Baume & Mercier

Swiss excellence with tradition

The story of Baume & Mercier begins as early as 1830, when brothers Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume open their first watchmaking store in Les Bois in the Swiss canton of Jura. True to the motto “Be satisfied only with perfection, produce only watches of the highest quality”, the young company set out to build timepieces of the greatest precision. The watches from Les Bois quickly established themselves on the market and earned the Baume name an excellent reputation far beyond the borders of Switzerland.

Under the name Baume Brothers, the brothers opened their first branch in London, later followed by other branches throughout the United Kingdom. By the end of the 19th century, the company already enjoyed an excellent international reputation and advanced to become a major player in the overseas watchmaking industry.

Each and every one of our watches is born from the passion of our master watchmakers and the will to create innovative products.
Baume & Mercier

Awards and prizes worldwide

Baume timepieces gain fame for their sophisticated additional functions, which go beyond the usual displays of hours, minutes and seconds. This not only increases the functionality of the watches, but also their selling price. Particularly due to their exceptional accuracy, Baume watches won numerous awards at international exhibitions, including the chronometry competition organized by The King’s Observatory in Richmond, London, in 1892. The accuracy of a Baume pocket watch with tourbillon awarded by the jury there will remain unchallenged for more than ten years.

Merger of Baume and Mercier

In 1918, the previously competing watch manufacturers Baume – represented by director William Baume – and Mercier – represented by Swiss watchmaker and entrepreneur Paul Mercier – merge and jointly establish the Baume & Mercier brand in Geneva. Soon, the new watchmaker becomes one of the most important manufacturers of wristwatches, which are fashionable for the first time at this time. The attractively designed chronometers enjoyed great popularity among men and women alike.

Highest quality under the sign of the Greek Phi

During the so-called Golden Twenties of the last century, the brand’s style influenced the entire Art Deco period and had a lasting impact on watchmaking design worldwide. After the Second World War, the company, always striving for balance and stylistic consistency, develops the archetype of the traditional round watch. Based on this design concept – which, incidentally, is also expressed by the Greek letter Phi in the Baume & Mercier logo – various classic chronographs are introduced, equipped with functions such as moon phases or triple date display. To this day, the model range has been constantly adapted, expanded and further developed – naturally also to include qualitatively outstanding pilot’s watches. Since the end of the 1980s, Baume & Mercier has been part of the Richemont Group, a Swiss luxury goods corporation.