The Baume & Mercier Riviera GMT Knows How to Travel in Style

Riviera. It’s just one of those words. At once evocative and alluring, conjuring up an image of casual elegance and life lived at a more relaxed pace, Baume & Mercier’s Riviera collection perfectly captures the joie de vivre associated with the iconic French coastline.

The Baume & Mercier Riviera was first released in 1973, and has always been a dynamic, sporty design with a strong shape and with dynamic lines. With every new evolution of the collection (we’re currently at the fifth generation of the Riviera), the size proportions and ergonomics are subtly tweaked and improved, while keeping true to the spirit of the 50-year-old design. As a side note, it must be said that the Riviera is looking good for its age.

This year we get a version of the watch that’s such a natural fit for the laidback, sporty style of the Riviera, we wonder why we haven’t seen it before: the Riviera GMT. Travel is one of life’s greatest luxuries, so it’s a perfect addition to the collection. The implementation of the GMT complication is beautifully done, too. The red GMT hand has the same modernist dauphine shape as the other hands and is semi-skeletonized with a luminous tip. You might also note the lack of a 24-hour bezel or inner scale, as Baume & Mercier have preserved the clean lines of the Riviera by integrating a 24-hour display into the main hour registers, with separate hour markers printed onto the dial between the 12 applied hour makers, allowing for an understated GMT display.