Review: Baume et Mercier Riviera Baumatic 10616

Hands-on review of the Baume & Mercier Riviera Baumatic with live pictures, specs and price. Recensione Baume & Mercier Riviera Baumatic 10616

Last April, Baume et Mercier successfully relaunched its Riviera collection, introducing several models in two case sizes - 42 mm and 36 mm - and various configurations (you can read our presentation article here).

The Riviera was originally launched in 1973, soon becoming one of the watches that contributed to the creation of the new category of luxury steel timepieces. Breaking with traditional codes, luxury was not anymore associated exclusively to precious metals. 

We recently had the pleasure to wear and test for a few days one of the top models of the collection, the Riviera Baumatic 10616, and we are now delighted to share our impressions and pictures.

Its name, easily bringing to mind the French Riviera, suggests the idea of a casually elegant style and in fact the watch can be worn in almost any daily situation, with a suit in a business meeting just like with a causal fit at the seaside.

The Riviera Baumatic comes in a 42 mm diameter stainless steel case with a dodecagonal – twelve-sided – bezel that is inspired to the original Riviera from 1973 but updated to our times.

The four screws on the bezel contributes to the sportier look of the latest generation of the Riviera. Most surfaces are satin-brushed with polished chamfers to highlight to refined design of the watch.

Well proportioned with a thickness of just 10.66 mm, the case will easily slip under your cuff-links.

Even without a screwed crown, the Riviera Baumatic guarantees water resistance up to a pressure of 10 bar (approximately 100 metres / 330 feet).  The octagonal crown is engraved with the Greek letter Phi, symbol of the golden ratio or divine proportion and the brand's logo.  

Framed by the signature bezel and protected by a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides, the dial is characterised by a smoky blue decorated sapphire dial that, thanks to its transparency, offers glimpses of the gear trains of the Baumatic mechanical movement. 

Legibility is excellent thanks to the large applied hour markers, "XII" and "VI" Roman numerals, and three-face hours and minutes hands, all generously treated with white Super-LumiNova emitting a blue glow if the dial was previously exposed to artificial or natural light.

The minute track can be seen through the smoked sapphire crystal. Central seconds and a date aperture at 3 o’clock complete the dial indications.

The Baumatic self-winding movement and its oscillating weight are visible through the sapphire crystal caseback secured with 4 screws.

Beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), the BM13-1975A Calibre offers a remarkable power reserve of 5 days or 120 hours, a performance which is very rare to find in an automatic movement.

The Baumatic offers truly excellent performances in terms of magnetic fields, autonomy, precision, and durability while remaining affordable. Its silicon balance-spring is antimagnetic, three times lighter than the ordinary alloys used for hairspring, resistant to corrosion and less sensitive to small impacts and repeated vibrations.

Moreover, the high-performance escapement was designed with an unusual geometry to reduce losses relating to friction and improving the torque transmission between the components, thus ensuring a 30% higher autonomy.

The entire movement and its oscillating weight are enhanced by "Côtes de Genève" and snailed decorations.

The Baume et Mercier Riviera Baumatic 10616 is matched to a high-quality three-link steel bracelet secured to the wrist by a triple folding clasp with security push-pieces.

Thanks to its clever and totally user friendly Fast Strap interchangeability system, it is possible to change the bracelet with a colourful rubber strap (and vice versa) in few seconds. A truly ingenious solution, probably the best strap/bracelet exchange system that we have tried so far.

The Baume et Mercier Riviera Baumatic 10616 retails at Euro 3,600 (including VAT) / US$ 3,550 (before local sales taxes), a price that we consider attractive considering quality and finishes of this timepiece, its advanced manufacture movement and the smart Fast Strap system.
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