Baume, a tribute to 180 years of the brand.
In 2010, a new William Baume Collection was released in a tribute to time and its measurement. Through a splendid array of haute horlogerie models, they evoked the noble traditions of one of the oldest Swiss watch brands, Baume & Mercier. This time-honoured expertise is admirably embodied by the figure of William Baume, the man who forged the company's contemporary destiny and was instrumental in earning it the prestigious Poinçon de Genève in 1921, the seal acknowledged as the highest watchmaking quality certification.
It was in 1830 that the “Frères Baume” watch Comptoir horloger (watch dealership) was founded in Les Bois, a village in the Swiss Jura region. In 1918, the firm was renamed Baume & Mercier and relocated to Geneva, under the leadership of William Baume, representing the third generation of one of the most important watchmaking Houses of the era.Right from the time of its founding, the Baume brand distinguished itself by the excellence and innovation of its timepieces. It won six gold medals in the World Fairs of Paris, London, Philadelphia and Geneva with its complication watches – tourbillons, minute repeaters, perpetual calendars – along with a number of prizes in the timing competitions held by the Kew Teddington Observatory near London, the most renowned of the period. It was there that in 1892, a keyless chronometer with tourbillon escapement by Baume won the absolute precision record that was to remain unequalled for ten years. Such is the rich watchmaking history that the William Baume Collection now celebrates by offering a contemporary expression of the haute horlogerie models that are an integral part of the Baume & Mercier heritage.
Here, specifically we look at the:
William Baume Collection XL Jumping Hour 18ct Rose Gold Limited Edition
Newly launched in 2010, this masterpiece displays the hours in an aperture at 12 o'clock, while the minutes and seconds are indicated by red gold hands on two separate sub-dials.
The black dial is adorned with a cross weave guilloché motif and sunburst satin-brushed finish on the sub-dials. The self-winding movement is visible through the large opening in the sapphire crystal case-back, enabling one to admire the circular-grained and snailed finishing on the main plate and bridges, as well as the open-worked oscillating weight with Côtes de Genève decoration.
The XL sized (41 mm) case is crafted in 18-carat red gold with applied lugs. The hand-sewn black alligator leather strap is enhanced by a red gold pin buckle. This William Baume model was launched in a limited numbered series of 40, the unworn full set number 26/40 can be found here:
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