Baume & Mercier Unviels Riviera Tideograph

Baume & Mercier introduces the brand-new Riviera Tideograph, a timepiece dedicated to the ocean and the passion of the open sea!

Ahead of Watches & Wonders 2024, Baume & Mercier is revealing a new timepiece paying tribute to the French Riviera, the inspiration behind the Riviera watches. The Riviera collection showcases the Maison’s design and watchmaking expertise while also evoking the distinguishing features of the French Riviera’s legendary art of living: the ocean, the mountains, the sky, and the festive nights on the beautiful architecture of the modern villas.

“The Riviera timepieces evoke one of the many facets of the Riviera, from its natural features to its delightful dolce vita. The minimalist lines of the ultra-modern villas that dot the shoreline, the tides that set the pace on the coast and challenge the water sports enthusiasts who harness the waves, and the seaboard’s unique blend of natural beauty and modern sophistication.”

Baume& Mercier

This latest unveiling, the Riviera Tideograph, is dedicated to the French Riviera’s ocean views and expresses Baume & Mercier’s passion for the open sea. While on the surface, the Riviera Tideograph looks only to display the nautical touch through the Riviera colours of the ocean, the watch is much more than that. The high-contrast blue aesthetic of the dial mirrors the ocean, while its tide-measurement abilities are displayed at 6 o’clock through the Tideograph, reflecting the sailing spirit of the region. 

This limited edition of 500 Riviera Tideograph comes in a satin-polished stainless steel dodecagonal case measuring 42 mm in diameter and 12.3 mm in thickness. The case and bezel design retains the iconic look of the Riviera collection, as the polished and sun-satin stainless steel bezel is fastened with four polished steel screws in sandblasted ADLC-coated steel. The dodecagonal case back is also fastened with four screws, and features the engraving on the sapphire see-through crystal “Special Edition One Out of 500.” The octagonal-shaped screw-down crown comes with Baume & Mercier’s signature Phi logo, which has been embossed and delineated in black.

The dial of the Riviera Tideograph is a thing of beauty, with a simple contrasting effect achieved through the sun-satin blue dial background against the rhodium-plated elements sitting on top. A circular flange runs along the centre of the dial, with three dots placed at the 3 and 9 o’clock riveted hour markers and the 12 o’clock Roman numeral hour marker. These “dots” on the dial are representative of the above-mentioned villas along the shoreline of the French Riviera.

Baume & Mercier has given the open-worked hour and minute hands, hour indices and the “dots” white Superlumi-Nova, which glows a beautiful blue in low light conditions. This blue glow further emphasises the nautical connection of the Riviera Tideograph. While the beauty of the dial is in its details, the timepiece’s central feature is showcased through the 6 o’clock sub-counter.

So, How Does One Read The Tideograph?

The Tideograph is a tool for determining when high and low tides occur. Ocean tides are a natural phenomenon caused by a complex interaction between the gravitational and centrifugal forces of the moon, earth, and sun. The greatest influence is caused by the moon, which orbits around the Earth every 24 hours and 50 minutes. This means that the time between two high or two low tides is 12 hours and 25 minutes.

Tideograph (tide indicator disc (T)) at 6 o’clock on this timepiece is split into 4 sections, which allows the user to read the different states of the tides immediately. It should be noted, that wherever you are on the globe, the two high tides on the same day can be drastically different from each other. This is the reason why there is a round symbol on this tide indicator disc: to show which of the two high tides will be the highest.

The disc circumference comes with a 24-hour time scale and an AM/PM indicator at the bottom. A separate push-button is located at the 4 o’clock position to adjust the tide disc indicator. To set the indicator, Baume & Mercier advise setting the round symbol to the highest tide. In order to do so, first locate a tide table for your current region, after which you need to find the tide times for your location along with the current date.

Baume & Mercier’s example use of the Tideograph, shown from the figures above, indicates two high tides for 12 December in Saint-Malo (France). One was at 6:21 am (11.31m high), and the other high tide was at 6:41 pm (11.38m high). For the Tideograph adjustment purposes, 6.41 pm will be used. Using the Tideograph adjustment push button (4 o’clock), position the arrow in the “High tide-round symbol” section of the tide indicator disc to show as close as possible to the time of the highest tide, which in this case is 6.41 pm.

The brand has used its self-winding Baumatic manufacture movement BM14-1975AC3, bringing a level of high precision, durability, and robustness to this new Tideograph timepiece. To achieve a high level of accuracy (read more about movement frequency here!), the movement oscillates at a frequency of 4Hz (28,800 VpH) while also offering a staggering 5-day (120 hours) of power reserve. The open case back gives a view of the BM14-1975AC3 movement, displaying its sophisticated level of finishing. The finishing includes circular-grained bridges, a sand-blasted and snailed baseplate, an open-worked oscillating weight adorned with snailed and “Côtes de Genève” designs, and a unique Baume & Mercier engraving.  

Final Thoughts

A timepiece that’s dedicated to the French Riviera, this all-new Baume & Mercier Tideograph has more than just aesthetics to showcase the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea. What I do love about this Riviera is the simple blue dial with the sun-satin finish. The sharp rhodium hour indices and hands contrast nicely against the blue, giving an elegant look while making dial readability crisp.

The BM14-1975AC3 movement is also impressive. Normally, high-frequency movements sacrifice power reserve for accuracy. However, with modern technology and materials becoming available, brands are able to offer a decent power reserve alongside a high-frequency (higher rate of accuracy) movement. Baume & Mercier have done that and much more with the BM14-1975AC3, as it offers a staggering 120-hour (5-day) power reserve!

The Tideograph, or tide indicator disc (T), makes this a super-useful timepiece, in addition to its already aesthetic appearance. The Tideograph allows the user to accurately time when the high and low tides will occur, provided they have correctly set it up using their local tide tables. Knowing when the times of high and low tides will occur throughout the day can have many beneficial uses, especially for Australians with our beach culture, and for our love of surfing and fishing.

For anyone who registers their timepiece on the Baume & Mercier website, the brand offers a six-year extended warranty extension, which complements the existing two-year international warranty, making it a total of eight years’ warranty guarantee!

The Baume & Mercier Riviera Tideograph is limited to 500 models worldwide and is currently available for purchase through the brand’s boutiques or website baume-et-mercier.com.au

Reference: RIVIERA M0A10761

Specification

• Case: 42mm x 12.3mm thickness
• Case Material: Satin-polished stainless steel dodecagonal case 
• Dial: Sun-satin blue and edged by a flange
• Crystal: Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with an anti-glare coating on both sides
• Water resistance: 100m (10 Bar)
• Movement: BM14-1975AC3
• Movement Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 VpH)
• Power reserve: 120 hours (5-days)
• Bracelet:  Built-in blue rubber strap with a canvas pattern and a triple folding buckle 

Australian Recommended Retail Price: $8,500  AUD

Availability: Limited to 500 models worldwide. Currently available for purchase through the Baume & Mercier boutiques or baume-et-mercier.com.au