THE ORIGINS OF THE HOUSE
"ACCEPT ONLY PERFECTION. ONLY MANUFACTURE WATCHES OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY."
In keeping with its watchword, which has today become the House motto, the Baume family laid the foundations for a family business that would go on to become Baume & Mercier. It all began in 1830 when Louis Joseph Baume opened a watchmaking counter in Les Bois, a village of the Canton of Berne in Swiss Jura. Four years later, his sons, Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume, registered the business under the name “Frères Baume, la Famille Louis Joseph.” Driven by their enthusiasm and skills, the company – and watchmaking in a larger sense – quickly developed through the creation of exceptional pieces featuring cutting-edge innovations.
Watchmaking counter, Les Bois, Swiss Jura
1840 - INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
The Baume Brothers opened a branch in London, allowing the brand to expand throughout the British Empire and Far Eastern markets including India, Australia, and New Zealand. At the time, England was particularly attentive to chronometry, since exact time measurement provided strategic precision in both commercial and military maritime operations. This pioneering choice, reflecting the spirit of the House, would allow Baume & Mercier to become renowned for its watchmaking savoir-faire.
1851 - THE INTRODUCTION OF THE LÉPINE CALIBER IN THE JURA
The Baume company pioneered the introduction of the Lépine caliber in the Jura. This new movement structure profoundly improved the reliability, solidity, and appearance of watches. It quickly became widespread, making a considerable impact on the company’s prosperity, though the manufacture of the new movement required modifications in its production methods.
KEW OBSERVATORY
In the late 19th century, the House triumphed in the most exacting chronometry competitions, including the most prestigious among them: that of the Kew Observatory in England. The first time it participated in the Kew Teddington competition, in 1885, three of its Swiss-made watches placed in the top seven. The next year, four of its watches won awards. In 1887, the company achieved the highest score of the competition (85.1 points out of 100) with a split-seconds chronograph. In 1892, its keyless chronometer with tourbillon escapement swept the board, achieving a total score of 91.9 points. That set an all-time record that was only broken a decade later in 1903.
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
From 1860 to 1910, the Baume House participated in the World’s Fairs of Paris, London, and Geneva, where it won ten Grands Prix and five gold medals. These awards acknowledge the most innovative and highest-quality products of their respective years.
THE '20-'30s: THE EARLY YEARS OF THE HOUSE
A FORTUITOUS ENCOUNTER
The House destiny, and its watchmaking vision, took a decisive turn in 1918 when William Baume – a talented, ingenious, avant-garde watchmaker – joined forces with Paul Mercier: a cosmopolitan aesthete with aristocratic mannerisms, a visionary with ties to the art world, and a skillful businessman. As soon as they met in 1912, the two men immediately struck up a friendship and a complementary companionship. On August 27, 1920, they founded “Baume & Mercier” in Geneva, initiating a dialog between watchmaking expertise and a passion for design that would be passed down through decades and successive collections. One man’s pragmatism was balanced by the other’s artistic sensibility, placing the emphasis on aesthetics through ultra-slim timepieces for men and jewelry watches for women.
William Baume and Paul Mercier
THE QUALITY SEAL
As soon as Baume & Mercier was founded, William and Paul oriented their production to high-end watches with contemporary allure. While the Brand was registered in 1920, the Department of Commerce and Industry of the Republic and Canton of Geneva issued a certificate on March 10, 1921 attesting that Baume & Mercier ranked first for the number of pieces stamped at the Official State Office during the year 1920.
ACCLAIM FOR JEWELRY WATCHES AND ULTRA-SLIM WATCHES
In July of 1920, Baume & Mercier timepieces met with great success at the Geneva watchmaking fair, eliciting enthusiastic reactions from the press. One journalist stated, “We should highlight the exposition of six-line jewelry watches and ultra-slim watches by Mr. Baume and Mr. Mercier of Geneva, Granges and Bienne. Their House offers a remarkable array of exquisite movements and small calibers.”