Many Baume & Mercier watches are equipped with automatic mechanical movements.

An automatic or self-winding mechanical watch has a sophisticated mechanism which winds itself automatically thanks to the movements of the wearer's wrist. Nevertheless, if you have not worn your watch for several days, it will stop or will have insufficient power reserve to ensure optimal accuracy. In this case, before using it again, we suggest you wind it manually with about 20 clockwise turns of the crown to ensure that it will operate perfectly in all conditions. After wearing your watch for several hours, depending on your activity level, the watch will be perfectly wound.

Special recommendations: 

- The efficiency of the self-winding process is directly linked to the motion of the wearer's wrist. In case of insufficient movements, the watch may stop even while being worn. In this case, we recommend to wind the watch manually with about 20 clockwise turns of the crown.

- The watch should be removed from your wrist before winding it. This ensures the crown stem remains completely straight during winding and avoids the risk of damaging the crown or the movement.

- Even if your watch is not worn for several months we advise you to regularly wind it manually. This will prevent the oils from either congealing or flowing over the shafts of the movement.

- For watches equipped with Baumatic movement:  to ensure a sufficient power reserve before putting your Baumatic watch on the wrist, note that 50 turns of the crown are necessary (instead of 20 for standard movements), given its higher power-reserve.

We suggest you wind your watch every day, preferably in the morning, by turning the crown until it resists. Once this point has been reached, do not force the crown any further since there is a risk of seriously damaging the movement.

The watch should be removed from your wrist before winding it. This ensures the crown stem remains completely straight during winding and avoids the risk of damaging the crown or the movement.

Finally, even if your watch is not worn for several months, we advise you to regularly wind it. This will prevent the oils from either congealing or flowing over the shafts of the movement.

A chronograph is a watch which can measure and display time intervals. A chronograph model generally contains a central seconds-hand for counting seconds, a counter for totaling minutes and another for totaling hours.

A chronometer is a high-precision watch displaying seconds whose movement has been controlled over a period of several days, in different positions and at different temperatures, by an official neutral institute. Only mechanisms that have satisfied the criteria for precision are issued with an official chronometer certificate. In Switzerland, the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) is the only insitute who can issue such certificates.

The difference arises from the fact that the two movements are quite different.

A quartz watch is extremely precise due to its high frequency of vibrations (32 kHz).  Its precision (fast or slow) deviates by approximately 1-2 seconds per week (1-2 mintutes per year).

In comparison, a mechanical movement (self-winding or hand-wound) contains an hairspring  with an oscillating frequency  between 2.5  and 4 Hz, corresponding to an accuracy of 1- 2 minutes per week. Furthermore, the precision of a mechanical watch can also be affected by a variety of factors, including impact, the aging of the oils, significant temperature fluctuations, magnetic fields and wearer activity.

With the exception of a few specific models, including vintage ones, Baume & Mercier watches are water-resistant up to at least 30 meters. If a model’s water-resistance goes beyond 30 meters, the depth is indicated on the back of the case. 

When a watch is water-resistant, its movement is protected from dust, humidity and any risk of damage caused by immersion. As such, your watch is water-resistant in all usual circumstances of daily life, be it in the rain, in the shower or while swimming. However, you should avoid subjecting your watch to high pressure water jets (such as those produced by car or garden cleaning appliances, for example) and also protect it from knocks that may occur during the practice of intense water sports (jet-ski, …).

Also, note that the water-resistance of your watch is not permanently guaranteed. The gaskets that ensure water-resistance can be physically deteriorated by natural aging but also by regular use of the winding crown, shocks, and other factors including perspiration, use of cosmetics and changes in temperature.

It is the reason why we recommend a water-resistance check every year, preferably before a summer vacation.

Warning:

When your watch is submerged in water, make sure that the crown is tightly closed (pressed or screwed-down, depending on the model), and do not press any of the push-buttons because water may enter into the case.

If you notice any condensation inside your watch, you must take it immediately to one of our authorized retailers or service centers.

Our environment is increasingly subject to magnetic disturbance from various sources that can affect the running of your Baume & Mercier watch. For this reason we recommend you avoid, as far as possible, placing your watch near or in direct contact with electromagnetic sources such as magnets, electronic devices, handbag clasps, iPad/iPhone covers…

A quartz watch may be affected when it enters a strong magnetic field but it will return to normal when it leaves the field. The disturbance therefore only lasts while your watch is within the field. 

A mechanical watch is also sensitive to strong magnetic fields. In certain cases, steel components of the movement may become magnetized, particularly the hairspring. In some rare cases, magnetized parts may stick together and cause the watch to run fast, or even stop completely. In this event, demagnetization is required and should be performed at a Baume & Mercier Service Center.

Note for watches equipped with a Baumatic movement: thanks to the use of silicon and non-ferromagnetic elements for the sensitive parts of the movement (including the hairspring), the watches equipped with a Baumatic movement are resistant to everyday life magnetic fields (beyond 1,500 Gauss = 25x higher than to the current norms ISO 764 / NIHS 90.10).

A hand indicates how much of the watch’s power reserve remains (for both self-winding and hand-wound mechanical watches).

A display is considered retrograde when one of the hands (the retrograde hand) moves backward after having reached its final mark.

COSC means Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute). It is the only insitute in Switzerland who can certify chronometer movements.

A movement is certified COSC when it has passed precision tests in different positions and at different temperatures over a 15-day period.

If you want to know more about the functions equipping your watch, please refer to our Glossary or to the User guide.