Recently, at the 2015 Watches and Wonders exhibition, the luxury Swiss manufacturer has celebrated its 185 years with the special edition Clifton 1830 Pocket Watch Five Minute Repeater. This exquisite novelty is inspired by history and it is produced in the limited quantity of only 30 pieces with customized bridges and plates, unique end finishes and a satin-finished 18-karat red gold case.
Baume & Mercier Clifton 1830 Pocket Watch 5 Minute Repeater boasts a rare five-minute repeater function which is a type of chiming complication that predates the minute repeater. This complication works by first chiming the hours with a particularly low note and then chiming the number of five-minute intervals past the hour with a high and low note for each elapsed five-minute period. This kind of chime marks the time much more specifically when compared to the quarter repeater which chimes hours followed by the nearest quarter-hour.
Underneath the front sapphire glass lies the uncluttered opaline dial with applied numerals. The beating heart of the new watch is the manually-wound movement which is exclusively developed and designed by and for Baume & Mercier on the basis of a mechanism with an additional Dubois Dépraz (D73) module.
The hand-wound mechanism oscillates at the frequency of 18,000 alternations per hour (2.5Hz) and it promises up to 46 hours of power reserve when fully wound. The impeccable skeletonized caliber boasts all the time-honored standards of fine watchmaking, such as customized bridges and plates, circular-graining on the plate, unique end finishes, bridges with circular “Côtes de Genève” decor and blue steel screws. The inner beauty of the movement can be seen through a sapphire crystal case back of the watch.
The stunning Clifton 1830 Pocket Watch 5 Minute Repeater is attached to a sleek, black lambskin leather strap encrusted with an 18-karat rose gold button and ring. The new pocket watch from Baume & Mercier comes in a specially designed luxury case enclosing a small leather pouch that covers and shields it whilst being carried inside the pocket. The retail price of this exceptional pocket watch is $54,000.