Baume & Mercier
The History of Baume & Mercier
Baume & Mercier is a Swiss watchmaker with a profound legacy in the world of horology. The brand was founded in 1830 by brothers Louis-Victor and Celestin Baume, who opened a watch dealership in Jura, Switzerland, offering high-quality, premium-made pocket watches.
By the end of the 19th Century, the Baume brand was renowned for their chronographs and grand complications, as well as tourbillons, minute repeaters, and calendars. The brand was also heralded for its time-keeping accuracy and was the winner of a time-keeping competition held by the Kew Observatory in London in 1892.
In 1918 the Baume brand joined forces with Paul Mercier to form Baume & Mercier. A year later, the newly founded brand received the “Poincon de Geneve” award, the ultimate standard of watchmaking excellence by the Swiss Company of Watchmakers.
During the 1940’s, Baume & Mercier introduced wristwatches exclusively for women with jewelry inspired designs featuring diamonds, gemstones, and bangles. The women’s styles were not just smaller-scale designs of men’s models. Femininity soon became an important part of the brand’s values. This is still evident today with the brands Linea and Promesse collections, created exclusively for women.
The Art Deco era of the 1940’s is the inspiration for the Baume & Mercier Hampton series. With rectangular shaped cases along with sleek and sophisticated contours, this collection of men’s and women’s timepieces has ranked among Baume & Mercier’s top-selling watches for the past several decades along with the more recent Capeland, Clifton, and Classima collections.