Baume & Mercier Clifton 8-Day Power Reserve (specs and price)

Another novelty from Watch & Wonders 2014. And a pretty interesting one too. To celebrate its 185th anniversary, Baume & Mercier will please the collectors with a refined and elegant watch. You’ll argue that the brand is already used to create such watches. Yes, it is true. But this one plays into another mechanical level, as it comes with a large, complicated IWC movement. Here is the Baume & Mercier Clifton 8-Day Power Reserve.

The Clifton can be seen as the flagship timepiece of the brand. We recently reviewed the Retrograde Date Edition and we’ve been quite impressed by the quality of the package delivered. It is clearly not a passionate’s or collector’s watch, but it is a solid choice as a refined daily beater. However, into the collection, some of the watches are playing into another category: more refined, more complicated and more collectible. The first example was the Baume & Mercier Clifton 1830. No more ETA / Soprod movement and stainless steel case here, but a complicated 18k red gold case and a La Joux-Perret ultra-thin calibre for this high-end edition. For the Clifton 8-Day Power Reserve, Baume & Mercier uses the same receipt.

The Baume & Mercier Clifton 8-Day Power Reserve comes with a 45mm case made of 18k red gold. It shows an interesting finish, that uses the usual codes of the Clifton collection, however with a more complicated approach. The lugs are slightly different. When the classical editions of the Clifton come with straight case bands, this one has elaborated lugs that seems to be added on the case. The same goes for the polishing, with an alternation of mirror and satin parts. The side of the case and lugs are satin-finished, the bezel and upfacing parts of the case are polished and the inward facing parts of the lugs are also satin-brushed with straight strokes.

The dial is, like the Clifton 1830, domed with a silver-opaline colour and a silky finish. The indexes (riveted on the dial) uses the same shape as the rest of the Clifton collection, with a very pleasant font. It comes with the hours and minutes on the central axis, a small second sub-dial at 6, a date aperture at 3 and a 8-day power reserve indicator at 9. And if this layout sounds familiar to you, there is simple reason, that leads us to the mechanical part.

The movement inside the Baume & Mercier Clifton 8-Day Power Reserve is the IWC 59210, already presented in the IWC Portofino Hand Wound 8 days. The use of such a movement is possible thanks to the synergies inside the Richemont Group, that holds both IWC and Baume & Mercier. The long power reserve (8 days or 192 hours) comes from a single but large barrel, visible on the upper side of the movement. This is a modern engine, as it ticks at 4Hz (28.800 bph) and comes with a hacking-second mechanism. This is a pleasant calibre to look at, with Geneva stripes and bevelled angles on the bridges. This movement is large, with a 37.9mm diameter (that dictates the 45mm diameter of the watch), something rare enough to be noticed. Too many watches come with a small movement inside a large case. Thus, on the Baume & Mercier Clifton 8-Day Power Reserve, the movement seems to be made for the watch.

This Clifton 8-Day Power Reserve is a limited edition of 185 pieces and is priced at 15.000 Swiss Francs, while the IWC Portofino Hand Wound 8 days in 18K gold is priced over 20.000 Swiss Francs.

Specifications:

• Reference: M0A10195
• Movement: Manufacture movement manual winding (IWC-manufactured 59210 calibre from the 59000-calibre family), Circular-grained finished plate, Bridges adorned with « Côtes de Genève » decor, Phi logo, Blued-steel screws, Jewels: 30, Power reserve: 192 hours (8 days) with one barrel, Frequency: 28,800 A/h = 4Hz, Movement adjusted to five positions.
• Functions: H/M, Small seconds, 8 days power-reserve indicator, date.
• Case: Diameter: 45 mm, Thickness: 13.0 mm, Polished & satin-finished 18K red gold, Domed, Antiglare scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, Sapphire case back secured with screws.
• Dial: Domed opaline silver-colored, Riveted gilt Arabic numerals and indexes, Gilt and blued steel hands.
• Strap: Square scales black alligator.
• Buckle: 18K red gold pin buckle.
• Water-resistance: 5 ATM (50m)