Baume & Mercier Riviera Ref. 10770 with Smoked Green Dial: Hands-On Review

Baume & Mercier is one of the oldest Swiss watchmakers in business today, founded in 1830, but its most dynamic collection these days, the Riviera, traces its origins back to a relatively recent era, and a decade now recognized as one of the richest in terms of influential watch design. The original Riviera hit the market in 1973, the year the Vietnam War ended, and it was revived in 2021, the year that the Covid pandemic didn’t. The fifth-generation Riviera, with its ‘70s-inspired multi-sided bezel, visible screws, and integrated steel bracelet, built upon the surging popularity of this sport-luxury style, of which the original model was an early forerunner — albeit one not nearly as enduring in popularity or as widely known as the genre’s two heavyweights, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (1972) and Patek Philippe Nautilus (1976). With its much more approachable price tag, however, the Riviera hit the mark for many 21st Century enthusiasts of the style and has accordingly, in relatively short order, become Baume & Mercier’s leader model.

The original 42mm and 36mm pieces that kicked off the revived series have since been joined by a happy-medium 39mm option, and the range now offers both outsourced Sellita automatic calibers and Baume & Mercier’s own in-house Baumatic movements. The expanding family recently welcomed its newest member, one that just might tick all the boxes for many an enthusiast who has yet to pull the trigger on a Riviera: the Ref. 10770 with a “smoked green” sapphire dial, a 39mm brushed steel case, and an in-house, automatic movement. Here are the results of my more-or-less thorough examination of the new watch after two weeks on the wrist and under the loupe. 

THE CASE:

Made of stainless steel and measuring a very wearable 39mm in diameter, the case of the Riviera is often described in shorthand as being round and capped off with a dodecagonal or 12-sided bezel, but this isn’t strictly accurate. In this carefully thought-out design, the bezel and the case harmonize with each other’s forms for a seamless ensemble that nevertheless presents as unconventional and avant-garde (or, as avant-garde as any design can claim to be when it hails from the 1970s). Starting from where the lugs meet the bracelet, the case’s rounded corners curve into flat side areas in the middle that line up perfectly with the bezel’s edges. The center lug of the integrated bracelet also aligns perfectly on the top and bottom with the corresponding flat areas of the bezel. The caseback — technically a back bezel, albeit one with a flatter profile — echoes the dodecagonal shape of its sibling in the front of the watch and also the placement of its four screws. Its edges align the same with the case middle and bracelet center link for a meticulously stacked “sandwich” structure that rises just above 10mm on the wrist.

Both the bezel and the case middle have a satin-brushed finish that speaks to the model’s sport-watch origins. The bezel features a contrasting polished finish on the gently edged facets on its 12 side surfaces. Four round screws appear at the four corners that correspond, roughly, with the midpoints between 1 and 2 o’clock, 4 and 5 o’clock, 7 and 8 o’clock, and 10 and 11 o’clock, framing the dial with an imaginary square. The screws have hexagonal drives in their heads, and the shape is repeated in the non-screwed crown, which is relatively narrow and has a thin, recessed middle band whose green stripe of color matches the dial. The Greek letter “phi” is engraved on the crown’s head; symbolizing equilibrium, aka ideal proportions in design, it is the longtime emblem of the Baume & Mercier brand. The crown is not the easiest in the world to grasp and turn; a more conventional fluted edge and maybe a slightly thicker profile in general might have been more utilitarian. Of course, as detailed a bit more below, the watch’s lengthy power reserve should ensure that the need for manual winding is minimal. 

THE DIAL:

The emerald-green dial of the Riviera is made of sapphire with a smoked finish and a transparent application of the sea-wave motif that has become a hallmark of the modern Riviera models. The latter is very subtle on this dial, almost unrecognizable except under a loupe, and for most wearers that will be fine, because a more heavy-handed version of the motif would have detracted from the real main event on the front side of the watch, which is a glimpse of the movement through the semi-transparent green-tinted dial. The most prominent element on the movement’s front face is the 31-date disk, with a white numeral font on a black background, that occupies the periphery. The current date (presuming the watch has been set properly and is running) will appear in the rectangular aperture cut into the sapphire dial at 3 o’clock.

The hour markers on the Riviera are a curated lineup of applied Roman numerals (at 12 and 6 o’clock; the “VI” is inverted, which should look odd but somehow doesn't) and baton indexes at all the other hours except for the aforementioned date window at 3 o’clock. The faceted hour and minute hands are Dauphine in character, and are accompanied by a javelin-like seconds hand. On this model, all of the hour appliqués and hands have a gilded finish. Inside their golden borders is an application of white Super-LumiNova that glows bright blue in the dark.

The faceting on the hands, the slight elevation of the hour markers above the dial, and the green-tinted viewscape to the inner workings of the watch beneath the surface all contribute to the dial’s multi-layered appearance. The use of Roman numerals, a mainstay of the 1970s versions of the Riviera, helps to elevate the watch from sheer sport to somewhere between sport and luxury. The overall aesthetic, based on Baume & Mercier’s release, does appear to have some thematic thought behind it: the collection is named for the French Riviera, after all, and the green tones and subtle wave textures of the dial are designed to “evoke the pine groves that overlook the sea and line the wooded mountains along the coast, wind-swept silhouettes stretched toward the sky or slightly curved towards the horizon.” Poetic? Sure, but perfectly in keeping with the Riviera’s history and design language.

THE MOVEMENT:

Inside the distinctively shaped case, with its decorative finishes on display behind a clear sapphire caseback, is the proprietary Baumatic Caliber BM13 1975A, which from a technical standpoint is most noteworthy for its five-day power reserve, a boon that is rarely found in a mechanical watch in this price segment. The lineage of the movement can be traced back to a manual-winding movement developed in 2017 for the Swiss brand by Manufacture Valfleurier, which is a sister brand of Baume & Mercier within the Richemont Group. That movement, first used in a watch from the more classically elegant Clifton collection, introduced the “TwinSpir” technology that is now a hallmark of Baume & Mercier’s in-house movements: it combines a thermocompensated, composite silicon/silicon dioxide hairspring and a specially designed inertia-type balance wheel to achieve a high level of protection against magnetic fields and resistance to shocks and vibrations — in addition to the impressive, aforementioned power reserve. 

The Baumatic movement also impresses from an aesthetic standpoint. As noted above, the front side is obscured but not totally shrouded by the translucent dial; its black date ring frames the periphery of the dial nicely, underpinning the gilded markers. On the rear side, you can see the partially skeletonized rotor, with its finely brushed Geneva wave motif, and the plates and bridges embellished with a delicate perlage finish. Tucked away near the 6 o’clock position is the TwinSpir balance with its energetic pumping motions fueling the watch at a frequency of 28,800 beats per hour. A smattering of the movement’s 21 jewels can also be spotted, including one that anchors the center of the balance wheel.

THE BRACELET:

As touched upon above, the three-link steel bracelet is designed to integrate smoothly into the lugs of the case, with the center links aligning perfectly with two of the bezel’s 12 sides. Nearly all of the bracelet’s surfaces sport a brushed finish, with nary a polished area in sight until you get to the triple-folding clasp with its safety push-buttons. The bracelet tapers only slightly but enough to give the watch character as well as comfort on the wrist. The button-operated closure adds neither bulk nor aesthetic distraction from the bracelet’s supple contours, etched with an engraved “phi” emblem, whose halves are made whole when the bracelet is snapped shut. In keeping with the ethos of the Riviera collection since its relaunch, the watch features a quick-change mechanism that enables easy swapping out of the bracelet for a strap without the need for tools. 

If there is any knock whatsoever on this version of the Riviera, it is one that would apply to any watch with a green dial — namely, that its colorway makes it somewhat less versatile, and less subtle, than a similar timepiece with a more traditional dial hue, like the ubiquitous black, silver, and even most shades of blue. Unless you’re Batman’s foe the Riddler, or you just won the Masters, you’re likely not donning a jacket that coordinates perfectly with this watch’s bright green face anytime soon. The enduring appeal of the green-dial watch almost at times seems counterintuitive to overall industry trends, which for several years have been leaning toward the understated and and even minimalist, but the appeal is undeniably there, as the early enthusiast buzz surrounding this Riviera reference makes abundantly clear. In my estimation, the juxtaposition of clearly retro design elements (12-sided case, visible screws, Roman numerals) and avant-garde touches (translucent green-tinted dial, subtle wave texture) is the central point of interest on this watch. In a way, despite its clear link to a bygone era, it’s a watch that could probably have only existed in this one — and that is a style statement worth making. 

The Baume & Mercier Riviera Ref. 10770 retails for $3,900. Buyers who register their purchase on the Baume & Mercier website can receive an extended eight-year warranty (six years added to the standard two-year period the brand offers).