Baume & Mercier traces its origins to 1830, when Louis Joseph Baume opened a watchmaking counter in Les Bois, a village in the Canton of Berne in the Swiss Jura. The brand history page states that in 1918 William Baume joined forces with Paul Mercier, and that Baume & Mercier was founded in Geneva on August 27, 1920. It also states that the Department of Commerce and Industry of the Republic and Canton of Geneva issued a certificate on March 10, 1921 attesting that Baume & Mercier ranked first for the number of pieces stamped at the Official State Office during 1920.
The brand site also records several later milestones. It states that Baume & Mercier developed the Tronosonic in 1971 and introduced the Riviera in 1973, with a design by Jean-Claude Gueit based on connecting the twelve numerals of a circle into the case outline. The history page says the Hampton collection was introduced in 1994 and that the Classima collection was introduced in 1997. It also says that in the early 2000s the company refocused on more classical pieces, including Classima and Clifton.
Collections documented on the site include Riviera, Hampton, Classima, Clifton, and Joia de Baume & Mercier. The site identifies Riviera as a model launched in 1973, Hampton as a collection introduced in 1994, and Classima and Clifton as part of the brand's later classical direction.
Baume & Mercier uses the phrase Maison d'Horlogerie Geneve 1830 on its site and states in its customer service FAQ that all of its watches are manufactured at its watchmaking workshops in Les Brenets, in the Swiss Jura. The history page also says the Baume brothers expanded through a London branch into British Empire and Far Eastern markets including India, Australia, and New Zealand. The same FAQ states that all Baume & Mercier watches are produced in Switzerland.
find.watches is not an authorized dealer for Baume & Mercier.