CLASSIMA SPECIAL EDITION

THE CLASSIMA BY BAUME & MERCIER, OR THE ART OF COMBINING WATCH COMPLICATIONS WITH STYLE   

With each fine, streamlined, round, elegantly restrained case, the Classima Collection by Baume & Mercier embodies both traditional and contemporary watchmaking. Its pieces are sophisticated and delightful to wear, asserting technical excellence made in Switzerland. From one watch to the next – from self-winding to quartz –, the collection asserts a variety of watch complications and also combines more than one in the same timepiece. Equally imaginative in terms of design, its pieces assert mother-of-pearl white, peacock blue, burgundy, green, and slate gray, alternating – and, in some cases, combining – materials, including gold and steel, leather and fabric.  

An ideal holiday gift 

Any watch from the creative, versatile Classima Collection makes the perfect Christmas gift because the holiday season is a special time to give something bold and precious to the ones we love. Imagine a Classima for each one, prettily wrapped and delicately placed under the tree. Such a timepiece is an unforgettable present, the guarantee of intense emotion: a declaration that the new models express with generosity and virtuosity.   

English elegance adorns the Classima  

In December 2022, the collection inaugurated a special edition with a “British” style, borrowing on the fabric of gentleman’s suits to adorn the straps. These fine materials in natural fibers are sourced from Holland & Sherry. The prestigious house, founded in 1836 by Stephen George Holland and Frederick Sherry, opened an establishment on Savile Row – a street in London known for its bespoke tailoring – in 1982. The brand is known for the exceptional quality of its fabrics as well as its tailoring savoir-faire and the excellence of its finishes. It supplies illustrious tailors and Haute Couture houses. Three new timepieces enrich this capsule edition of the Classima. They feature diagonally-lined patterns, exquisite colors, fabric straps, and mixtures of materials that set the tone with absolute elegance, flawlessly embracing the perfect cuts and ideal proportions of design as Baume & Mercier has conceived of them since 1830.   

The combination of watch complications and gentlemanly style  

These three timepieces assert everyday watch complications with great mastery. Baume & Mercier has gone one step further in animating the Classima Collection. A GMT watch, a watch featuring a visible balance wheel and power reserve, and a skeleton watch with small seconds will thrill as much for their practical use as for their aesthetic appeal.  

Self-winding Classima capsule edition, GMT (M0A10734) 

Hands that display the hours, minutes, seconds, and the (24-hour) GMT – with the second time zone making a 24-hour rotation – are showcased within an iconic round case in polished stainless steel with a diameter of 42 mm and a thickness of 8.80 mm. A scratch-proof domed sapphire crystal protects it. The solid case back may be custom-engraved.  

Each time display appears harmoniously on the dial to be read in perfect unity while subtly highlighting each specific piece of information through contrasting colors and sizes. 

In sun-satin blue, it is enhanced with a black flange and a white minute track and decorated with diagonal stripes evoking fabric patterns. The Arabic numerals and indexes are white. The leaf hands that display the hours, minutes and seconds are rhodium-plated, while the central GMT hand is blue.  

The self-winding movement offers a 42-hour power reserve and oscillates at a frequency of 4Hz (28,800 vph). It is water-resistant to 3 ATM (approximately 30 m). 

The watch is mounted on an interchangeable blue Holland & Sherry Super 120 wool strap with colored saddle stitching. It is finished with a stainless steel pin buckle. The strap may be changed without the use of tools thanks to a very reliable spring bar system. A second interchangeable strap in black alligator, featuring a stainless steel pin buckle, is also included.  It may also be removed without the need for tools thanks to the very reliable spring bar system.    

Self-winding Classima capsule edition, visible balance wheel and power reserve (M0A10718) 

This piece features a visually strong design with a sun-satin gray dial decorated with diagonal lines. It forms a backdrop against which the balance wheel and escapement, at 12 o’clock, confront the power reserve indicator, at 6 o’clock. On either side, the hours, minutes and seconds are indicated by Arabic numerals and white indexes, gold-tone leaf hands, and a white-and-gold-tone minute track. 

Containing a self-winding movement featuring a 42-hour power reserve and oscillating at a frequency of 4Hz (28,800 vph), the round case in polished stainless steel has a diameter of 42 mm and a thickness of 10.1 mm. It is protected by a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, as is the case back, which may be engraved. The watch is water-resistant to 3 ATM (approx. 30 m). 

The watch is mounted on an interchangeable strap in brown Holland & Sherry Super 120 wool with colored saddle stitching and a stainless steel pin buckle. It is interchangeable without the need for tools thanks to a very reliable spring bar system. An additional interchangeable strap in black alligator with a stainless steel pin buckle is also included, and it also features a very reliable spring bar system that may be changed without the need for tools. 

 Hand-wound Classima capsule edition , skeleton and small seconds (M0A10735) 

This very graphic timepiece showcases the full stylistic and technical savoir-faire of Baume & Mercier with a hand-wound skeleton movement displaying small seconds at 6 o’clock on a blue sapphire dial with a black flange. The Arabic numerals and indexes are rhodium-plated, as are the leaf hands of the hours, minutes and small seconds. The minute track is white.  

The round case in polished stainless steel has a diameter of 42 mm and a thickness of 8.95 mm. It is protected by a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal which, like the case back, may be engraved.  

The movement offers a 46-hour power reserve and oscillates at a frequency of 4Hz (28,800 vph). The watch is water-resistant to 5 ATM (approx. 50 m). 

The piece includes two interchangeable straps equipped with a very reliable spring bar system that makes it possible to change them without the use of tools. The first is in dark blue Holland & Sherry Super 120 wool with colored saddle stitching, while the second is in black alligator. Each is topped with a stainless steel pin buckle.  

 The Classima Collection continues to grow, diversify, and assert its distinctiveness. Its understatement is an inexhaustible source of inspiration and a creative playground which addresses the historical aspirations of Baume & Mercier: to conceive of a fine watch as a designer object. Any of its watches makes the ideal Christmas gift which will delight technical watchmaking aficionados and aesthetic lovers alike.