Company history

William Baume, of the Geneva clock making family in business since 1830 , met Paul Tchereditchenko in 1912. The latter was the son of a Czarist officer and an embroideress with Worth (the couturier). Fortunately he changed his name to the more euphonic Mercier by the time they joined up in business in 1918.

That family connection with Worth was soon reflected in Baume & Mercier's ladies fashion watches, with fancy case shapes, jewelled bezels and highly ornate bracelets. They were exquisitely dainty, and are well worth looking out for. They are about (although hard to find). Baume Bros. was set up as an importer in England in the late 19th century, and the wristwatches to follow were vigorously marked. The Greek letter Pi was adopted as a dial logo in the mid 1960s. It evokes Vitruvius's Golden section: Leonardo da Vinci renamed it divine proportion, and indeed today Baume & Mercier formal watches have a classical, clean elegant look about them.