Baume & Mercier Ceinture Hawkeye Stone Dial ref. 38260 Watch Only

The world of vintage watchmaking is full of exciting and unique watches and one such aspect that drives that excitement is the unique materials that brands used to use. Take the Baume & Mercier ref. 38260 that we have here for example. A product of the 1970s, it rewards a closer look. While this 18kt yellow gold rectangular watch shares an undeniable design language with the Cartier Ceinture, one thing that it has that the Cartier hasn’t is an intoxicating hawkeye stone dial.

Before we get into its dial, the ref. 38260’s 18kt yellow gold construction still deserves plenty of plaudits. Boasting a square octagonal shape with a stepped bezel, its construction is delicate and yet full of presence. Powered by a manual-wind movement, this 27mm x 27mm dress watch is the epitome of 1970s elegance, and topping it off is its incredible hawkeye stone dial. While white lacquer dials were the norm, Baume & Mercier embraced stone dials back in the day too and as such examples like this were, thankfully, created. Now a deeply desirable genre of vintage watch collecting, stone dial watches are famed for their unique character, of which this example has plenty.

Featuring an applied Baume & Mercier logo in 18kt yellow gold at 12 o’clock to match its 18kt yellow gold dauphine hands, this ref. 38260’s display is immediately special, but with the subtle blue, grey, and silver hues of its hawkeye dial, this example is simply stunning, and at a fraction of the cost of a plain white dial Cartier Ceinture or a stone dial Piaget, this Baume & Mercier shows us all the value of expanding ones’ horizons and looking outside of the box.

Powered by the manual-wind cal. 775 movement, this example was serviced by our watchmaker before entering stock and runs exactly as it should with all of its crown positions working and it keeping time. Its 18kt yellow gold construction contains the usual light swirl scratches that you would expect for a watch of this age. It lacks any large signs of damage like dents or deep scratches. In keeping with that, its hawkeye stone dial is perfectly intact and free of any hairline cracks, complete fissures, or scratches. Its colour can change from blue to silver to grey depending on the light, which is in keeping with the natural chatoyancy of hawkeye stone. Hawkeye is the non-oxidised version of tiger’s eye (whereby the oxidization changes the colours from blue-grey to orange-brown.

Brand: Baume & Mercier
Model: Ceinture
Reference: 38260
Set: Watch Only
Year: Circa 1970s
Dial: Hawkeye stone
Material: 18kt Yellow gold
Movement: Manual-wind cal. 775
Case Diameter: 28mm x 28mm
Thickness: 6mm
Lug-to-lug: 33mm
Lug Width: 17mm
Bracelet/Strap: Third-party leather strap with original gold-plated pin buckle