First released in 1973, the Riviera expresses the Brand’s expertise in design and its exquisite use of materials. This recently revisited lifestyle icon with pure, taut lines is immediately recognizable with its twelve-sided bezel and sport-chic silhouette. Today, Baume & Mercier asserts its full maturity with two unprecedented 42 mm GMT versions. The Riviera never ceases to reinvent itself. It loves travel. It loves life.
The Riviera was first developed in 1973 and has adapted to every era, year after year, while staying true to its special style. For nearly fifty years, the unique design of this watch – with its steel case and strong shape – embodies a desire for liberty, an offbeat elegance, and a taste for pleasure. It expresses the art of living of the French Riviera through both its look and its watchmaking genes. This is the watch of casual elegance like no other. In 2021, Baume & Mercier presented the fifth-generation Riviera, which continues to uphold the Brand’s expertise, capturing the signs of our modern times to better revisit them. Two GMT versions are being released this year, like an invitation to travel, to continue showing Baume & Mercier’s distinctive expertise in the subtlety of its shapes, its desire for boldness, and its sense of design.
The RIVIERA MARÉOGRAPHE is dedicated to the ocean and the passion of the open sea
Beginning in February 2024, the Brand begins its journey to the Riviera by presenting a sneak preview of the first timepiece in the Riviera colors, which features a nautical touch: the Riviera Maréographe.
10:00 a.m. – As the morning waves lap the coast of the Riviera, a tide watch is set into movement. Its high-contrast blue design mirrors the ocean, while its tide-measurement abilities reflect the sailing spirit of the region. The one who wears this watch drops anchor to better admire the sea, Riviera on the wrist. As the breakers roll past, the timepiece provides insight in the form of precise measurements which demonstrate the watchmaker’s savoir-faire. As the open sea takes on the purple hues of the setting sun, the Riviera continues to tell the time, relentlessly expressing the emotion and power that emanate from the water. It cruises along, an unfailing symbol of the connection between man and nature: a constant reminder of how important it is to love and respect the natural world around us.
Available in a limited edition of just 500, the Riviera Maréographe follows the ebb and flow of the tides in a satin-polished stainless steel dodecagonal case measuring 43 mm in diameter and 12.3 mm in thickness. A scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with an anti-glare coating on both sides protects it. The polished and sun-satin stainless steel bezel is fastened with four polished steel screws in sandblasted ADLC-coated steel. The dodecagonal case back is fastened with four screws and may be customized with your choice of engraving. It also bears a special engraving, “Special Edition One Out of 500.” The octagonal crown is screwed in and decorated with the brand’s emblem, the Phi logo, embossed and delineated in black. The push-button at 4 o’clock makes it possible to adjust the tide disk.
In a harmonious tonal palette of sun-satin blue and edged by a flange, the dial is dotted with Roman numerals at 12 o’clock and rhodium-plated riveted indexes at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, coated with white Superluminova offering a blue glow. The white transfers are also coated with white Superluminova for a blue luminosity. The rhodium-plated hour and minute hands are openworked and also coated with white Superluminova that shows up blue in the dark. Last but not least, the rhodium-plated seconds hand bears the Phi logo as a counterweight, and its tip is overlaid with white Superluminova for a blue glow. The blue disk that indicates the high and low tides is sandblasted and snailed.
Ensuring precision, durability and robustness, the self-winding Baumatic manufacture movement brings this model a high level of precision, a five-day power reserve (120 hours), and protection against everyday magnetic fields. A six-year warranty extension compliments the standard two-year international warranty, bringing an eight-year guarantee to anyone registering on the Baume & Mercier website: www.baume-et-mercier.com. This timepiece oscillates at a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vph) and offers water-resistance to 10 ATM (approximately 100m). Sophisticated finishes round out this technical performance: circular-grained bridges, a sand-blasted and snailed baseplate, an openworked oscillating weight adorned with snailed and “Côtes de Genève” designs, and a unique Baume & Mercier engraving.
This model is mounted on a built-in blue rubber strap with a canvas pattern. It is interchangeable without the need for tools thanks to a robust, reliable mechanism.
Its triple folding buckle is equipped with security push-pieces and an easy adjustment feature.
