Design at Baume & Mercier: a well-kept secret

Does your creativity stem from laborious and methodical planning or is it instinctive and spontaneous?

Both… Sometimes ideas come spontaneously; that is obviously every designer’s dream. However, it is most often necessary to carry out long and rigorous work to obtain the best idea. What’s more, the hazards of a project often make us modify the nature of our original idea. In general, it is for the benefit of the idea itself because it is how the idea develops, improves and, hopefully, becomes the best.

The brand’s past is full of creative risks; can we still talk about a Baume & Mercier style?

Yes, even if it is quite delicate to put your finger on. Every year, Baume & Mercier designers are given the chance to “visit” the collection of old watches kept at headquarters.

The collection includes over 1,000 old pieces that tell the story of Baume & Mercier, almost from its inception until now. The oldest piece dates back to 1848. By visiting this collection, designers can feel, experience and understand the Maison’s style.

The historical piece which inspired the Promesse collection

Does Baume & Mercier have a sort of internal file with its style guide?

Yes, in fact there is one for each collection and they are all updated daily. These guides have the aim of keeping us in touch with what defines us in order to be able to make it evolve. The guidelines given to designer are like tags, which help them make the right decisions and avoid mistakes. But there are no hard and fast rules. It is sometimes necessary to bend the rules to better keep up with the times, one of the Maison’s characteristics.

If you had to define Baume & Mercier’s style in only a few words, what would they be?

Elegant, timeless, discreet and accurate.

Did the watchmaking spirit of the Baume family, linked to the opening of the Mercier world, influence the brand’s stylistic values?

Of course it did. There was a culture clash or, rather, the two cultures combined in a very nice way.

Joining the Baume family’s watchmaking tradition and Mercier’s commercial and stylistic creativity has been the key to success for the Maison.

Baume & Mercier Promesse

By the way, how free is a designer with the constraints of a legacy such as that of Baume & Mercier’s?

It is a big constraint but it is at the same time inspiring. At Baume & Mercier we talk more about “designers” than “creators”. I insist on the name difference as it plays an important role in understanding the essence of our new collections. We consider several parameters before shaping an idea for a new range: from aesthetics, price and positioning of the range with regards to our competition to the technical possibilities involved in making the pieces. The first two elements depend directly on the last one. This delicate alchemy must be respected and mastered in order to find the best solution.

Is an icon unnerving, exciting or paralyzing? How do you go about designing iconic pieces?

Icons are incredibly rich and represent a huge responsibility. We are very lucky that our history consists of models that have impressed people with their creativity, technicality and boldness.

And it is such a huge responsibility to design the watches of tomorrow while respecting this legacy and humbly trying to be part of the future. Therefore, working on an iconic piece is a nice challenge. We get to hold a rich source of inspiration and possibilities, but we also have to make sure that we do not stray away from both the piece’s and the brand’s style.

Baume & Mercier Promesse

When you revisit an icon, do you feel like you are betraying it?

Yes, the feeling is always there to some extent but it is also where the charm of this type of work lies. How far will I be able to go? What are my limits? Of course, when you put a design on paper for the first time, you hold back a bit. You then need to take some risks.

Do designers use other terms to express what marketing rhetoric means by a brand’s “DNA”?

For us, it corresponds to a type of curve, shape and colors; all of which need to confer comfort in many ways. Firstly, the comfort and ergonomics of the watch on the wrist must be carefully thought through in order to make us forget we are wearing the watch. Secondly, a watch must be comfortable to look at: no unnecessary touches must be added in order to make the piece  “shine” artificially. It’s not about showing-off but about sweetness. Thirdly, a piece must be comfortable for our wallet because if Baume & Mercier is a luxury Maison, it is also dedicated to moments of celebration.

Most of the time, we give or receive a Baume & Mercier to celebrate a first moment in life: a graduation, an engagement, a wedding and so on. For those occasions a reasonable price is most relevant.

Who are your gurus?

Oh dear, the list is quite long. First of all, the Japanese master artists/craftsmen of the past and present, who have always bore in mind that we are forever novices and still have a lot to learn. Secondly, the “inventors” of Design: from Raymond Loewy to Le Corbusier, as well as architects Mies van der Rohe or Frank Lloyd Wright. And then there are the first artists who, while living in caves, got the gist of it in three strokes and with two or three colors.

Baume & Mercier Promesse caseback

What are the pieces you wish you had invented or designed in another life?

The Recliner by Le Corbusier and the Panton chair by Verner Panton; the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto; the trombone (not the instrument but the idea behind folding a piece of metal) and the egg –that perfect object only hens can produce.

What is your pride and joy Baume & Mercier creation?

What a difficult question. I cannot decide between the “Classima” from 2004, the “Riviera 4vis” and the “Diamant”, both from 2005. They represent three radically different styles but have very strong identities.

Most of the time, we give or receive a Baume & Mercier to celebrate a first moment in life: a graduation, an engagement, a wedding and so on. For those occasions a reasonable price is most relevant.

Who are your gurus?

Oh dear, the list is quite long. First of all, the Japanese master artists/craftsmen of the past and present, who have always bore in mind that we are forever novices and still have a lot to learn. Secondly, the “inventors” of Design: from Raymond Loewy to Le Corbusier, as well as architects Mies van der Rohe or Frank Lloyd Wright. And then there are the first artists who, while living in caves, got the gist of it in three strokes and with two or three colors.

What are the pieces you wish you had invented or designed in another life?

The Recliner by Le Corbusier and the Panton chair by Verner Panton; the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto; the trombone (not the instrument but the idea behind folding a piece of metal) and the egg –that perfect object only hens can produce.