In 2016 Baume & Mercier is hoping to win over the ladies, particularly daring young women looking for femininity with a spark. At the SIHH the Swiss brand presented its star timepiece of the year, the Petite Promesse.
With its miniature 22 mm diameter, this watch is an ideal piece to combine with bracelets on the wrist. “It’s more than just a style statement, it’s an attitude,” confides Sandrine Donguy, Marketing Director. The diamond-set bezel merges an oval with a perfect circle, giving the watch its classic elegance. The double-wrapped bracelet, a nod to the 1970s, comes in three versions: steel, cornflower blue and spicy orange. The natural mother-of-pearl dial is set with two diamonds at 12 and 6 o’clock in lieu of indices. Simply feminine.
But the men need not feel left out. Baume & Mercier’s new Capeland Shelby Cobra, a tribute to Carroll Shelby and his legendary Shelby Cobra, will strike a chord with motor racing enthusiasts. It comes in a limited edition of 1,963 pieces, a reference to the year 1963, when the most successful Cobra, the CSX2128, first won the American championship, and Texan racing driver Carroll Shelby’s dream came true.
This timepiece encapsulates Shelby’s self-confidence and determination. Equipped with an automatic movement, the watch’s 44 mm case comes in polished and satin-finished or black ADLC-treated steel. The asymmetrical counters on the dial are an obvious reference to the Cobra’s dashboard, and the hands reflect the shape of the steering wheel. The seconds hand also bears the Cobra logo.
The tachymeter function, used to calculate speed on the race track, is an integral part of this sporty watch. The dial features Superluminova® “green emission” to give optimum readability at all times. The watch is fitted with a black alligator or black vulcanised rubber strap, the same material used for racing car tyres.
Another model unveiled at the SIHH 2016 was the Clifton Chronograph Complete Calendar. This newest small complication in the Clifton collection combines two functions: chronograph and complete calendar. Both unique and timeless, the new Clifton with its 43 mm case is driven by a self-winding Swiss movement (Valjoux 7751). The watch has a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and a sunray satin-finished silvered dial, with chronograph hands in blued steel, a traditional feature of the Clifton collection.
The subdial at 6 o’clock displays the moon phase on a disc that rotates once every lunar month, or 29.5 days. Two more counters with blued hands, at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, show the chronograph minutes and hours respectively. The sapphire case back gives visual access to the finely finished movement, which features snailing, Geneva striping on the rotor, perlage on the bridges and blued screws. This elegant and understated men’s watch is sure to please all lovers of fine watchmaking.
