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Baume & Mercier gives us a sneak peek into their revamped Clifton Collection, before its full release later this year!

Baume & Mercier’s Clifton collection captures life’s moments like a true architect: through precision and fine craftsmanship, bringing together functionality and beauty in one timepiece. This year, the brand is redesigning the Clifton collection to have a more balanced aesthetic while keeping the vintage design of the timepeices intact. The main focus of these timepeices is, of course, elegance, which the brand has been able to showcase through the aesthetics of this latest collection.

The Clifton collection was designed with the fashional codes of watches from the 1950s, where round, slender timepeices were the norm. The “look” of that period was dials with refined details, such as sharp, slim hands and indices or Arabic numerals sitting atop a beautifully coloured dial. This was followed by a simple date feature, presenting a watch that embodied the pinnacle of refinement as statement pieces of a refined, curated look. The 1950s marked a renewal in watchmaking history and were prolific times for Baume & Mercier, the House that made shape watches its style signature. 

The Clifton collection embodied these details to create a timepiece that exudes elegance and luxury while still having fun with various dial colours. Baume & Mercier’s current Clifton collection features timepeices that adventure outside of simple time and date only models, with timepeices displaying moonphase, day of the week and even perpetual calendar complications! The brand has been able to add these complications while still keeping the dial relatively minimalistic, which gives the view of “refinement” that this collection aims to achieve.

Now, for Watches & Wonders 2025, Baume & Mercier is unveiling the latest renditions of the new Clifton Collection. On the surface level, it appears that not much has changed, but the details lie in the subtleties! Only three models are presented during Watches & Wonders, Clifton Baumatic M0A10802, M0A10778 and M0A10771, with the rest of the collection being unveiled in September this year. With how the current collection is lined up, I think we can expect to see moonphase and day complications being added to this newly revamped Clifton Collection!

Case Design

The new Clifton Baumatic timepieces all share the same case design, with measurements of 39mm x 11.5mm thickness. The thickness of the cases has been reduced from the predecessors, which measured 12.2mm to 12.6mm. Baume & Mercier clarifies that with this slimmer case design it offers a more comfortable fit overall while having a more refined and contemporary aesthetic. Modern watches are sizing down, so this new Clifton range fits these standards nicely.

For the first three models released, Baume & Mercier presents them in either rose gold (750/1000) for reference M0A10802, and stainless steel for references M0A10778 and M0A10771. All three timepieces come in satin finish, which is what gives the luxurious glow, especially under different lighting angles! These timepieces scream elegance, and it all starts with the case.

Dial Design

As subtle as they may be, this new Clifton collection features new design changes that set them apart from the previous generation. Starting with the hour indices, the new range features longer indices, which makes them more prominent on the dial and reiterates the “refined” design aspect. Baume & Mercier has also bought back the Arabic indices on the dial, a more noticeable change shown from the 12 o’clock hour marker.

Another notable change is the date window. This has been shifted from the 3 o’clock position to now where the 6 o’clock hour indices used to be. What’s important about this design change is that it brings balance to the dial. I’m not a fan of having the hour indices and the date window side by side, as it makes the dial appear disproportionate. Even though it’s subtle, the removal of the 6 o’clock indices for the date window to act as the “hour marker” elevates the appearance of these timepieces. Besides the salmon coloured dial, the other two models come with date wheels that are colour-matched to the dial, which makes them seamlessly fit in with the dial.

Baume & Mercier is offering the three timepieces in three different colours. The rose gold version comes with a subtle off-white hue, which adds to the retro inspiration of the daily. The dial comes with a grained finish, which makes the off-white hue stand out a bit more. Paired with the 5N gold-plated hour indices, the dial exudes elegance.

The other two timepeices in stainless steel cases feature a beautiful blue dial with a graduation finish, while the other, as mentioned earlier, is an opaline salmon-hued dial. The salmon dial, which is limited to 350 models, offers a different perspective, giving a more colourful and lively approach to this elegantly designed timepiece. The blue, however, is my favourite in this collection. The timepiece, with its gradient finish, is stunning and is one that demands attention. The dial is beautifully designed, with the black gradient sitting beneath the rhodium-plated hour indices, making then stand out nicely.

Movement

Baume & Mercier have retained their BM13-1975 movement for this new collection. Unless the new movement can vastly improve on performance and precision, the BM13-1975 will do just fine. Based on the brand’s self-winding BM12 movement, the BM13-1975 calibre offers resistance to everyday magnetic fields up to 1500 Guass. The movement operates at a high frequency of 4Hz (28,800 VpH) offering high precision. But the most impressive part is that the movement offers 5-days of power reserve (120 hours)!

The open case back of the timepiece gives view to Baume & Mercier’s finishing of the BM13-1975 movement: the bridges are circular-grained, the baseplate is sandblasted and snailed, and the oscillating weight, with snailed “Côtes de Genève” decors, is gold-plated and openworked. It also bears a unique Baume & Mercier engraving.  

Initial Thoughts

The new Clifton Baumatic collection from Baume & Mercier is a refined version of a timeless design that brings together functionality and vintage-inspired elegance. The collection successfully balances heritage with contemporary appeal by maintaining the essence of the 1950s design codes while integrating modern proportions and subtle yet impactful design tweaks.

With only three models revealed at Watches & Wonders 2025 and more timepieces in this new Clifton collection set to debut in September, Baume & Mercier has certainly set the stage for an exciting year ahead. If these initial releases are anything to go by, the upcoming additions may bring even more compelling options to the table, perhaps including the moon phase and day-date complications we’ve already come to admire in the Clifton range!