Perhaps in hopeful anticipation of a new “Roaring Twenties” era that may follow our current pandemic-linked economic slowdown, Swiss watchmaker Baume & Mercier has unveiled the latest update to its Art Deco inspired Hampton series. The refreshed collection, which takes its inspiration from the dominant design influence of the early 20th century, includes three new mechanical men?s watches, as well as five new quartz women?s watches, all featuring a distinct vintage style recalling notable Art Deco watches of yesteryear.

Hampton Automatic

The first watch within the updated series is the Hampton Automatic (Ref. 10522), a 43-mm x 27.5-mm steel rectangular timepiece with faceted and polished edges, matching lugs, and a thin tight-to-the-case crown. Moving underneath the rectangular sapphire crystal of the watch, we see a sectored, opaline-and-grained, silver-colored dial echoing the quadrilateral shape of the case. On the outer edge is a railroad-style rectangular minute track, with applied rectangular hour markers at each position except the 12 and 6 where applied Arabic numerals lay. At the center of the dial, two vintage-style sword hands indicate the hour and minute, while a thin stick pointer serves as the seconds counter.
Inside the Hampton Automatic is the ETA 2671 caliber, with a 38-hour power reserve, visible via a circular sapphire caseback. Each of the new watches in the Hampton line use round movements, a necessity brought on by the...