Baume & Mercier unveils limited edition watch paying homage to a master of modern art

Baume & Mercier has announced a new limited edition Hampton model, "Homage to Pierre Soulages," in tribute to Pierre Soulages, a master of modern art. Inspired by his work in general, this unique piece is covered in a distinctive texture.

Pierre Soulages, the painter exploring the color "black"

　Baume & Mercier has unveiled a new addition to its "Hampton" collection, paying homage to Pierre Soulages, a painter born in 1919 and currently 102 years old. Known for his explorations of the color black, Soulages's work uses brushes and other tools to create a variety of undulating effects, creating a unique expression within the color black. As Soulages himself once said, "When the reflected light is strong, the black element fades, and the surface becomes more present and active," and as one moves in front of the work, its appearance changes with the light, asserting its presence to the viewer.

　The Soulages Museum, located in Rodez, the city in southwestern France where he was born, is an art museum that houses the world's only collection of works by this "master." With the cooperation of the Soulages Museum and its enthusiasts, Baume & Mercier has created a one-of-a-kind watch that pays homage to the work of Pierre Soulages.

New technology to reproduce the texture of artwork

　To realize this piece, which can be described as a fusion of art and watchmaking, new technology was essential: Baume & Mercier used 3D printing technology to reproduce the texture of his large canvas paintings on the small dial of a watch.

　To find the ideal way to create a three-dimensional effect on a thin dial, revealing its fine details, and sublimating them, the designers studied the intricate surface shapes and repeatedly created prototypes, using techniques such as wax. This new challenge was achieved by laser-processing the brass dial, giving it a delicate, stone-like texture and covering it with a coating of approximately 0.2 microns thick using electrolytic plating. The surface was then covered with a semi-matt, protective transparent lacquer approximately 10 microns thick, achieving a controlled contrast between light and black.

　The dagger-shaped, faceted hands are crafted from brass and coated with black PVD. At Pierre Soulages's request, gold-tone tips were added to elegantly emphasize the passage of time. To allow the dial to be viewed as a painting, the gold-tone Baume & Mercier logo is printed on the inside of the domed sapphire crystal, rather than on the dial itself.

　The case is machined from a solid block of stainless steel, and the entire surface is microblasted and then coated with approximately 2 microns of hydrogenated amorphous ionic carbon using a PACVD (plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition) process, giving it a hardness of 6000 Vickers.