caseback is held in position with 4 screws and offers a second sapphire crystal. Last but not least, the watch comes with a two-year warranty and the version with the cross-hair on the dial with a COSC certification.
Three different alligator straps (black, brown and blue) and a stainless steel bracelet are available, all of them equipped with a quick-change strap-system that allows to conveniently change straps without having to use a special tool (or visit a watchmaker) each time.
Baume & Mercier is launching the Baumatic in five different versions:
– Baumatic Ref. 10436 with porcelain-like white dial with cross hair and black alligator strap ($2,990)
– Baumatic Ref. 10401 with two-tone case and brown alligator strap ($3,500)
– Baumatic Ref. 10400 with white dial and stainless steel bracelet ($2,950)
– Baumatic Ref. 10399 with black dial and matching alligator strap ($2,750)
– Baumatic Ref. 10398 with white dial and blue alligator strap ($2,750)
To learn more about the collection, visit: www.baume-et-mercier.com
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