Drawing inspirations from the American landscape in New Hamptons and museum pieces of the 1940s, Baume & Mercier is out with the Hampton collection. Launched at SIHH, 2011, the collection features both men’s and ladies’ watches. As it is inspired by the art-deco of “a museum piece from the 1940s”, the watches sport a “satined domed volume at 12 and 6 o’clock”, and a “curved sapphire crystal, and a curved case side at 3 and 9 o’clock”. the watches also feature refined sword hands to add to the elegance of the watches.
The ladies ‘ watches sport a 27 x 40 mm dial with the same “satined domed volume and curved case side of the museum watch.” The watches in the Core Collection models have been finished with an alligator or satin-finished polished steel strap with polished links. You can also opt for a jodhpur” shaped strap, which is lighter and more comfortable for daily use. As for the watches, you can pick from two high-end models. The first sports 20 diamonds weighing 0.73 carats, which are encased in “the curved case side of a version with a silvered dial featuring a sunburst satin finish on the outer part and opaline finishes in the center, or an equally chic two-toned dial in black and anthracite.” The other setting sports two rows of diamonds placed on the stained domed at 12 and 6 o’clock, totaling 36 diamonds (0.48 carats). However, the collector’s special watch sports a fully-set case with lugs, stained domed volume, and curved case side finished with a white alligator strap and sports a total of 80 diamonds worth 1.78 carats. The “Sundeck décor” caseback designed by Baume & Mercier lets you add a personalized message too.
The men’s collection comes in a self-winding edition with a 32 x 45 mm dial or an automatic chronograph edition featuring red counters on a 30 x 47 mm dial, both running using the ETA 2894 movement. The stained domed look is available in dual-toned masculine hues of black and brown or black and anthracite, finished with a straight alligator strap with an adjustable triple folding clasp. The collection features two collectibles based on the Art Deco lines. The first is available as a steel automatic chronograph version with a 34 x 47 mm dial and offers 65-hours of power reserve and an open case back. The red gold edition comes with a 42-hour power reserve and an oval open case back.
[Worldtempus]
