“It’s a milestone. And when we look back at [the history of] Baume et Mercier, we haven’t had such a milestone in the last 20, even 30 years.” Alain Zimmermann, chief executive of the Geneva-based watch company, is rhapsodising about Baumatic, its new movement being launched at this week’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie.
The movement offers a five-day power reserve, precision of -4/+6 seconds a day, enhanced shock resistance and magnetic-field resistance up to 1,500 gauss. It is the magnetic resistance he is particularly proud of — he says the watch will not be affected by daily interactions with smartphones and tablets, which emit radio frequencies.
But Baumatic, which will sell for just under SFr2,500 ($2,600), is important to the watch industry for subtler structural reasons than its resistance to magnetic fields. The movement is one of the first fruits of an initiative shifting how the industry makes its watches.