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 · Hampton
Baume & Mercier Hampton 44 mm Green Sapphire
Reference 25970OR.18
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Baume & Mercier
- Collection
- Hampton
- Model
- Baume & Mercier Hampton 44 mm Green Sapphire
- Reference number
- 25970OR.18
- Year / era
- 1976 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- Automatic chronograph
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Dial type
- Green sunburst
- Strap / bracelet
- Jubilee bracelet
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 44 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Sapphire with internal AR treatment
- Dial
- Green sunburst
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Jubilee bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 25C — Automatic chronograph
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 38 hours
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- GMT second time zone, date
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1976 – 1981
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Baume & Mercier Hampton 44 mm Green Sapphire sits within Baume & Mercier's Hampton line, introduced in 1976. It carries the house codes established since 1830 — sapphire crystal case case, green sunburst dial and automatic chronograph — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- 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.