Baume & Mercier Leather Dial

You’ve probably seen watches with enamel dials. Maybe guilloché. Maybe some mother-of-pearl if things get fancy. But leather? Real, textured, stitched-up-animal-skin leather? That’s something else entirely. This Baume & Mercier from the 1980s wears its wildness right on the dial—literally.

It takes a certain confidence to put leather inside the watch, not just around it. And yet here it is: a jet-black dial with deep marbling, cracks, veins—whatever you'd like to call it, it looks like the hide of something rare and expensive that probably didn't go down without a fight. The gold-tone hands cut across it cleanly, sitting quietly under the Baume & Mercier Genève signature, as if this whole thing weren’t completely bonkers. And that’s exactly what makes it work.

The square case (technically more cushion-ish if we’re being picky) is 18K yellow gold and wonderfully proportioned at 26.5 x 25.5mm. It has just enough presence to get noticed, but not enough to shout. The lugs are bold, but in a minimalist kind of way—like little gold brackets holding a museum display.

Inside is a manual-wind 17-jewel movement that keeps things ticking with old-school charm. It's protected by a sapphire crystal, which feels like a polite overachievement given that the dial looks like it should be behind velvet ropes. You’ll also find the original black leather strap and gold-plated Baume & Mercier buckle still attached, keeping the whole piece era-correct and cohesive.

Collectors often talk about patina and aging as a good thing—here, texture is the entire point. This isn't a dial that got interesting over time; it started out that way. You either get it, or you don’t.

The box and papers are included (though blank), which feels kind of perfect—because this is the kind of watch that invites you to write your own story.