baume & mercier 8166

Baume & Mercier Riviera Magnum XXL Automatic (ref. 8835)Definitely inspired by the legendary Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, the new Baume & Mercier Riviera Magnum XXL Automatic watch is a relatively affordable piece of gadgetry for those not willing to spend a fortune on the real thing.The sporty watch, which was originally presented this Spring, comes powered by the pretty much standard ETA 2892-A2 Swiss made automatic movement and is packed in a massive stainless steel case. Sized at 45 mm in diameter, the watch is quite large, but, thanks for relatively short lugs, may fit even thinner wrists.Its black dial features huge, but somehow crude-looking, Roman numerals painted with a luminescent substance.The hour and minute hands also received their share of SuperLuminova, but that didn’t make them look any prettier. I would even say that both hands are on the uglier side of it, especially when compared to the 2006 year’s Riviera Chronograph model in red gold and rubber (ref. M0A08712.) with their beautiful dauphine hands.

The William Baume collection is Baume & Mercier’s new and very respectable effort at offering a high-end “haute horlogerie” collection in addition to its regular entry- and mid-level luxury watches. ??The lineup will include limited edition models with high end functions & design such as “ultra-thin”, “retrograde seconds”, and “jumping hours”. ? The watch I want to show you today is the Jumping Hours.The William Baume Jumping Hour displays ?minutes and seconds on the two ?subdials, while the “jumping hour” window is positioned at 12 o’clock (see below). ? Available in two color schemes (silver or black on a rose gold case), these watch dials are nicely adorned with a crossweave guilloch�� motif and sunburst satin-brushed finish on the subdials. ?Price is $19,900 per piece.? Limited to 40 in each color. ?Available September 2010.