Baume & Mercier’s New Cliftons are a Welcome Exercise in Restraint

As I sit in Dubai Airport, awaiting the final 14-hour leg home to Sydney from Watches and Wonders 2025, I’m thinking back on the deluge of watches that have flooded my consciousness over the past week. From the extremely complicated and technically wondrous to the impractically over-decorated and absurdly gaudy, this year’s proceedings turned things up to 10. 

However, as fun as these exercises in excess can be (who can’t get on board with a little engineering bloodsport or death by diamond-setting?), I find myself craving simplicity: a watch that just tells the time, and that’s it. Maybe it has a nice little date window somewhere. A humble task done quietly and done well.

Of all the timepieces I saw at Watches and Wonders this year, perhaps the ones that best fulfil this modest request are a trio of new Baumatic-powered Cliftons from Baume & Mercier. Unafraid to offer something simple, the minimalist nature of these models recalls watches made in the 1950s, when round, slender watches were all the rage. All you needed on your dial was a beautifully crafted set of hands and matching indices. 

While they all embody this understated aesthetic, each of these new Cliftons also couldn’t be more distinct. Having tried them all in Geneva, I can report that they’d make a wonderfully classy addition to any wrist, although there’s one in particular that speaks to me.

Apparently, these are a preview of a broader collection launching in September. For now, here’s a closer look at three watches that should be on the radar for anyone who understands the beauty and value of simplicity. 

Clifton Baumatic M0A10802

• Movement: Automatic, self-winding BM13-1975A
• Dial: Off-white
• Case: Satin-finished rose gold
• Diameter: 39 mm
• Thickness: 11.22 mm
• Crystal: Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal
• Strap: Brown alligator leather strap
• Power Reserve: 120 hours
• Water Resistance: 5 ATM (approximately 50 m)
• Strap: Brown alligator leather
• Price: TBA

Thanks to its colourway, this is the most ‘50s-looking member of this trio. The combination of that brown alligator leather strap, the rose gold of the case, and the slightly vintage look of that off-white dial in particular give the distinct feeling that this watch arrived at Watches and Wonders 2025 via some kind of time machine. 

Of course, with the Baumatic movement beating at its core and the immaculate finishing and materials throughout, this is a modern watch through and through. It’s just that Baume & Mercier has done such an outstanding job of recreating that old-school aesthetic that when you hold it in your hand you feel like you’re encountering a perfectly preserved piece of horology from decades ago.

It’s not yet up on the Baume & Mercier website, but I’m sure it will be there sooner rather than later. 

Clifton Baumatic M0A10778

• Movement: Automatic, self-winding BM13-1975A
• Dial: Salmon
• Case: Polished / satin-finished steel
• Diameter: 39 mm
• Thickness: 11.22 mm
• Crystal: Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal
• Strap: Black calfskin / beige calfskin
• Power Reserve: 120 hours
• Water Resistance: 5 ATM (approximately 50 m)
• Limited Edition: 350 pieces
• Price: AUD$5,250

This is my firm favourite of these new Cliftons. And it seems between this and the Riviera Flyback Chronograph, Baume & Mercier decided to ensure that my favourite new releases at its Watches and Wonders booth would be limited edition this year. In this case, there will be just 350 of this Clifton made, but I’ll be surprised if we don’t see more of this shade of dial from the maison.

That salmon colour is a winner every day of the week, and it ensures this watch is a head-turner while maintaining the simplicity I’m looking for. I prefer it paired with the black calfskin strap, but it comes with a handsome beige option that works too. Either way, you’ll be on to a good thing. 

Clifton Baumatic M0A10771 

• Movement: Automatic, self-winding BM13-1975A
• Dial: Blue
• Case: Polished / satin-finished steel
• Diameter: 39 mm
• Thickness: 11.22 mm
• Crystal: Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal
• Strap: Blue alligator leather
• Power Reserve: 120 hours
• Water Resistance: 5 ATM (approximately 50 m)
• Price: AUD$5,250

The star of this final Clifton (until the full range launches in September) is surely that gradient blue lacquered dial. Turning the watch in your hand, the shift from dark to light as your eye is drawn to the centre gives it an enhanced sense of depth, while the look is perfectly complemented by the blue alligator strap.

Across all three of these models, the dial is adorned with riveted, faceted, rhodium-plated indexes shaped like elongated trapezoids, alpha-shaped hour and minute hands that are faceted and rhodium-plated, and an Arabic numeral at the 12 o’clock position. It’s small details like these that help elevate these Clifton models, proving that delivering simplicity and doing it well is no simple task.