Swiss Richemont Group is to sell Baume & Mercier to Italian family-owned Damiani Group. As of this summer, Damiani would acquire full ownership of the watch brand with operational services provided by Richemont for at least 12 months after the effective date.
The news has been largely relayed in specialised media, starting with WatchDNA.
How important is this to current and potential customers of Baume & Mercier? While it is quite probable that few will be affected by or even aware of the news, it remains nevertheless essential, perhaps even more so than ever at this time, for the brand to communicate its past and present achievements. With a history of nearly 200 years, the brand has many qualities and accomplishments to convey. Furthermore, this is not the first time Baume & Mercier would benefit from Italian leadership in the course of its long journey. And the fact that luxury jewellery creator Damiani also owns Rocca, Italy’s only luxury jewellery and watch retail chain, with plans to open more boutiques, is an incomparable bonus for the future.
And now, here are some details of the brand’s history, right up to a memorable day in 2025, the year of its 195th Anniversary!
Baume & Mercier and the French Republican Guard capture time with beauty, precision and elegance.
During the course of its 195th Anniversary and to showcase its latest Baumatic timepiece, Baume & Mercier concluded its 2025 Paris program in the company of the Cavalry regiment of the French Republican Guard.
An unexpected partner for a luxury watch gathering, The Garde Républicaine is both older, and younger, than Baume & Mercier, with origins dating back to 1666, when first mentions were written of a police body responsible for the security of Paris and the then King, Louis XIV. Napoleon Bonaparte developed this in 1802, but it was not until 1880, 50 years after Louis-Joseph Baume set up his first watchmaking counter, that the Garde Républicaine was officially recognised as such and received its flag and standard from France’s third president, Jules Grévy. Today’s elite cavalry and orchestra units are among the most respected institutions in France.
As it turned out, the Caserne des Célestins, headquarters of the Republican Guard with its own stables and horse training manège, offered an outstanding moment of e-motion and time. Rhythmed by the Republican Guard Band, the magic of the equestrian performance demonstrated centuries of savoir-faire and heritage. Like exceptional timepieces, the precision of movement was enhanced with the striking beauty of the Guards’ uniforms and headgear - with each helmet still hand-crafted by the Guards themselves. Their horses, groomed and saddled with utmost attention, displayed a brushed checkerboard pattern on their rumps to catch the light much like a textured dial. This seemingly effortless exhibition was in fact, as I was reminded by the colonel seated next to me, much like a ballet, with the performers, in this case, the riders and their horses, confronting and overcoming constant pressure to maintain a perfect presentation of their skills, made possible only after years of training and practice. Much like watchmaking, I thought. And the pairing was in fact sensational!
The After-Show
Our private performance was followed in an adjacent building by a warm welcome from La Colonel Leheup and Alice Thomas, Baume & Mercier Marketing Director, World. Key experts from the Manufacture in Les Brenets, Swiss Jura were on hand to reveal traditional crafting techniques still applied to some dials today, and to present, among other timepieces, an award-winning pocket watch from 1892, the source of inspiration for today’s Clifton 1892 Flying Tourbillon.
While most of us are familiar with Baume & Mercier, not all of us are aware of its rich history in both design and movement. The brand’s historic achievements established its position as an elite member of luxury watchmaking; its ongoing developments ensure its continuity.
A brief history of Baume & Mercier
Baume & Mercier laid foundations for a family business in 1830 when Louis Joseph Baume opened a watchmaking counter in the Canton of Berne in the Swiss Jura. Over the years, the company expanded throughout the British Empire and the Far East, winning a chronometry competition in 1892 at the Kew Observatory in England for its tourbillon-powered chronometer pocket watch, as well as numerous Grand Prix awards and gold medals at World Fairs in Paris, London and Geneva.
In 1918, descendent and talented watchmaker William Baume joined forces with friend and businessman Paul Mercier, establishing Baume & Mercier in Geneva on August 27, 1920. Uniting strengths of artistic sensibility and pragmatism led to the development of elegant ultra-slim timepieces for men and jewellery watches for women.
Their high-end watches with contemporary allure led to the immediate acclaim by the press at the 1920 Geneva watchmaking fair, hailing “a remarkable array of exquisite movements and small calibers”. Retiring for personal reasons from the company respectively in 1935 and 1937, the legacy of William Baume and Paul Mercier was carried on by Piémontese jeweler Ernesto Ponti and art lover Constantin de Gorski. The reputation of the latter to organise and host spectacular receptions further contributed to the expansion of Baume & Mercier’s notoriety among high society members.
Changes of ownership, inspirations, and a new movement.
During the 1950s and 60S, Baume & Mercier launched a series of timepieces that included moon-phase complications, triple calendars and chronographs in both elegant and innovative shapes - direct ancestors of today’s collections defined by “everyday elegance”. Acquired by Piaget in 1964, followed by Cartier’s purchase of controlling shares in Piaget and Baume & Mercier which transformed into the Vendôme Luxury Group in 1993, itself absorbed by the Richemont Group in 1998, Baume & Mercier today fully assumes its role as a luxury watchmaker.
In 2018, the in-house Baumatic BM12-1975A was launched, a major step forward for the brand. With innovative hairspring and silicon components, attaining a power reserve of five days and an accuracy rate of -4/+6 seconds per day, the automatic winding rotor movement is qualified by COSC chronometer certification. Today’s product lines comprise the Riviera and Riviera Chronograph collections with their dodecagonal shape, the art deco inspired Hampton, the more classic Classima, and the vintage-inspired Clifton Baume, Clifton Baumatic and Clifton Complications collections.
Our special day was also the occasion to celebrate the introduction of the Clifton Baumatic, the first ladies’ watch equipped with the Manufacture Baumatic automatic movement with power reserve of 5 days. Housed in a stainless steel case measuring just 34 mm in diameter x 10.5 mm thick, with light-catching dials in off-white or gradient blue lacquer, the new models pave the way for more exceptional Baume & Mercier timepieces to come. With beauty, precision, and elegance.
In fact, much more than a simple collection, the 2025 novelties were a deliberate and inspiring transition towards the brand’s new strategy, reflecting its commitment to the future.
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