Johann Rupert's Richemont has completed the sale of Baume and Mercier to Italy's Damiani Group, transferring ownership of the 196-year-old Swiss watchmaker that has been part of Richemont's portfolio since the luxury conglomerate's founding in 1988, ending a 38-year relationship and marking Rupert's most significant divestiture since Richemont's exit from Yoox Net-a-Porter.
The transaction closed in July 2026, within the summer 2026 timeline that Richemont had guided for regulatory completion when the deal was first announced in January 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed at announcement and no updated figures have been publicly shared. Richemont has agreed to provide transitional operational support to Damiani for a period following the close.
Baume and Mercier, founded in the Swiss canton of Geneva in 1830, is one of the oldest continuously operating watchmakers in the world. The brand entered Richemont's portfolio in 1988, the same year Rupert created the group from the international assets of his father Anton Rupert's Rembrandt Group. Its exit from Richemont after 38 years reflects a strategic shift that Rupert has been executing across the luxury group over the past two years, concentrating the portfolio around brands with the highest pricing power and the strongest global scale in jewellery and high-end watchmaking. Baume and Mercier has historically been positioned at the entry level of the luxury watch segment, a market positioning that generates strong volume but lower margins than the flagship Richemont houses such as Cartier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin.
