Baume & Mercier: promise made, promise kept

In 1869 Louis-Victor Baume gave his daughter Mélina a gold pocket watch on the occasion of her first communion. That was obviously a paternal gesture, yet it also represented a founding gesture for the brand. In fact, that day set the two points of reference the brand still uses today: legitimacy in watchmaking for women, and the idea of celebration. Indeed, the brand is especially linked to the latter due to the emotional rush it brings. That is precisely what makes Baume & Mercier the perfect gift for big occasions such as engagements, weddings, graduation ceremonies, and so on. We find those two points of reference in the new collection “Promesse”, launched in all markets the brand is present in in autumn 2014.

The historical piece which inspired the Promesse collection

Not competing with Linea

Designed for working women in their thirties, the “Promesse” collection was inspired by elegance and preciousness. It is the complement of another awe-inspiring feminine collection by Baume & Mercier, called Linea. The latter is newer and consists of more sportive watches.

Even though both collections are in approximately the same price range – from CHF 1,750 to CHF 6,500 – the brand is not worried that one will do much better than the other. In fact, as Alain Zimmermann, CEO of the brand, reminded us, the brand’s previous launch of the masculine range Clifton did not overshadow the sales of the Classima collection.

Baume et Mercier Promesse

The “Promesse” collection consists of simple-shaped watches with several variations of its oval bezel fitted into a round case. The bezel, which is larger at 3 and 9 o’clock, may be polished, set with diamonds, red gold or mother-of-pearl, which is a delicate material. In fact, the inserts were most carefully added to prevent friction and to make them shock resistant. Depending on the model, the piece’s dial can be either guilloché or mother-of-pearl. They also feature perfectly readable roman numerals that in some models are interspersed with diamond-set indexes.

“Promesse” watches were designed for women from all over the world and are available in both 30mm and 34mm. Approximately half of the collection features quartz movements while the other half are equipped with self-winding mechanical ones and are mostly favored by the Asian public.

Baume et Mercier Promesse set

The sapphire back of the self-winding versions enable users to see the swinging oscillating mass while that of the quartz versions allots quite a large space for any potential engraved message, which once more reminds us of the importance the brand gives to celebration.

A celebration-based campaign

The notion of celebration is therefore obviously at the heart of the launch’s campaign. The main theme is engagements and the photos will be signed by Peter Lindbergh, one of the greats of fashion photography. He has signed many covers of the American magazine “Vogue” and his signature black and white photographs remind us of inter-war German cinema. As a general reworking of the POS display, his photos will replace the white lights of the Hampton watches in all of the brand’s points of sale.

Baume et Mercier Promesse caseback

With its digest of femininity, “Promesse” has inherited a piece from the 1970s and after that claimed filiation with several other watches for women which have marked the brand’s history; from Art Deco creations from the 1920s to the jewel watches from the 1960s.

For the time being, all 800 pieces of the collection are in the still virtual museum of Baume & Mercier. The brand has not yet found a place to exhibit them and they are in the drawers of the manufacture, away from the spotlight.

Baume et Mercier Promesse with leather strap