On a day like today, September 19th, 1985, at 7:17:50 (CST) in the morning, the citizens of Mexico City were woken up by a violent earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale that lasted almost four minutes and left a toll of more than 5,000 people dead, over 30,000 injured and thousands of missing people. During this devastating event, downtown Mexico City suffered the biggest damage with hundreds of residential and office buildings collapsing as well as hospitals and major city landmarks.

In order to pay tribute to one of the most important rescue brigades during the Mexico City earthquake, Baume & Mercier presented at the end of last year, a special edition of their Capeland Chronograph honoring the ‘Tlaltelolco Topos Rescue Brigade’, a civil association made up of volunteers who provided rescue, support, and assistance services during those tough times where all Mexicans were mourning the victims of this natural catastrophe.

This rescue brigade also known as ‘Los Topos’ — the moles— is trained to deal with disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, air and rail accidents, explosions, and urban and forest fires, and its volunteers are expert rescuers able to access tight spaces and unreachable spots, hence their name.

The Baume & Mercier Capeland Chronograph 'Topos Rescue Brigade' Limited Edition comes in two different versions with white or black dials —each in a limited edition of only 250 pieces— and with green and red accents reminiscent of the colors of the Mexican flag. While both versions are really nice, we prefer the white version as it is more legible and the contrast between the white and the green chronograph registers is simply perfect.

Things to Know About the Watch

Both watches feature satin brushed finished cases in stainless steel measuring 44 mm in diameter and are equipped with pump Chrono pushers. The watches are delivered with a black alligator strap with red edges and white contrast stitching. The strap is fastened by a double folding deployant clasp.

While the black dial version features silvered —almost white-looking— chrono registers, the white dial reference features Mexican flag green subdials. Both versions feature a green tachymetric scale, red hands for the chronograph, date aperture between 4 and 5 o’clock, and running seconds at 9 o’clock.

Turning the watches over reveals a display case back with the ‘Topos Rescue Brigade’ logo on the sapphire crystal. Both watches are powered by the automatic Swiss La Joux-Perret 8120 calibre beating at a frequency of 28,800 vph and which provides a power reserve of 48 hours when fully wound.

On the Wrist & Price

On the wrist, the Baume & Mercier Capeland Chronograph 'Topos Rescue Brigade' Limited Edition wears slightly bigger than its actual size but quite nice. This watch is a great memento of how easy life can change in a matter of minutes or even seconds. Natural disasters are destructive forces than can hit anytime anywhere. The Baume & Mercier Capeland Chronograph 'Topos Rescue Brigade' Limited Edition pays great tribute to one of the most important rescue brigades in the world and a portion of the sales of these watches will be given to the 'Topos Rescue Brigade' so that they can continue with their rescue operations. The one sad thing about this watch is that it is exclusively sold in Mexico.

Sticker Price $4,650 USD. For more info on Baume & Mercier click here.