William Baume Collection – A tribute to 180 years of Baume & Mercier

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• FRANCAIS

Logo	Fondateurs	Année de fondation	Lieu de création	Site Web
	Williame Baume et Paul Mercier	1830	Genève / Suisse	www.baume-et-mercier.com

The new William Baume Collection is a tribute to time and its measurement. Through a splendid array of haute horlogerie models, it evokes the noble traditions of one of the oldest Swiss watch brands, Baume & Mercier. This time-honored expertise is admirably embodied by the figure of William Baume, the man who forged the company’s contemporary destiny and was instrumental in earning it the prestigious Poinçon de Genève in 1921, the seal acknowledged as the highest watchmaking quality certification.

William Baume Collection 2010
The William Baume Collection is exclusively composed of models crafted in harmony with the purest watchmaking tradition and housing complication movements.
All models in the collection, which is annually renewed by limited editions, revive the brand’s origins through haute horlogerie movements closely linked with its historical heritage.
In 2010, Baume & Mercier is adding a new complication to the William Baume Collection with a Jumping Hours model featuring a silver-colored or black dial and boasting the extremely refined finishing and retro-contemporary design that are characteristic of the William Baume Collection.

Jumping Hour, the first “digital” watch
Jumping Hour is a complication that displays the hours in the form of numbers appearing through an aperture, instead of showing them with a hand. Jumping Hour models are thus referred to as the first “digital” watches in horological history. Printed on a rotating disk, the numbers instantly “jump” when the hour changes, while the minutes and seconds are generally indicated by hands. The first known jumping hours watch is a pocket-watch made by French watchmaker Blondeau for the King of France in around 1830 – the exact founding date of the “Frères Baume” company that was to give rise to Baume & Mercier.

William Baume Jumping Hour watches
Newly launched in 2010, this interpretation of the William Baume Collection displays the hours in an aperture at 12 o’clock, while the minutes and seconds are indicated by red gold hands on two separate subdials. The silver-colored or black dial is adorned with a crossweave guilloché motif and sunburst satin-brushed finish on the subdials. The self-winding movement is visible through the large opening in the sapphire crystal case-back, enabling one to admire the circular-grained and snailed finishing on the mainplate and bridges, as well as the openworked oscillating weight with Côtes de Genève decoration.
The XL sized (41 mm) case is crafted in 18-carat red gold with applied lugs. The hand-sewn black or chocolate brown alligator leather strap is enhanced by a red gold pin buckle. These two new William Baume models will be launched in limited numbered series of 40 for each dial version.

Technical Specifications WILLIAM BAUME XL JUMPING HOUR

William Baume Ultra-Thin
Ultra-thin watches have always been synonymous with superior elegance and technical sophistication. Baume & Mercier is providing a modern take on its historical expertise in the field with this ultra-thin model from the William Baume Collection.

Measuring a mere 6.2 mm thick, this timepiece is equipped with a Manufacture Valfleurier hand-wound movement with a generous 60-hour power reserve. The XL size (41 mm) case in 18-carat red gold is fitted with a transparent back providing a fine view of the finishing on the plates and bridges adorned with Côtes de Genève and featuring blued screws. The silver-colored dial is enhanced by a crossweave guilloché pattern providing an admirable background for the elegant “spear-shaped” red gold hand. The hand-sewn chocolate brown alligator leather strap is fastened by a red gold pin buckle. This model is issued in a limited, numbered edition.

Technical Specifications WILLIAM BAUME ULTRA-THIN

William Baume Retrograde Seconds
The retrograde seconds hand counts off 30 seconds across a graduated arc of a circle and then instantly returns to its point of departure to measure the 30 following seconds. This retrograde interpretation of the William Baume Collection highlights the small seconds by “serpentine” red gold hand. This model also comprises a large date display at 12 o’clock showing the date by means of large numerals appearing on separate tens and units disks. The mechanical self-winding movement can be admired through the broad sapphire crystal pane on the case-back, revealing the circular-grained finish on the mainplate and bridges, the snailed barrel, the blued steel screws and the openworked oscillating weight adorned with Côtes de Genève and stamped with the Baume & Mercier “Phi” emblem.
The black or silver-colored dial bars a crossweave guilloché motif. The 18-carat red gold case is XL sized (41 mm). The hand-sewn black or chocolate brown alligator strap is fitted with a red gold pin buckle. These two models are issued in limited and numbered series.

Technical Specifications WILLIAM BAUME RETROGRADE SECOND

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