Baume & Mercier Riviera Magnum XXL Rose Gold + PVD

[takashi]

Preface

This week's review will be on Baume & Mercier Riviera Magnum XXL PVD Black + Rose Gold Perhaps I will try another review style again where you can post your comments/questions and pictures on this very same review and I will add mine later on/in the middle of this discussion. It's at the moment not a very popular watch and I know that pizzanooo owns this piece too

About the watch

The genuine:

This watch is pretty similar with Ebel 1911 BTR in terms of many decades of root. The Riviera line has been around for many years. It has a signature of "symmetrical" design in contrary with Ebel 1911 BTR which was reviewed last week. The bezel has dodecagon design (12 edges) and the screws used are of hexagonal type. The genuine watch is powered by a decorated top Chronometer grade ETA7750 based movement. The bezel on the genuine Magnum is made of 18k Rose Gold too.

The replica:

Pretty much replicated very close to the genuine article, down to decoration on the rotor and the central galvanised piece, machine decorated plate on the dial surrounding the chrono subdials. A major problem that I can foresee/have already seen is the colour of the rose gold. It's pretty different on the genuine article. On my pictures, I will try to show that actually the rose gold colour can vary a lot depends on the lighting condition. It will look best under a soft toned light. Please take note that this replica has been modified with Superlumed hands and ETA datewheel swap. If you look closely at some shots, you will notice some blemishes on the dial (again, hardly noticable but things to look out for). It came that way and I don't bother to change this piece for a new one.

Technical Details on the Replica:

Watch name: Baume & Mercier Riviera Magnum XXL

Diameter: ~42mm excluding crown

Movement: Asian 7750 28,800 bph 6-9-12 layout, working chronograph

Case: Stainless Steel PVD Black polished, partially see thru caseback polished + brushed PVD black.

Dial: Black matte, polished markers in Rose Gold colour, middle plate of galvanised and machine decorated plate

Hands: Polished stainless steel coated in rose gold colour, luminous hour, minute and second hands, rose gold

coloured chronograph counter hands

Crown: Stainless Steel polished + brushed PVD, polished PVD black crown pushers

Crystal: Sapphire with single sided AR coating.

Bezel: Polished + brushed Stainless Steel PVD Black

Straps: Rubber, cut to resize.

Clasp: Double deployant buckle, PVD polished

Eyecandy

[dadog13]

taka, great review and pics!

I have the same one...and I have some problems with the deployment buckle...I've heard that pizzanoo hade same problems as well - the buckle is loose and mine cannot be locked (but the replacement one is already on the way from H!) - what is your experience?

[takashi]

Ah I see... This review is not complete. I am asking for interactivity, let's see how it goes.

On the contrary, the clasp on mine works very very well. It's infact one of the best around as compared to Porsche Design or the Picot (which is I think the worst).

Would you mind describing further about the defect?

[Samurai]

Amazing review and pics taka. My all SS B&M pales in front of this PVD RG Combo. Me gotta have this one soon......

[Dario33]

Great review taka -- I may have to finally take the plunge with this one!

[pizzanooo]

Nice review and great pics taka. Your right on the bezel color, all over the place depending on the light. I did have some issues on the clasp keeping shut. Ended up bending it at the top ever so slightly on one side and all is good now.

[doctorron]

Man, nice review. I though I knew what was out there, but I've never seen this one. Nice review, beautiful watch and great pictures.

[chico85]

Nice pics. Would you post wristshots? I'm considering getting one. Thank you.

[takashi]

Thank you

More about the replica:

Case is very well made on this piece. No sharp/unfinished parts. It is nicely PVD but without the bead blasting process which genuine watch has. However, it has nicely brushed parts as well. Polished PVD magnet maybe fingerprint magnet. So prepare to bring your microfiber cloth along with you

The crown screws down nicely and it has a mixture of polished and brushed parts on the side. The BM logo on the side is also spot on. It doesn't wobble when unscrewed/at time setting position. Pushers are polished and they do the job very well (large surface area) pretty smooth to press.

As for crystal, it's single sided AR coated. I can see that the coating on the genuine article is not very strong too. As good as it can get (relative to the gen article). However, IMHO double sided AR coating sounds to be a better choice for this watch.

Dial looks to be pretty good, except for the some blemishes near the edge (see pictures). It's difficult to notice but it's worth it if you look out for this symptoms on your watch too. The centre galvanized piece looks spot on to the genuine article. It's actually the best part on this watch and one of the reasons why I like the look of this watch. The screws on the dial is actually non functioning. You can turn it but be really careful not to scratch it. I aligned this screws to look like that. The gen article has "random" screws allignment.

The hands are also in Rose Gold colour, luminous hour, minute and second hands. The rep lume is average and look slightly tad too green. I relumed it and it look much better now.

Datewindow is properly centered. Datewheel comes with wrong Arial font standard Asian 7750 hi beat with black background. I have swapped my piece with ETA datewheel with black background which is correct for this model.

Caseback looks pretty well made too, alongside with the whole watch case. It has a nice mix of brushed, polished, and see thru part. Giving it a nice look to the whole movement. Lacking of regulator is not an issue here as it's not visible with this caseback but the rotor gear shape is a dead giveaway. As far as engraving on the rotor goes, I would say it's very very close to the genuine.

The screws! This is my only complain. Don't attempt to open it if you don't have hex key 1.6mm diameter. Screws are not made with high quality in mind. Be really careful when opening the caseback.

The watch comes with rubber strap. It's soft and pretty comfortable on the wrist. I wish it could be a little bit stiffer like on the genuine article or like Porsche Design/IWC CD/Original Omega SMP rubber.

The straps are held with a single spring bar on each side to the deployant buckle. This is to me a design which works but not as robust as on Paul Picot or Porsche Design Flat 6. On the Picot, the straps are held with 2 pairs of spring bars, 2 pieces on each side. On the Porsche Design, the straps are held with special grip secured with a total of 4 screws for all sides. So, just make sure you have good quality spring bars (the one which comes with rep is acceptable).

Lastly, the quality of the deployant on my piece is excellent. Infact it has very good tolerance and pretty easy to operate for opening and closing. It doesn't open up by accident too. However, as reported before, there are cases of faulty buckle.

Stay tune for conclusion and marks.

[mikellem]

Taka, excellent review (as always!)

Great pics..

Thank You very much...

-MM

[dluddy]

Thanks for thew review on this one Taka.

I have been on the fence and have been really drawn to the design on this one.

I think it is a beautiful sport watch

[emuozz]

Excellent review, this watch has something that it

[takashi]

The AR is on the innerside of the crystal.

Wrist shot:

Lume shot:

Please take note that this is already modified with C3 SuperLuminova. Original lume will look like the dots on the dial. Average lume out of the box, excellent when modified.

Results:

Strap and clasp: (max. 10 points)

No sharp part on the bracelet, locks well and will not open by accident. Finishing is excellent. PVD looks even and polished nicely too. There are reports that the clasp can't close properly but so far so good for this watch.

9

Operation: (10)

Screw down crown which doesn't wobble in time setting position. The crown feels smooth when screwing in/out. Pushers work well too, has large enough surface area.

9

Case: (10)

Another example of spot on replica down to sapphire crystal on the caseback. No sharp parts here too, well finished even the PVD looks awesome. Perhaps the only drawback is slightly different Rose Gold colour on the bezel relative to the genuine article.

8

Design: (15)

Dodecagon bezel, symmetrical design on this watch. Proven design of Riviera line and this latest release is just as good as it can get. Love the center piece, machine turned, galvanised plate on the dial. Penalty for small blemishes on the dial (-1).

12

Legibility: (10)

This is probably a biggest drawback of this watch. Overused of Rose Gold colour on the hands and dial, oversized Roman numerals on the dial. Same can be said for chronograph hands, they are of the same colour and pretty thin too. I wish lume out of box can be better too.

7 with Superlumed hands 6 for replica out of box

Wearing comfort: (15)

The rubber strap fits nicely to the wrist but it can get pretty sticky especially on hot and humid day. Quality of rubber strap is not the best around.

11

Movement: (20)

A standard Asian 7750 Hi Beat, well decorated movement plate, rotor and auto winding plate. +15 secs a day out of box.

15

Overall value: (10)

You have to cut the rubber strap for this watch to suit your wrist and you need to invest a hex key in order to swap the strap or open up the caseback. Perhaps it will not go up in price and the resale value may not be so good for this watch, especially after strap is cut shortly like on my watch.

6

Total: 77/100 out of box without superlume 76/100

Conclusion:

One of the latest release on the rep scene which does not disappoint at all. It would have scored slightly higher if not because of the flaw on the dial. I am aware that this maybe an isolated case but it's good to watch out for this. The design of this watch is not for everyone. Out of all Riviera line watches which has been replicated, I think this watch looks the best. Recommended for someone who are looking for something special to add to their collection or who are looking for a not-so-common watch.

[kokoko]

the only major giveaway for this rep is indeed the "gold" color of the RG insert on the bezel. I had an idea to take it out and to bring it to a goldsmith to make it really RG-plated - does anyone have an idea whether this will work? Is it possible at all to take out the "RG" insert off of the bezel? Are the hexagonal black screws for real or are they just glued in?