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Baume & Mercier Classima 40mm Mens Watch Silver
Ref. BMM0A10882
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
The Classima line is Baume & Mercier's answer to the dressed steel watch at its most restrained — a category where the dial does the work and the case stays out of the way. At 6.05mm thick, this 40mm example is genuinely flat for a modern Swiss watch, thin enough to disappear beneath a shirt cuff without the slight ridge most dress watches leave. The dial earns its keep. A central guilloché barleycorn pattern gives way to a sun-satin opaline surround, and the shift between the two textures means the dial reads differently depending on how the light strikes it — never flat, never fussy. The 4N gold-tone leaf hands and Roman numerals pull warm against the silver ground, which is the right call: full white metal throughout can read cold, and this avoids it. The alligator-patterned calfskin strap uses a tool-free quick-release system, which matters more than it sounds on a watch you are likely to swap between a suit and a weekend shirt. The ETA F06.115 carries an end-of-life indicator and runs for four years on a single battery — useful in a watch worn for its looks rather than its complications, where an unannounced failure would be the worst time to discover it.
- Reference
- BMM0A10882
- Brand
- Baume & Mercier
- Collection
- Classima
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case thickness
- 6.05mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Silver
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Quartz
- Calibre
- ETA F06
- Functions
- Date
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Origin
- Swiss made
- Warranty
- 2 years
- 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 6 collections
This watch appears in the Baume & Mercier Classima range (9), Stainless Steel Watches (3,398), Back in Stock (2,765), Leather Strap Watches (1,100), Silver Dial Watches (762) and Dress Watches (558).
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 | BMM0A10882 | FC-270N4P6B | 5485-ST-50001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £990 | £995 | £950 |
| Case size | 40mm | 40mm | 39mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 60m | 50m |
| Movement | Quartz | Quartz | Quartz |
| Strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Stainless steel bracelet |
| 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.
Will the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Does it need a battery?
Yes. It is quartz, so expect a battery change every two to three years at a jeweller.
Is 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 new, at £990. There is nothing to compare it against today.
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