baume mercier 8781

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.

Finally, Baume et Mercier is back on the map (at least in my book). Their latest retro models are nicely done and will hopefully boost their image a bit. This Regulator (Regulateur) model breaths 1950s according to Baume et Mercier. A caliber 14070 Dubois-D?�praz based movement is ticking inside its 39mm stainless steel case. Price of this beauty is far from shocking, namely 1990 Euro (in Germany, it might vary worldwide). If you are into gold, Baume et Mercier also introduced a limited (176 pieces) Regulator with jumping hour, based on a caliber 14400 Dubois-D?�praz movement. The price of this one is a bit higher, 7200 Euro, but hey.. it’s gold! Both watches are water resistant up to 3 bar (30 meters) and come with an alligator strap. One slight note though… they should have left-out the date-feature. It ‘breaks’ the dial. So, B&M designers, remove the date window and re-position the printing to get it all ‘synced’.