This popular series sees the elite editors of Chronos Japan pick up hot new models, use them to their heart's content, and give their reviews. The 13th watch we tested was the Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic (2018). Masamasa Hirota, editor-in-chief of the magazine, who has been a fan of this model since its release, shares his impressions!
Text by Masayuki Hirota (Chronos-Japan)
There are no advertisements for Baume & Mercier in the Japanese edition of Chronos. From a sales perspective, it's not a good idea to feature them too often, but the Clifton Baumatic, released this year, is exceptionally good. We (and the author) have been pushing this new automatic watch so much that people from other manufacturers have commented that we might have been tricked by Baume & Mercier, and we expect that to continue in the future. The same can be said for Omega's Seamaster Diver 300M Master Chronometer. We have been enthusiastically recommending it despite the negative reactions of the sales department because of the watch's high level of perfection.
I praised it so much that Baume & Mercier lent me a sample for testing. I've been using it for about a month now, and the result is "Outstanding." It stands out among current automatic watches for its ability to be used without any thought. Below, I'd like to report on what I found so good about it. I'll write more about the movement design in Issue 78 of this magazine (on sale August 3rd). It may sound strange for me to brag, but I'd like to think that no other publication has covered the Baumatic to this extent (probably).
Short review
〇：Chronometer-level accuracy, excellent magnetic resistance, long power reserve, thin and easy-to-handle case, spring bar positioning for bracelet conversion, attractive price
×: No luminous, the date change sound is a little loud, there are times when the date cannot be changed
Movement
The basic design of the BM12-1975A, which is equipped with a timepiece, dates back to Cartier's Caliber 1847MC. This movement completely separates the base movement from the winding mechanism. Therefore, simply increasing the diameter of the base movement and installing a larger barrel easily extends the power reserve. While the movement's gear train design is the same as the Caliber 1847MC, the larger baseplate (i.e., barrel) extends the power reserve to approximately five days. The automatic winding mechanism, commonly known as the "Magic Click," is modeled after Seiko's Magic Lever. While automatic winding is a complex design, the flawless automatic winding mechanism of the Caliber 1847MC is used to ensure reliability. I wore the watch constantly, and I had no complaints about the winding efficiency.
In addition to its long power reserve of approximately five days, this movement has two other distinctive features. The first is the use of a free-sprung balance, which is shock-resistant and highly isochronous. However, perhaps to reduce costs, not much effort was spent on the regulator. While it seems that the balance is prone to one-sided weight, there were no problems with static or dynamic accuracy.
The balance spring and escapement were also changed to silicon. Additionally, a technology called Twin Spear, which bonds two pieces of silicon together, was adopted to increase the stability of the balance spring. The Baumatic's high magnetic resistance of approximately 1500 gauss is clearly due to the silicon balance spring.
Although it is not a chronometer, the movement accuracy after about a month of use was approximately 3 seconds. There was almost no positional error, and no noticeable magnetic interference. The crown had as little play as an IWC, and setting the hands felt as smooth as an in-house movement in the 1 million yen class. I didn't like the feel of the Cal. 1847MC when it was first released, but it seems to have been improved. However, perhaps because it is an entry-level model, the sound of the rotor and the date change were a little loud. However, these are unlikely to bother anyone other than those accustomed to high-end watches.
