The best from Baume et Mercier at SIHH 2017

At this year’s hallowed luxury watch fair, SIHH in Geneva, home team Baume et Mercier turned up with one of the strongest and most diverse range of watches out of everyone. Here’s our run down, and pick, of the almost-200-year-old company’s new timepieces.

Inspired by a 1940s watch in the Baume et Mercier archive, the Classima Collection is the essence of the brand’s heritage. Embodying the know-how of Swiss watches, the Baume & Mercier signature on the collection expresses the watch comes from a brand with a reputation for providing luxury watches at an incredible value. And, thanks to this new addition, the brand has managed to carve out a new market sector.

From the 10323, a round 40mm classical steel watch with quartz movement and black alligator strap, to the steel 10354, the Classima collection is designed specifically for aspirational young people – who hope to one day own one of the brand’s best watches, but can rest easy with one of these well-crafted and meticulously designed pieces on their wrists for now.

Baume et Mercier unveiled three new men’s watches in the Classima collection at SIHH 2017, our favourite of which is the 10324, another round 40mm steel watch with a blue dial, sapphire glass and choice of a steel bracelet, or black alligator strap.

Attractive and modern, the Clifton Club was designed for all occasions, professional and sporting. Powered by a Swiss-made mechanical self-winding movement with date function and proven reliability – tested for shock resistance to 550G, adjustments in three positions – Baume & Mercier’s Clifton Club is made for the men who want a multipurpose, stylish sports watch.

From the monochrome 10339 to the steel bracelet and blue dial of the 10378, the Clifton Club is a range notable in its diverse design. With options that would look as at home at the golf club as they would diving to 100 metres, this is a compact range of smart casual watches which, given their relatively slim thickness of 10.3mm, can easily slip under a shirt’s cuff when needed.

Like Shelby take Fords and give them extra power and beauty, so has the automotive tuner turned their attention to Baume et Mercier’s Clifton Club. Celebrating the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, the Cobra edition is £6,500 – and strikingly duotone.

A 44mm flyback chronograph, the 10344 is a limited edition of just 196 pieces, and features a sun satin-finished half blue & half silver dial, red chronograph’s hands with the Cobra logo, a tachymeter scale, a manufacture automatic movement and day & date functions. And all this is delivered on a blue calfskin strap, embossed with a carbon-fibre pattern.