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Baume & Mercier Classima 40mm Mens Watch Blue
Ref. BMM0A10878
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Stepping up in the same dial colour
The Classima line has long occupied the quieter end of Baume & Mercier's output — formal watches that do not announce themselves, built to the proportions a dress watch has held for decades. This 40mm blue-dial version follows that logic closely: at 6.05mm thick, it is genuinely flat, the kind of profile that disappears under a French cuff rather than lifting against it. The dial is where the craft is concentrated. The sun-satin finish radiates from a central barleycorn guilloché pattern — a detail that shifts between textures as the light moves across it, without ever becoming decorative in a distracting way. Rhodium-plated Roman numerals, matched leaf hands and a date at three sit over that ground in a palette that keeps everything legible at a glance. The alligator-embossed calfskin strap is well-matched to the dial's depth of colour, and quick-release spring bars mean the owner can change it without sending anything to a watchmaker.
- Reference
- BMM0A10878
- Brand
- Baume & Mercier
- Collection
- Classima
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case thickness
- 6.05mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- ETA F06.115
- Functions
- Date
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Blue
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Origin
- Swiss made
- Strap
- Interchangeable
Learn more about Baume & Mercier
The Baume brothers opened a watchmaking business in Les Bois in the Swiss Jura in 1830, and built a substantial export operation through a London office. The company won significant honours at nineteenth-century observatory trials, including a record for a chronograph tourbillon at Kew that stood for years.
The modern company dates from 1918, when William Baume partnered with Paul Mercier in Geneva. Mercier brought design sensibility, and the house's Art Deco pieces of the 1920s — shaped cases, jewelled dials, and the Phi emblem representing the golden ratio — established a decorative direction it has largely kept.
Baume & Mercier was among the founding members of the Geneva Seal system and produced complications including minute repeaters and perpetual calendars in its earlier decades.
Its modern position is deliberately accessible: classical Swiss watchmaking at prices below the group's luxury tier, with the Clifton, Riviera, and Hampton collections covering round dress watches, integrated-bracelet sports watches, and rectangular Art Deco shapes respectively. The Riviera, introduced in 1973, was among the first steel luxury sports watches with an integrated bracelet, arriving a year after the Royal Oak.
The house has been part of Richemont since the group's formation, and produces around two hundred thousand watches annually.
- 1830
- The Baume brothers begin watchmaking in Les Bois.
- 1892
- A Kew observatory record is set with a chronograph tourbillon.
- 1918
- William Baume and Paul Mercier partner in Geneva.
- 1973
- The twelve-sided Riviera launches.
Also in 7 collections
This watch appears in the Baume & Mercier Classima range (13), Back in Stock (4,868), Stainless Steel Watches (3,133), Automatic Watches (1,750), Leather Strap Watches (1,037), Blue Dial Watches (861) and Dress Watches (557).
What the specifications mean
A slim watch on leather, made for wearing with a shirt.
Strengths
- 40mm suits most wrists
- 6.05mm is unusually slim for a 40mm case
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- Sits in the lower half of Baume & Mercier's range as we list it
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
Baume & Mercier Classima alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | BMM0A10878 | H32675560 | FC-303NS5B6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £990 | £990 | £1,095 |
| Case size | 40mm | 40mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Leather strap | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | — | 80 hours | 38 hours |
| This watch | Closely matched | Closely matched |
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Showering yes, swimming no. 50m covers splashes and brief immersion, but a swimming stroke generates well above the pressure that figure describes.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedIs it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's, though at 40mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
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