As Baume & Mercier’s signature semi-casual dress watch, the resourceful Clifton is able to play host to some fairly vast array of complications — everything from easy GMT and moonphase displays, to endless calendars and this wild minute-repeating pocket view. Therefore it should come as little surprise that for 2017, just as in years’ past, the entry-level Richmont manufacturer is leaning on the Clifton’s versatility to showcase their latest technologies: an in-house made manual-winding movement outfitted with an exclusive system designed to enhance accuracy.The Baume & Mercier Clifton Manual 1830 is the very first Richemont group watch to deploy this new technician, called TwinSpir, which is based around a new type of proprietary ion hairspring developed by the Richemont Research & Innovation team. This new spring is comprised of a unique, composite structure that unites two layers of silicon, rather oriented and jumped through a coating of silicon dioxide. The goal was to create a hairspring that wasn’t only immune to the usual effects — corrosion, magnetism, etc., but one which was also largely resistant to changes in temperature and infinitesimal variances in pressure while it oscillates.Now, phoning TwinSpir the foundation for a thermocompensated mechanical movement would be something of a gross oversimplification, however that is not far from the premise, either. But, rather than actively adjust for changes in temperature, this method mutes them. For instance, where a typical hairspring might demonstrate varying degrees of elasticity (and therefore subtly differing oscillation speeds) on the wrist on a warm afternoon, vs. sitting on a bedside table, the fundamental premise of TwinSpir is to make a more consistently secure hairspring that is mostly immune from these types of thermoelastic variances whatever the view’s ambient temperatures. Furthermore, as the hairspring contracts and expands through its typical oscillations, the layered structure is designed to create a perfectly even and more constant oscillation, eliminating any subtle irregularities in elasticity (or even “elastic anisotropies”) that would also adversely influence the chronometric speed — a known functionality trait exhibited by many traditional hairsprings.
Baume & Mercier introduces a new chronograph inspired by the legendary “Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé”, probably the most iconic car in American motorsports. In celebration of its legacy, Peter Brock personally joined with Baume & Mercier’s Design Director Alexandre Peraldi to create a collection that sets a new standard in style and presence. The chronograph is limited to 196 pieces.
