A sport isn’t only about the time spent on the field or court.  Celebrating a triumphant win, or a grueling loss, brings the team together.  A time to share efforts, work out strategies, set personal and collaborative goals.  This is the new spirit of sports. In the end it doesn’t matter, as long as you experience pleasure and shared emotions, and everyone fulfills their dreams and desires. 

The main aim is no longer to take part, but to play – for the beauty of movement, in all sports. As well as competition, men today are perpetuating that fine and powerful vision of sport that emerged at the start of the 20^th century with those who were known at the time as sportsmen. They were true gentlemen who invented fair play and sporting elegance, and perpetuated a classic and famous motto: “Anima sana in corpore sano” – a healthy mind in a healthy body.Now, in the 21st century, that Latin saying remains just as significant. Baume & Mercier has embraced this concept by unveiling a new multifunctional sports watch with a distinctive look and elegant shape, for the "gentlesportsman".

The Clifton Club, a watch for the “gentlesportsman”

Baume & Mercier makes watches for every key moment of life, watches that mark memories.  The Clifton Collection, one of Baume & Mercier's watchmaking lines, is expanding this year with a new series of timepieces, the Clifton Club, which fulfills the needs of urban, active, elegant men – accomplished aesthetes, today’s “gentlesportsmen”. The watch is as attractive and multitalented as those men who, whether in the sports hall or an important meeting, grasp everything life has to offer without counting their time. Designed for adventure, resolutely contemporary, refined and athletic, the Clifton Club elegantly revives sporting values while upholding traditional watchmaking principles. It is a contemporary, accurate, high-performance, sturdy timepiece, made to exacting standards. 

Attractive and modern, the Clifton Club was designed for men who are truly of their time, for all occasions, professional and sporting. Powered by a Swiss-made mechanical self-winding movement with date function and proven reliability (tested for shock resistance to 550G, adjustments in three positions), Baume & Mercier’s Clifton Club is made for the many men who want a multipurpose, stylish sports watch.

An athletic look, a stylish shape

The eminently athletic Clifton Club boasts a distinctive design that offers elegance, sporting prowess, functionality and comfort on the wrist. Hewn in very high-quality stainless steel (316L), the case has a round opening and a well-balanced diameter of 42 mm, to suit all wrist sizes. With a thickness of 10.3 mm, the watch can be slipped discreetly under a shirt cuff or worn conveniently while practicing a sport.

Continuing the line of traditional shapes in the Clifton collection, which draws its aesthetic inspiration from the great watches of history, the horn-to-horn bevel that runs around the case echoes the elaborate curves of the watch, a classic Clifton signature detail.  In the same vein, the integrated crown cover fits perfectly with the sporty, refined shape of this timepiece. The color schemes (black, white, blue) make the Clifton Club a fully polyvalent watch. It can be worn at the weekend and during the week, at the office and on a bike, on work trips and during the morning jog. Water-resistant to 100 meters, designed to be ideally suited to watersports and boating, the Clifton Club is the watch you’ll never want to take off.

Three types of bracelet for all lifestyles

The Clifton Club is available in five versions, each equally elegant and sporty.

Firstly, two options: the polished/satin-finished stainless steel case (black or white dials) and the “All Road” calfskin strap for the traveler look. The “All Road” calfskin strap features an embossed sailcloth-like fabric exclusive to Baume & Mercier and is lined with orange rubberized calfskin, edged on the reverse, offering astonishing resistance qualities. It will withstand anything: dry and wet friction, UV rays; this all-terrain strap can be worn 24 hours a day. Last but not least, its curved lugs were designed to offer perfect integration between the case and strap, as well as faultless comfort on the wrist.

There are also two versions with a polished/satin-finished stainless steel case (black or blue dial) with steel bracelet for more urban settings. The integrated stainless steel bracelet, which also echoes the curves on the case and horns, is composed of three polished rows on the sides with a vertical satin finish on the upper edges. The fine adjustment links ensure the bracelet fits the wrist perfectly.

Lastly, there is an all-black version. It features a black dial, stainless steel case with a black sand-blasted ADLC finish (amorphous diamond-like carbon, a coating of 2-3 µm thick that is incredibly hard and highly resistant to scratches and shocks) and an integrated black vulcanized rubber strap with openworked sections to offer natural ventilation to the wrist.

All bracelets and straps feature a triple folding buckle with two side push-pieces in stainless steel to guarantee security and ease of opening. This in-house design bears the “Phi” logo stamped on the top. Only the black rubber version comes with a wide pin buckle in satin-finished stainless steel, also decorated with Baume & Mercier's “Phi” logo.

High-end finishes, sporty attributes

In all its versions, the Clifton Club watch radiates its status as a champion. All finishes are carried out by hand, with the greatest respect for Geneva’s watchmaking traditions: the beveled edge is polished and the top is vertically satin-brushed, along with the caseband on the all-steel versions. These contrasting polished and satin finishes highlight the elegant bevel that runs around the case. The black version in sand-blasted ADLC steel gives this timepiece a confident, virile, matte look.

As the finishing touch, the engraved knurled steel bezel is unidirectional to avoid false readings if turned the wrong way, and it projects slightly for easier handling. A rotating bezel with 120 notches provides ultimate precision with two notches per second. Here too, Baume & Mercier has left nothing to chance: with the double finish, polished on the edges and sand-blasted in the center, the bezel of the Clifton Club really stands out. The numerals are filled by hand with long-lasting lacquer in orange, or in black for the all-steel and leather versions. A steel ADLC ring is integrated to the black version, and a steel/aluminum ring for the blue version.

A dynamic dial with many functions

To protect itself from external factors, the Clifton Club is equipped with an antiglare  scratch-resistant flat sapphire crystal to optimize read-off. The matte white or sun satin-finished dial with protective Zapon varnish to fight oxidation perfectly captures the light and optimizes read-off of the time throughout the day. The date disc is black or white, to preserve the harmony of the dial.

The flange which features the timer is riveted with index dots and decorated on the edge with a slender inner band in an orange varnished finish, to enliven the dial. The curved riveted indexes and the Phi logo at 12 o’clock, symbolizing balance, are filled with Superluminova* SLN C1 green emission, for optimal visibility both day and night.

These details give the dial a beautiful depth. For harmonious effect, the hour and minute hands are also picked out in the same Superluminova*finish, to enhance the overall design. 

Lastly, the central second hand finished in an athletic orange varnish features a subtle touch of luminescent Superluminova*on the tip, allowing the user to check that their watch has not stopped. The larger screw-down crown allows for rapid adjustment of the date and precise setting of the time, thanks to its stop-second system.

With its personalizable screw-down case back in stainless steel, the reverse of the Clifton Club captures its philosophy. It features a coat of arms - like a sign of recognition. Like a private members’ club card. This coat of arms symbolizes the noble values associated with a particular idea of sport that Baume & Mercier has always honored: camaraderie, elegance, generosity, giving oneself, courage, effort, fair play, beauty in movement, and team spirit.

* Superluminova® is a registered trademark not owned by Baume & Mercier.