Industry News – Baume (without ‘et Mercier’) is Richemont’s new Value Proposition
Yesterday Richemont announced to start a new watch brand named Baume. That’s right, Baume, without ‘et Mercier’, is being lined up as the new Value Proposition from the Richemont Group. Over the past years, Baume et Mercier was positioned as the affordable luxury brand from the group, with pricing that did not always match this slogan. So it’s now up to Baume to fill the segment of € 500 to € 1,000 Euros, a segment that’s completely new to the Richemont Group. They are coming with cheap affordable Asian movements (mainly quartz and a mechanical Miyota), lots of eco-friendly materials and an online configurator.
It was clear from Zenith’s 2018 collection that the Defy line was a major priority. Because while there were Pilot, Chronomaster and Elite models on offer, the Defy was the star of the show, with everything from the awesomely complex El Primero Zero G through to the comparatively simple, but still quality, Defy Classics. It’s easy to see why this line is the focus — it’s a bold, distinctive look, with a modern case shape and a tendency towards contemporary materials, but the overall package is still stylistically versatile. But perhaps most important of all, it’s a look that will perhaps open the brand up to a whole new audience.
Having previously reviewed the Farer Aqua Compressor Hecla, I thought it was time to explore some more of the British microbrand’s offerings. Enter the Farer Lander GMT Automatic, one of three pieces within Farer’s GMT Automatic range. As I unboxed the Lander, the first thing that grabbed my attention was the dial. Farer describes the colour as ‘sea green’, which, when you think about it, is quite an accurate description. Bursting with colour, the dial has a sunburst-style finishing, meaning the moment you walk outside into the sunlight it takes on a new appearance. This was my favourite feature of the watch and looked great when contrasted with the dark brown strap. There’s a lot of other detail in the dial, which Farer refer to as a ‘triple step dial’. The bold font of the hour numerals features a SuperLuminova outline, which adds an additional layer of depth and colour to the vibrant orange GMT hand that follows a smaller 24-hour clock around the dial. Finishing off the dial is a gunmetal silver outer rim, which is home to the second track. Although there’s plenty going on here, the dial doesn’t at all feel clustered, and remains legible — even in…