AT WATCHES & WONDERS 2020 BAUME & MERCIER ADDED FOUR CLIFTON WATCHES WITH THE IMPRESSIVE BAUMATIC AUTOMATIC MOVEMENT , which boasts a five-day power reserve , high efficiency escapement and silicon hairspring . These new models include a perpetual calendar , a day-date model with moonphase , a date model with moonphase and a beautiful 39mm COSC-certified date and time-only watch .
And while all deliver the Baumatic movement within a nicely polished and satin-finished steel or rose gold case , I was particularly taken with the high value offered by the Clifton Baumatic Day / Date Moonphase , a 42mm watch that effortlessly combines all the indicators I need in any non-chronograph watch onto a particularly eye-catching gradient lacquered grey dial .
The days at the top of the dial are clearly marked with minimal fuss while the accompanying date makes perfect sense just across the dial .
With an easy symmetry , the day and the date are each indicated by a hand of the same shape and color .
Likewise the trapezoid-shaped hour markers perfectly echo the long , alpha-type hands , and both of these indicators are colored to match your choice of pink gold or steel case .
The secondary highlight , after the perfectly gradient dial work , is the dual-moonphase display that Baume & Mercier touches up with a somewhat hidden persuader : a grey sapphire wave-shaped aperture that allows the moon to shine according to schedule as the disc rotates .
The grey-tinted moonphase sapphire here – one defining feature on both the pink gold and steel models – blends seamlessly with the gradation of the dial in this thoughtfully considered design .
Since Baume & Mercier knows that keeping all these indicators on time means keeping the mainspring wound and ticking , the Geneva manufacture supplies the watch ( and the entire series of watches ) with the aforementioned Baumatic movement built with a helpful five-day power reserve .
And to add another layer of luxury to this affordably priced watch ( in steel , it is priced at approximately $ 4,000 ), Baume & Mercier nicely decorates the movement with a gilded , open-worked oscillating weight finished with Côtes de Genève and snailing . (
Baume & Mercier indicates that the back can also be engraved by special order .
The entire package , particularly in its steel case , emphasizes Baume & Mercier ’ s long-time strength as a legacy brand that maintains a high-value collection of Swiss- manufactured watches .
Approximate prices : $ 13,800 ( pink gold case ) and $ 4,000 ( steel case ). Both watches are slated to be delivered in October .
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