Baume & Mercier

The brand's story begins in 1830, when brothers Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume open a watchmaking counter in Les Bois, in the Swiss Jura, with a promise — recorded in the family's historical documents — to "accept only perfection, produce only watches of the highest quality." Over the following decades the business, known as Frères Baume, expands as far as London, where it earns international recognition for the precision of its timepieces, culminating in 1893 with victory at the Kew Observatory chronometry competition.

The turning point that gives the brand the name it still carries today comes between 1918 and 1920: in Geneva, William Baume, a descendant of the founding family, joins forces with businessman Paul Mercier, creating "Baume & Mercier." The newly formed brand soon receives the prestigious Geneva Seal, the quality mark reserved for watches made to the strictest standards of Geneva watchmaking, and in the following decades produces models that would become iconic, such as the Marquise (1946) and, above all, the Riviera (1973).

In 1964 the Piaget group acquires a majority stake, opening the way to new investment; in 1988 Baume & Mercier joins the Vendôme group, later absorbed into Richemont, remaining one of its watchmaking houses for nearly forty years. In 2018 it presents the in-house Baumatic movement, developed to offer power reserve and resistance to magnetic fields above the industry average. In July 2026 a new chapter opens in the maison's history: Richemont transfers full ownership of Baume & Mercier to the Italian group Damiani, which takes over control while keeping headquarters and production on Swiss soil.