Doubling Down

With the Priamo from Liverani Gioielli

Courtesy of Liverani Gioielli

42 mm 316L stainless steel case, self-winding Valjoux 7750 modified to accommodate a bi-compax chronograph with telemeter scale.

Something Special from Longines

I am a sucker for a classic chronograph - and Longines has two chronographs from their Heritage collection that caught my eye this morning.  Column wheel chronographs power both of these beautiful pieces, so let's be clear, this is not just your run of the mill "homage" piece - dressed up to look vintage!

Courtesy of Longines

This is the Telemeter -

Case

• Shape: Round
• Material: Stainless steel
• Glass: Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, with several layers of anti-reflective coating on the underside
• Case back: Transparent case back with sapphire crystal
• Dimension: Ø 41.00 mm
• Water resistance: Water-resistant to 3 bar

Movement and Functions

• Caliber: L688, Self winding mechanical column wheel chronograph movement beating at 28'800 vibrations per hours and providing 54 hours of power reserve
• Function: Hours, minutes, small second at 9 o'clock and date. Chronograph mechanism: central 60 seconds hand, 30 minutes counter at 3 o'clock, 12 hours counter at 6 o'clock.

Dial and Hands

• Color: White lacquered polished
• Hours markers: Painted Arabic numerals
• Specificities: Telemeter scale
• Hands: Blued steel hands

Bracelet

• Material: Alligator strap
• Color: Black
• Buckle: With buckle

Courtesy of Longines

And this is the Tachymeter 

Case

• Shape: Round
• Material: Stainless steel
• Glass: Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, with several layers of anti-reflective coating on the underside
• Case back: Transparent case back with sapphire crystal
• Dimension: Ø 41.00 mm
• Water resistance: Water-resistant to 3 bar

Movement and Functions

• Caliber: L688, Self winding mechanical column wheel chronograph movement beating at 28'800 vibrations per hours and providing 54 hours of power reserve
• Function: Hours, minutes, small second at 9 o'clock and date. Chronograph mechanism: central 60 seconds hand, 30 minutes counter at 3 o'clock, 12 hours counter at 6 o'clock.

Dial and Hands

• Color: White lacquered polished
• Hours markers: Painted Arabic numerals
• Specificities: Tachymeter scale
• Hands: Blued steel hands

Bracelet

• Material: Alligator strap
• Color: Black
• Buckle: With buckle

Something intriguing from Baume & Mercier

Okay, while my "rescue mission" Baume et Mercier Classima is in the "critical care" unit of watch repair, I thought I'd have a peek at what the new wave from Baume et Mercier has to offer.

Courtesy of Baume et Mercier

This is part of the current Capeland collection.

If you have not seen the Ken Burns documentary on Frank Lloyd Wright - I highly recommend it.  In it, Philip Johnson (of the Glass House) spoke about the beauty of the Johnson Wax building in Racine, Wisconsin.  And what I was struck by was the refusal to make something "average" just because it was an office building.  In a time where row after row of identical skyscrapers shot up like weeds, Wright went the other way.  And that same sort of refusal to abide mediocrity is what I feel when I look at this watch from Baume et Mercier.

I can imagine what a lot of marketing and sales meetings sound like in the watch industry - having sat in on numerous ones myself -

"We need a chronograph."
"We have a chronograph!"
"No, something sporty..."
"I know, we'll take model X, and give it a black dial, and a carbon fiber style strap!"
"Perfect!  How soon can it be ready?"
"No time at all, we just need to change the dials on model X!"

YAWN....

This is something completely different - and special.  A beautifully imagined bi-compax chronograph with a La Joux-Perret 8147-2 flyback self-winding movement.  A tachy-tele of the first order!  And in this case, although beauty is more than skin-deep, this is a watch in which the outer beauty matches the inner beauty.  Rather than just going down the line and slapping together components, this is clearly designed with the whole picture in mind.  The result is a beautifully balanced, timeless design.  This is a watch that will be handed down from generation to generation.

When I think of a watch like this, I am reminded that Baume et Mercier is not just the quiet, middle sister in a family of over-achievers (Panerai, JLC, IWC).  

Baume et Mercier has quite a bit to offer, and does so in a wonderfully refined way.

And for the details obsessed of you out there, here they are:

CASE

• Size: 

  44 mm
• Shape: 

   round
• Material: 

  steel
• Finishes: 

   polished/satin

  finished
• Crystal: 

  "chevée" shaped sapphire, antiglare treatment
• Case back: 

  sapphire crystal
• Thickness: 

  16.5 mm

MOVEMENT

• Movement: 

  manufacture, automatic, La Joux-Perret 8147-2
• Functions: 

  flyback chronograph, tachymeter, telemeter, date

  
  

  DIAL

  • Features: 

    off-white, Arabic numerals
  • Hands: 

    blued steel

  BRACELET

  • Material: 

    alligator
  • Color: 

     black
  • Clasp: 

     pin buckle

  OTHERS

  • Water-resistance: 

    5ATM (approx. 50m)

www.baume-et-mercier.com