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Through various articles, we have talked to you about the automatic movement of your watch, about our patinated bracelets (which were offered in limited edition last winter), but we have also given you advice on how to take care of your Beaubleu. Now, with the arrival of new bracelets to match the watches in the Union collection, let us explain how to change your watch strap wherever you are and how to adjust it to your wrist.

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Adjusting the folding clasp to your wrist

Certainly, the great novelty of this new Union collection is the second hand that glides delicately over lacquered, glossy, or matte dials. But (because there’s always a but), there are other novelties in this collection, notably on the leather straps. The folding clasp brings security, comfort, and elegance, and the lug pumps that allow you to change your strap easily without tools.

So, let’s start with the adjustment of the folding clasp. Indeed, when you receive your watch, carefully wrapped and placed in its case, the folding clasp is mounted on only one part of the strap (the watch is presented flat), so as not to damage the leather.

To mount your folding clasp on your bracelet, simply follow the steps below:

1.         To open the buckle, press the pushers on either side of the buckle.

2.         Now you have a buckle made of three metal pieces. One part is already attached to the bracelet (C), the one in the center (B) is the longest with the two pushers used previously, and finally the part engraved with the Beaubleu logo (A).

3.         Next, open the small clip located at the end of the folding clasp (it has a small point inside)?

4.         Slide the other part of the bracelet into this clip and insert the small metal tip at the hole corresponding to your wrist size.

Now that the bracelet is at your size, close the buckle on your wrist until you hear “click”.

Change your watch strap

As explained above, the other new feature of the Union Collection bracelets is the lug pump on the bracelets to change them easily without tools.

The advantage of these lugs is that you will be able to change your watchband as many times as you want, quickly and without the risk of scratching the middle of your watch.

1. Place your watch flat with the dial face up against a flat surface that does not slide or scratch (cloth or towel).

2. At the end of your bracelet, between the lugs, you can see the lug, a small protruding ball. You just have to apply a slight pressure towards the inside, and it’s done. The pump dislodges on one side only and the bracelet comes off completely.

3. To put on your new bracelet, keep the watch on the cloth or towel with the dial turned upside down. Insert one side of the strap pump into the corresponding hole on the lug, then apply slight pressure on the lug to reduce the size of the pump and slide it into the other hole. Click. The wristband is correctly positioned.

You are now well-informed about your bracelet. Of course, if you encounter any problems, we are here to solve them, or at least do our best to be available and help you.

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So let’s go back a few days when our watchmakers recovered all the separate parts: dials, cases, hands, and movements. After having followed every step in the creation of your watch, today we will find out how it is assembled.

Promptly we will finish assembling the first Union Collection watches. Unfortunately, we had to announce a delay, but we have worked hard to shorten the delivery times of your watches as much as possible, in particular thanks to the express service. This service will allow all of your watches to be expedited before September.

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Phase 1: Assembly and Adjustments of the Movement

The centerpiece of the watch, the movement, is made up of around a hundred parts, which when assembled must respect well-defined precision. Each movement must be engraved with the name of the Maison (rotor), checked, and then adjusted using the adjustment racket. Once this operation is complete, we can move on to fitting the dial.

Phase 2: Install the Dial on the Plate

The first step in assembling Union Collection watches is adding the hands to the dial. To execute this, we place the two feet on the back of the dial in the plate (here it is not the material but the base plate which supports all the components of the automatic movement). Subsequently, we place the winding stem at 3 o’clock. It is essentially screwing the screws to the side of the plate in the corresponding holes. During this phase, you must be careful not to use force with the fragile feet of the dial.

Phase 3: Placing the Round Hands on the Dial

For this second delicate phase of assembling the Union Collection, our watchmakers are arming themselves with their pointer drift and massive amounts of patience.The first step is to align the hour hand well in front of the 12. Here, the difficulty is placing the hand adjacent to the dial, without it touching the indexes. Afterward, our watchmaker checks several times to make sure that nothing prevents it from turning.

For the minute hand, we repeat the same operation. It should be almost glued to the hour hand (0.2 mm), without touching it. The difficulty with our round hands lies in their positioning facing the 12 without bending. We then do another round of verification.

To check that the hands are correctly aligned, the watchmaker places them at 6 p.m. If the 2 hands are in the same position, the hand placement has been correctly performed, and we can move on to the second-hand placement. On the other hand, if it is not done correctly, the two hands must be removed using a dial cover, vital in avoiding scratches.

Once the checks are done, it is time to switch to the second’s hand. The largest of the hands, the second’s hand, is particularly difficult to assemble. Not having a small dot at its end, it must be positioned as precisely as possible on the dial. It also must be handled gently because of the risk of bending. This is a meticulous process because watchmakers must be error-free to prevent damage to the mechanism. When the three circular hands are impeccably placed, we check the cleanliness of the dial, the case, and the glass. Fingerprints and final dust particles are removed using a Rodico and a microfiber cloth.

Phase 4: Assembly

This step requires that all checks be made, and the elements are cleaned. It is an obligatory step because if a speck of dust becomes stuck in one of the elements, it would require the watch to be disassembled.

Then, we remove the winding stem and place the automatic movement in the case. During this step, you must pay attention to the direction in which the movement is positioned, and the space that accommodates the winding stem must be opposite the 3 o’clock.

To maintain the movement for continued assembly, we put the winding stem back on after another cleanliness check. The automatic movement is clean, and it is time to place it in the case keeping in mind the casing ring which keeps the movement in its proper place.

Now, we will have to cut the winding stem to the right length and file and screw the crown. Everything is a question of delicacy and gentleness in watchmaking. Come on, one more final check for dust and fingerprints. We can, therefore, close the case with 4 screws in the back of the case and the assembly is finally finished. All that remains is the addition of your strap and final detail and water-resistance checks.

The leather watch straps and their folding buckle

Speaking of bracelets, let’s make a small parenthesis before concluding. Being equipped with a flash pump, it is easily interchangeable at home and without tools (internal link page how to change your bracelet). Moreover, for the first time, we offer bracelets with a folding buckle. What’s the difference? A lot of things, but above all this type of buckle makes the bracelet more durable by damaging it less since once adjusted, there is no need to touch it anymore. The folding buckles match the case, Rose Gold for the Audace and Olympus and Steel for the other models.

This is the end of our production notebook. We have given you the main lines concerning the manufacture of the various elements and the assembly of our watches. But of course, if you have any questions or would like more information on certain points, we will be happy to answer them. Please do not hesitate to contact us via our contact form.

Now it’s time for us to finish the shipping so that our Ambassadors will have the pleasure to receive their watches.

Wishing you wonderful hours,

Beaubleu Team

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After a few weeks full of emotions, we have decided to share the crazy Beaubleu adventure and the launch of our new Collection Union with our Kickstarter campaign. A common success with a lot of twists and turns!

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Unity is strength

35 days of joy, enthusiasm and will power, but also some moments of anxiety and unexpected (otherwise, it would not be funny…). 35 days to become closer together with our Beaubleu community. This project, that we carried to heart, could not be what it became without your support and your enthusiasm. 

Launched on February 29th (lucky day?), our Kickstarter goal of 42K € has been exceeded in less than 24 hours, instead of the 35 days planned. An amazing start, full of memorable memories for the Beaubleu House and its community. 

Quickly, we created the keen interest of watchmaking experts in France and abroad, with press articles worldwide – actually, we count more than 25 press releases!

During these weeks, the number of backers did not stop growing (more than twice), and made us reach more than 300% of our final objective: 128 443 €.

A common accomplishment that gives us the opportunity to serenely launch the Union Collection production thoroughly prepared upstream. 

The birth of the watches with our Kickstarter campaign

In a few hours, our backers will receive a survey on Kickstarter to finalize their choices of watch, strap and other options available.

As every good thing comes to an end, the preorders will continue on our website at a higher price than the one proposed on Kickstarter. 

Over the production, we will publish a detailed diary about the birth of the Union Collection, on our different digital platforms (website, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter et Newsletters).

Today, our craftsmen and professional partners are ready to start production, and even if the world is facing a complicated period, our daily discussions assure the best manufacturing monitoring.

We stay at your complete disposal to answer your questions. 

We wish you wonderful hours.

The Beaubleu team. 

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For a few days, for general health, we are encouraged to stay at home. But no worries, life is still going on and more than ever the Beaubleu adventure so. As you may know, our new Union Collection has highlighted some innovations such as the second’s hand, the lume, and the blued steel hands. And we will talk about these last ones.

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The blued steel hands in the Union collection.

You can see them on some models like the Olympe and the Intrepide, they are easily recognizable with their blue shades. We have chosen them to twirl on our dial because they give poetry – as we are always looking for – contrast – you can find it in every detail of our watches – and readability – their blued shade stays discrete to be more focused on the reading of time.

Today, more used for the aesthetics of our watches, the blued steel hands used to have specific usefulness.

The blued steel hands and its traditional technic

Let’s go back a few decades ago, we can say the Before War period. The steel hands were flame blued to reduce the sensitivity of the metal against the corrosion. But what process do we use? It is quite simple – depending on your knowledge and experience of course – the blued color is obtained thanks to a temperature rise process. First, we heat red the steel and then we steep it to increase its resistance. Then, we heat it again at a specific temperature. If it is not heated enough, we will have yellow shade, if the temperature is too high, we’ll obtain a purple shade.

Here we are, you know all about our blued steel hands and the contrasts they give to our timekeeper while conserving the best reading of time possible. Each variation given by these hands extends the discovery of your watch and these surprises unfold by the everyday light. For us – and for you too – each detail counts, then it seemed important to us, and useful, to tell you these “small” information about our circular hands.

Even if the actual period in France is not the best ever, we will keep writing every week about our watch and our universe.

We wish you wonderful hours,

Take care and stay safe.

The Beaubleu Team

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You couldn’t miss it, our babies are out, and we did not expect this frenzy about the new collection! The excitement aside, I wanted to take a few minutes to talk to you about the story of the Union Collection. This part is the first step about the design process of the house before the launching (very expected) of the pre-orders.

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The coherency

A few months ago, someone asked me: “so how is going to be the new collection?”. I knew people were expecting a lot from this new creation, and I asked myself: How to offer more surprise and keeping at the same time the Beaubleu’s identity? Who will go these watches to? How to integrate the community’s expectations? Such a hard work…

However, before putting down my first thoughts, I strolled in Paris… From the antique stores to the design gallery and the 11^th district restaurants, I was looking for a main thread for the entire collection. It was the moment to find the coherency.

I imagined this watch like an interior. From a room to another, the aspect stays because of the combination of warm and cold materials. The warmth of a wood table with a velvet sofa joined by a marble table, all these contrasts play with our senses, for our greatest pleasure.

As often, we have the same vision as our ambassadors. The envy of giving colors was evidence. So, what colors?  How to keep the vibrating and warm side of the interior design? I started to buy velvet and satin to find deeper colors, that tell stories.

What to do with the inspiration?

Once the main thread is found, it is complicated to not draw the first ideas, and keeping adding new materials, and images. We test our first inspirations, to see if, with time, we are not bored. This process is long and hard, but we cannot miss it, because if there is one thing that we don’t want, it is that became bored. No, no and No !

After, I compiled the finale inspirations, and I mixed them: a velvet with a polished steel, a green with a Soulage painting or a grained paper. And without any drawings, the models started to appear (almost) by themselves.

Then, the inpiration step is ending, but will stay on our Studio’s wall until the end of the production.

This step was celebrated with the team, of course, and the next day, the serious thngs were back with the step of creation.

Next week, same day, same hour, we meet for the second step of creation. We will talk about drawings and composition.

We wish you wonderful hours,

Nicolas Pham, Beaubleu’s designer

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Think of the first time you were in front of a text about a watch. Wow, it was such a thing. Don’t worry, it happened to us too, even our Beaubleu designer lived this moment. To help you for your choice or just for your curiosity, we have done a list of the main word that you will find in our Beaubleu’s website pages. Enjoy the Beaubleu watch lexicon !

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Beaubleu watch lexicon: from Balance to Cylinder

Balance

The balance is a component which regulate the mechanical movement of your watch. Working with the balance spring, it produces a regular movement called oscillation. This is why you hear a « tic-tac ».

Balance spring

Finally, the spring regulate the watch’s movement by returning the balance at its initial position to start a new oscillation. More the quality is good more the precision is important.

Bezel

Main element of the case, it is located on the top of the caseband and carry the glass of the watch. Depending of the watch, it can turn and shows, in this case, the duration of an event.

Caliber

The caliber is watchmaking vocabulary to show that we have some skills. However this term names the movement of the watch.

Case

The case is the component which protect the watch’s mechanism against impacts, humidity and dust. It is composed of several elements.

Caseband

The case is composed of 3 pieces. The caseband is placed between the bottom of the case and the bezel.

Crown

The crown is a button located at 3 on your watch. It allows you to manually wide the movement and to set the clock.

Cylinder

The cylinder is an essential piece for the movement of the mechanism. Without a cylinder you cannot have a movement. This piece is a cylindrical case which contain the spring. The cylinder accumulates the energy produced by the spring and deliver it to the different gears of the movement.

Beaubleu watch lexicon: from Dial to Watchmaking complication

Dial

The dial is one of the main piece of the watch. Why? it is what you see first. It shows various indications such as the hours, the minutes and the seconds.

Horns

Located at the ends of the case, they are used to clip the strap to the watch.  

Index

The index is the benchmarks for the hours. They have replaced the Roman and Arabic numbers through the history.

Mechanical watch

When a quartz watch needs batteries, the mechanical watch does need them. Indeed, it is composed of a mechanical movement which can be a manual winding or an automatic one. For your Beaubleu watch, we have chosen an automatic movement. It winds itself with the movement you make during the day. It is possible because of a rotor which turn around its axis. However, it is necessary to wind the watch manually regularly.

Movement

he watch’s movement is the set of pieces and mechanisms which make it work. This different movements are also called calibers.

Pin buckle

The watch’s clasp is an important detail and it exists in different forms: the folding buckle, the butterfly buckle and the pin buckle. The last one is the one we used for Beaubleu’s watches. It is composed of a buckle and a metal rod, like your belt buckle. This type of claps is used for our leather straps but you will never find it on a metal strap. The good thing with this kind of buckle is that you can adjust ore precisely the size of the strap.

Spring

The spring is the watch’s source of energy. It is a small steel tape which is rolled inside the cylinder.

Watchmaking complication

As you know, today the watches are not only used to indicate the time. These other functions are called watchmaking complications and some of them are very wanted by the watch amateurs. Here some of them: the perpetual calendar, the chronograph or the time zones.

The Beaubleu watch lexicon is finished. Of course, we did not list the entire watchmaking vocabulary. We want that you continue to read us and like it! However, with this basis, we will be able to have some benchmarks. If you have any questions, we are here to reply, and it will be with pleasure and passion!