In the 1920s a young William Baume, a descendant of the founders of the “Frères Baume” watch company (established in 1830), settled in Geneva and partnered with a colourful figure named Tchereditchenko, who subsequently adopted his French mother’s family name and became known as Paul Mercier.
Baume & Mercier was thus born in 1918 as the two men joined forces, with Baume handling technical aspects and Paul Mercier taking charge of design and the commercial side of the business. Together, they established a fully-fledged manufacture in Geneva, making top-quality watches as well as movements that were exported to the United States.
The brand was taken over by the forerunner of the Richemont Group in 1988 and is today headed up by CEO Alain Zimmermann. Its flagship collections are the ladies’ Linea models, which have been around since the 1980s, and the classic Hampton model for gents.

Classima	Hampton	Capeland	Linea