Baume & Mercier celebrated its 180-year history with several new models and, rather unexpectedly, the launch of a Facebook group and Twitter account.
The brand showed that it was keeping up with the times by reaching out to its consumer base via popular social networking sites. On its Facebook page, viewers can watch a video that was also shown to visitors at the SIHH fair. In the video, Simone Gaudard, the great granddaughter of the brand's founder Louis Victor Baume, invites people to share their Baume & Mercier stories online. 'Surely you have a story to tell [about] your watch,' says Gaudard in the video. 'I received mine from my husband for the birth of our first child. When I hear its movement, I remember the stories my mother used to tell me about my grandfather and the generations of passionate watchmakers that preceded him.
'In their honour, I would like to tell you a few anecdotes and I invite you to join me on Facebook so that you may share the pleasant moments that your watch has brought you.'
The Facebook page was launched during the start of the year and, by mid-February, more than 1,400 members had become fans of the group. Viewers posted pictures of their Baume & Mercier watches, along with comments and anecdotes in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese.
One Facebook member posted a 25-second video sharing the story of his 40-year-old Baume & Mercier watch, while another posted a picture of his vintage model asking the brand to help track down the model type and year it was made - a 60s model with a mechanical movement, according to the Baume & Mercier reply a week later.
Robert Ahearn, an independent financial adviser and income tax consultant in Los Angeles, came across the group by chance and was one of the Facebook members who posted an inquiry about his watch. Baume & Mercier replied within hours.