Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Baume & Mercier · Clifton
Baume & Mercier Clifton 36 mm Meteorite Platinum
Reference 18397OR.39
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Baume & Mercier
- Collection
- Clifton
- Model
- Baume & Mercier Clifton 36 mm Meteorite Platinum
- Reference number
- 18397OR.39
- Year / era
- 1970 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- High-beat automatic
- Case material
- Platinum 950
- Dial type
- Meteorite
- Strap / bracelet
- Oyster bracelet
- Water resistance
- 300 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 36 mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6 mm
- Case material
- Platinum 950
- Bezel
- Emerald-set
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Meteorite
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Oyster bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 300 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 88B — High-beat automatic
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 10 days
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- Dive time, running seconds
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1970 – 1984
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Baume & Mercier Clifton 36 mm Meteorite Platinum sits within Baume & Mercier's Clifton line, introduced in 1970. It carries the house codes established since 1830 — platinum 950 case, meteorite dial and high-beat automatic — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
The House
Baume & Mercier
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1830
- Founder
- Louis-Victor & Célestin Baume
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Premium
- Major collections
- Clifton, Riviera, Hampton, Classima, Linea
- Signature technologies
- Certified chronometer regulation · Composite and ceramic case materials
- Famous movements
- Automatic, Swiss lever escapement · High-beat automatic · Spring Drive · Automatic chronograph
- Notable watches
- Baume & Mercier Clifton 43 mm Salmon Stainless (1960) · Baume & Mercier Clifton 39 mm Slate Platinum (1958) · Baume & Mercier Clifton 36 mm Meteorite Platinum (1970) · Baume & Mercier Clifton 37 mm Green Ceramic (1956)
Brand history
Baume & Mercier has spent more than 196 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Clifton, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Louis-Victor & Célestin Baume established Baume & Mercier in 1830, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Baume & Mercier calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1830
Louis-Victor & Célestin Baume founds Baume & Mercier in Switzerland.
1870
Baume & Mercier earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Baume & Mercier to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Baume & Mercier enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Baume & Mercier continues to produce Clifton, Riviera, Hampton and other icons in limited numbers.