Baume & Mercier Goes Diving With The New Riviera Azur 300m

To address the issue immediately, the Baume & Mercier Riviera is as legitimate as any other luxury sports watch with an integrated bracelet that looks and feels similar to the Royal Oak. The Riviera collection was launched in 1973, a year after AP’s Royal Oak and years ahead of Patek’s Nautilus, Vacheron’s 222 and the IWC Ingenieur SL. The Riviera collection has been redesigned five times since 1973, always to match the trends of the moment. The brand presented the latest and fifth generation in 2021. And now, to mark the 50th anniversary of the sporty-chic Riviera, Baume & Mercier launches two versions of a new Riviera Azur 300m, inviting you to dive into the blue waters of the Mediterranean. 

It is more than fair to start talking about the new watch from Baume & Mercier by remembering Jean-Claude Gueit, a “watch stylist” to whom we owe the original Riviera, but also the 1980s Piaget Polo, and whose genius was sought by Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Corum, Girard-Perregaux, Omega, Vacheron Constantin, Harry Winston, Hermès and other companies he did work for. Jean-Claude Gueit, who spent most of his life with Piaget, belonged to the same generation as Gerald Genta but did not receive as much publicity. Although most watch fans are familiar with the rainbow setting, not many know that Jean-Claude Gueit invented it. Jean-Claude Gueit passed away three years ago, but his legacy is with us. As a figure who helped shape the image of the modern watch, his contribution to watchmaking is enormous. The first diving model appeared in the Riviera collection in 1981; the new references keep some of that 1980s chic but comply with contemporary dive watch standards. 

As the name hints, the new Baume & Mercier Riviera Azur 300m is a diver’s watch with a 30 ATM/300m water-resistant case. The Riviera Azur dodecagonal stainless steel case measures 42mm and has a unidirectional rotating bezel with a lacquered segment that is graduated to mark the first 15 minutes of the hour. For optimal usability, the steel bezel features an anodised aluminium ring with coloured notched inserts for better handling. Both the case and bezel are polished and satin finished; the bezel markings include lacquered numerals, while the dots and the triangle are coated with Super-LumiNova. 

The two new Rivieras can be seen as a diver’s version of the earlier Riviera Baumatic models. One sports a smoked-blue sapphire dial with waves décor and a blue rubber strap with other blue design features to support the Mediterranean spirit. For this blue reference, Baume & Mercier chose a beige lume with blue emission to treat the bezel elements and the hour and minute hands and the central seconds hand is painted blue. The screw-down crown has a blue ring, completing the blue-coloured elements list. 

The second Riviera Azur 300m is all about black accents. The seconds hand is black, as are the lacquered bezel segment, the notches and the crown’s ring. The dial is smoked grey sapphire crystal with waves. The Super-LumiNova on this watch is grey with the same blue emission as the earlier mentioned reference. This watch has an integrated and interchangeable 3-row stainless steel bracelet with polished and satin-finished surfaces.

The new Baume & Mercier Riviera Azur 300m models are powered by the Baumatic BM13-1975A movement, which you can see through the sapphire dodecagonal caseback. This manufacture calibre has a commendable 5-day power reserve, provides good protection against magnetic fields and claims daily accuracy of -4/+6 seconds/day (equivalent to COSC standards). Apart from the hour, minutes and seconds, the Riviera Azur 300m also has a date indication, showing between 4 and 5 o’clock in the aperture. To highlight the reliability of the Baumatic movements, Baume & Mercier now offers an extended 8-year guarantee (2 regulatory years and a 6-year extension); all that is required is to register your watch online. 

The Blue and Rubber model is priced at EUR 4,150, and the Black and Steel edition is priced at EUR 4,350. To learn more, please visit www.baume-et-mercier.com.