The Baume & Mercier Clifton Manual 1830 Watch Review

The Baume & Mercier Clifton Manual 1830 Watch Review

The Baume & Mercier Clifton Manual 1830 Watch Review

The Clifton Manual 1830 announcement was one 

The Baume & Mercier Clifton Manual 1830 Watch Review

Which we missed initially, or at the minimum, we missed it when it comes to its potential importance for Baume & Mercier but for the Richemont Group. The timing from the announcement may have had something related to it, coming because it did right before Baselworld, but nevertheless, it's one we would have liked to revisit now as it might have interesting implications continuing to move forward.

The announcement was for any new watch: the Clifton Manual 1830, that is a hands-wound watch inside a gold situation, that contains a brand new movement the second may be the caliber BM12-1975M. The large news here would be that the movement incorporates new "Twinspir" technology - in other words, it utilizes a plastic balance spring, that is a first not just for Baume & Mercier, but in addition for the whole Richemont Group. The movement also utilizes a free-sprung, adjustable mass balance this can be a balance with weights around the rim to manage timing (ala Rolex Microstella balances, Patek Gyromax balances, and so forth). The Clifton collection is really a logical spot to launch this type of watch out for Baume & Mercier - many timepieces within the Clifton Collection have been in the vein of classic styling and affordability that's Baume & Mercier's bread and butter, however the collection includes a continuous calendar and it has even, previously, incorporated a 5-minute repeater.

The word "Twinspir" reflects the dwelling 

From the balance spring, that is contained two distinct layers of plastic with various crystalline orientations. As plastic expands and contracts the quantity of elasticity exerted within the material varies and to be able to create a more physically consistent restoring pressure, you are able to compensate by presenting another layer of fabric having a different structural alignment. This will create a more consistent restoring pressure and theoretically, better isochronism. Within the Twinspir balance spring the 2 layers are separated with a layer of plastic dioxide, which supplies temperature compensation and the standard materials in plastic balance springs to counterbalance the sensitivity of plastic to temperature change (frequently by means of a coating). Overall the dwelling from the Twinspir balance spring appears proprietary to Richemont a minimum of, I've not heard particularly associated with a other plastic balance spring using this kind of technical solution.

The launch was surprisingly low-key thinking 

About the possibility need for not just the timepiece itself for Baume & Mercier, but in addition for the Richemont Group. Piece of fabric Group in addition to a quantity of independent brands, including Rolex and Patek Philippe, have used plastic balance springs for several years and they are necessary to the antimagnetic qualities of these watches because the Master Chronometer certified watches from Omega, which boast the capability to shrug off magnetic fields more than 15,000 gauss. The opportunity to produce a plastic balance spring and deploy it across other brands would supply a brand new edge against your competitors not just for Baume & Mercier, but in addition for the audience in general.

Clearly if Richemont is able to produce plastic balance springs in-house, this means a better independence from Nivarox and therefore the Piece of fabric Group, and manufacture of such balance springs at scale could considerably affect the technical landscape for Richemont brands - particularly in admission to mid-level watches.