baume mercier

What is it, resign as CEO season? Just the other day I wrote about how A. Lange & Sohne lost their CEO, and now the same is happening to Swiss watch brand Baume & Mercier. I still know them by their "original" name "Baume et Mercier." Guess that "&" was put in there for us Americans. These resignations are starting to look awfully fishy if you ask me.

Michel Nieto, the CEO of Baume & Mercier just called it quits after being at Baume & Mercier since 2002. Just like A. Lange & Sohne, Baume & Mercier is part of the Richemont Group, and just like A. Lange & Sohne's loss of their CEO Fabian Krone, Richemont Group identified the reason for Nieto's resignation as a "strategic disagreement." Not that I don't believe PR speak, but either Richemont is handing out a canned response or we are going to see a major change in the organization of the group's brands in the coming months. I can't speculate if this is good or bad, but I anticipate change is 'ah comin' in the luxury watch world. Aside from the Swatch Group, Richemont Group is the largest collection of luxury watch brands.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

A good looking classic watch does not need to cost a lot, but it sure can. Normally a Baume & Mercier watch goes for a reasonable luxury price, around $1,000 - $5,000. Some of the limited edition William Baume collection watches can fetch much more. They are limited editions because only a limited number of people are willing to shell out that much more.

In a 41mm wide 18k rose gold case, the watch has a beautiful guilloche engraved dial as well as gold hands and hour markers. I like how the markers are applied and classic looking, while there are some smaller Roman numerals on the dial to help with legibility. You'll notice that the lugs are totally classic looking and the case itself is polished gold surfaces that sandwich a nice brushed gold middle section. If Baume & Mercier needed to place "chronograph" on the dial, did it need to be so large? I think the retail price of about $30,000 would have made for a better piece of text in this position. Then you can show people that this is not your average Macy's Baume & Mercier timepiece.

The namesake of the watch regards the method of operating the 30 minute chronograph complication. Instead of two pushers, there is one pusher (built into the crown) that operates "start, stop, and reset." Nothing ultra complex, but there is a certain sexy sophistication to the style of movement. Which happens to be a Lajoux Perret caliber 5000, which is manually wound and has 42 hours of power reserve. The collection is limited to just 20 pieces.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Now up to 45mm wide (up from 43mm) the Baume & Mercier Riviera Magnum XXL beats the older XL in size and design for the look of the sportier version of the standard Riviera watch that wasn't exactly stuffy to begin with. Complications include a 30 minute flyback chronograph powered by the automatic mechanical Ref. 8834 movement that is likely a modified Valjoux 7750. The dial of the watch is something you've probably noticed. Call it skeletonized, call it a "view to the movement," the dial is actually a black tinted sapphire crystal. The text and Roman numerals are applied directly on the tinted dial in luminant.

The case is PVD coated steel with a cool looking sandblasted look. Everything about it is big from the four large hex screws, chronograph pushers, and massive crown. It is hard to tell in the images but the left side of the case is decorated with vertical cutaway slits (Baume & Mercier says they are meant to remind you of a car grill). The case is also 200 meters water resistant and features a exhibition caseback. Despite what is likely broad appeal, the Baume & Mercier Riviera Magnum XXL Flyback Chronograph watch will be limited to just 1000 pieces. A nice action version of the already sporty Riviera Magnum watch line.

Ariel Adams publishes the popular watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.