INTRODUCING: The Baume & Mercier Riviera GMT
Fergus Nash- The Baume & Mercier Riviera GMT finally acknowledges travel as part of a luxury lifestyle.
- The latest Riviera wave dial is stunning in either silver or blue.
- It’s powered by an ETA 2893-2 base movement.
The Baume & Mercier Riviera has always been a lifestyle compliment, ever since its release in 1973. When the luxury steel sports watch first took off as a concept, the Riviera was there bathing in the summer sun of the Côte d’Azur. One aspect of this yacht-dwelling, champagne-sipping existence that the Riviera shockingly hasn’t yet acknowledged is one of travel, and so the Baume & Mercier Riviera GMT aims to remedy that.
Beneath the flashy themes of living the high life, the Baume & Mercier Riviera GMT is really all about bold expression. The entire watch is like an explosion on the wrist, with the dodecagonal (12-sided) bezel brushed with a sunburst finish, and polished chamfered edges containing the decoration with refinement. The lugs slide down from the edges of the case with precision, joining in with the bracelet for an integrated look that can actually be swapped out for rubber thanks to a quick-release system. No detail of the case is spared, from the sporty hex screws, to the stacked-layer crown with a red centre, and a sapphire display caseback. The case is 42mm in diameter, with a slender 10.96mm thickness. The lug-to-lug length comes in at around 49.5mm, however the centre link of the bracelet extends this to effectively 51mm. That said, its curvature would help it conform to an average wrist.
The modern Baume & Mercier Riviera watches feature one of the most energetic takes on a wave dial, and that’s no different for the GMT version. An alternating pattern of boomerang-shaped arrows represent the peaks and troughs of beach waves, while the surface is still brushed to maintain brilliant lighting dynamics. The GMT functionality has been worked into the dial effortlessly, in a clever way that I haven’t seen done before. In between the applied hour markers and printed markings, the 24-hour display has been printed in red or white numerals which correspond to the crimson GMT hand. This gives it the perfect balance between easy to read and easy to ignore, depending on what you’re checking your watch for. The two colour schemes are silver and blue, which both capture a bright summer sportiness with a good amount of versatility should you want to dress it up.
The calibre BM11893-2 is visible from the sapphire caseback, making up in reliability what it lacks in bells and whistles. The base movement is the ETA 2893-2, with a 45-hour power reserve, 4Hz beat rate, and all of the ammenities we expect from a modern automatic movement such as hacking seconds and a quick-set date. The GMT hand moves in one-hour increments in the first position, meaning that you can adjust the second time zone without needing to hack the movement and interrupt your current time.
The Baume & Mercier Riviera GMT pricing and availability:
The Baume & Mercier Riviera GMT is available now, and you can learn more on their website here. Price: AU$4,700 (Riviera 10659, blue dial on rubber) / AU$4,900 (Riviera 10658, silver dial on steel bracelet)
| Brand | Baume & Mercier |
| Model | Riviera GMT |
| Case Dimensions | 42mm x 10.96mm x 49.5mm |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 100m |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire |
| Dial | Silver (10658) or blue (10659) |
| Lug Width | Integrated |
| Strap | Steel bracelet (10658) or blue rubber (10659) |
| Movement | ETA 2893-2 |
| Power Reserve | 45 hours |
| Availability | Available now |
| Price | AU$4,700 (Riviera 10659, blue dial on rubber) / AU$4,900 (Riviera 10658, silver dial on steel bracelet) |