Baume & Mercier Classima Watch

I used to work at a jewelry store in Baton Rouge and we sold Baume and Mercier watches. I always thought they were one of the better buys in a luxury watch. I mean, who wouldn't want a Patek...but who can afford one also. Overall, B&M watches came in at a better price generally than Cartier, Patek, and Rolex. A very handsome watch that no doubt, if taken care of, can be passed down to a son or grandson. Congrats on the purchase.

Beautiful watch!

Thanks guys. I'm loving it! I definitely plan to pass down my watch. It would be nice to think about passing it to a grandson. I actually have my Grandfather's watch. It is a gold Elgin. In fact here it is:



So there are multiple watches in my son's future.

Lucky boy! I have a very similar Elgin, but without the family heritage.

Enjoy (and I hope your son will too)!

A true classic. Well done.

Beautiful watch. Enjoy it.

Thanks guys. I hate to admit it but I need a knock around watch. The Baume and Mercier is not for when I'm going to be very casual. So I just placed an order for this one on Amazon:



It is a manual wind chronograph watch. Supposedly an authorized replica of a Chinese Air Force Pilot's watch. It's called a Seagull 1963. Of the Chinese watch manufacturer's I understand Seagull is one of the better ones. Sapphire crystals front and back, stainless case, water resistant, and 48 hour power reserve when fully wound and chrono not operating. Non-hack mechanism but I guess I can live with that. It wasn't too expensive. This is my first Chinese movement so I'll get a chance to see if they make junk or not.

....its 21 zuan how can it be junk?

Haha good luck with the new watches. The B&M is really handsome the blued steel hands are what make it perfect for me.

Stunning pics and great unboxing! The dial on the B&M has great texture and it's a nice workhorse movement. Looking forward to the pics of that Chinese watch as well...case back looks great. Been thinking of pulling the trigger on a Chinese tourbillion at some point...just concerned about the eventual need to service it.

That B&M is a very handsome watch, I would say my favorite in their lineup, congratulations on the purchase. My advise is to make sure you read the manual (most people don't). I'm not sure how familiar you are with ETA auto movements, if the manual mentions how and when to change the date on the watch (never change the date between 9pm and 3am), make sure you do as it says.

BTW, there are many very good independent horologists out there who are much more reasonably priced than the manufacturers. Check out major watch forums or your local horology society for recommended repair shops. For example, I had my Omega Railmaster served by Omega in Toronto a couple years ago, the bill was just under $600. Afterwards I asked a very well respected independent for a quote on the same work and it would have been $175. Food for thought.

so I got my Chinese watch in today. Here are the shots:



It is a 38mm watch which I feared might be too small, but it is a great size. Apparently the Tianjin Watch company bought the equipment to make this watch from the Venus Company in Switzerland in the 70's. This movement was called the Venus 175; now it is called the Seagull ST-1901. I suspect it will be a pretty good watch. Fingers crossed. It is a mechanical movement so it needs winding every day. That is why Venus ditched the equipment; they wanted to invest more in automatic watches. I have see Breitling Chronomat gold watches from the 50's with this movement still command like $4,000 on ebay.

You know, that watch just oozes class. Timeless class - very nice. What makes it is the tone of blue on those hands.