Baume & Mercier?s Clifton Baumatic is the first watch powered by the brand?s in-house movement with a five-day power reserve, chronometer precision, magnetic protection and extended service intervals ? all at an affordable price. We put it to our test.
Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic
When you look at the automatic Caliber BM12-1975A that powers the Clifton Baumatic, the first thing you notice is the spring that secures the vibrating balance wheel, shaped like the Greek letter ?phi.? Baume & Mercier has used this letter of the Greek alphabet to symbolize the brand since 1964, more than 130 years after its founding in 1830. Baume & Mercier sees the golden ratio, which is symbolized by phi, as a match between an innovative watch mechanism and affordability as embodied by the Baumatic. From the start, the phi symbol marked the design concept for the in-house mechanical movement that Baume & Mercier had been planning for many years. But only with the increase in capacity provided by movement manufacturer Val Fleurier (founded in 2005) and the establishment of the Richemont Research and Innovation Center (which was integrated in the innovation hub Microcity Neuchâtel in 2017), were the prerequisites met that allowed the company to create a high-performance watch movement at a competitive price.
For this movement, four quality criteria were placed center stage: excellent accuracy in different positions and over an extended period of time (i.e., a long power r...