Hampton Hommage à Pierre Soulages

Baume& Mercier pays tribute to the work of Pierre Soulages with this execution of the Hampton watch, inspired by one of the artist’s Outrenoir paintings. The watch will be manufactured on request, with a maximum of 102 – Soulages’ age. Through this collaboration, Baume & Mercier will assist Musée Soulages, in Rodez in the south of France, in adding to its collections. When transposing the painting to a timepiece, Baume & Mercier chose the Hampton as its rectangular case and dial echo the proportions of an artist’s canvas. The brass dial is laser-etched then finished with Candia stone to produce a diffuse, matte effect. An electroplating process then covers the dial with black over a thickness of 0.2 microns. A 10-micron layer of transparent lacquer protects the beautifully textured result. The sword-shaped hands are coated with black PVD. The line of gold at their tips was added at Pierre Soulages’ request as a means to “elegantly emphasise the passing of time”.