Classic on the outside, innovative on the inside - this latest addition to the Clifton Collection hides an exclusive system which enhances chronometric performance.

Baume & Mercier has made it a habit to offer an exclusive timepiece each year as part of its coveted Clifton Collection. And that’s no small feat, since the collection already boasts the Flying Tourbillon, the Perpetual Calendar and the 5-minute Repeater models.

Once again this year we see something special from the Swiss watchmaker. The new timepiece is the Clifton Manual 1830, and it brings to us TwinSpir™ technology courtesy of a a brand new movement.

The watch also embodies the emblematic look of previous models of the collection, with its distinctive and very composed appearance. But that classic external appearance belies the technological innovation on the inside.

Within we have a new manufacture mechanical hand-wound caliber. The BM12-1975M was designed in close collaboration with the Richemont Group’s Manufacture Horlogère Val Fleurier. And it includes a set of unique technical characteristics.

Foremost is the new TwinSpir™ technology, which has been applied in a novel hairspring. It comprises of a composite structure combining two layers of silicon, alternatively oriented and bound through a layer of silicon dioxide, which also acts as a thermo-compensating element.

This helps to solve the problem of elastic anisotropy, a fancy way to say that the oscillations of the hairspring are less affected, which in turn is good news for the timepiece’s chronometric performance.

When it’s all said and done, this new technology, when combined with an inertia-type balance wheel, enhances the precision of the movement, limits magnetic interference and overall brings better shock resistance to the timepiece.

The movement is finely finished, with bridges featuring the Côtes de Genève decor, a circular-grained finished plate, blued steel screws, and the brand’s characteristic engravings. The movement can be appreciated in its entirety through the display case back.

But to appreciate the movement, and indeed the watch itself, in its entirety? Well that would require an investment of 12,500 Swiss francs, making this new timepiece one of the watchmaker’s more high-end offerings.