You know them. You loved them. They are back. In 2019, we introduced you to the French patina leather straps handmade by Beaubleu. Today, we have decided to propose new versions, three colors that, of course, can match your watch.
After a full 2020 year, we wanted to build stronger relationships with our craftsmen and support French craftsmanship by offering a new version of our French patina leather straps. The advantage? Each strap is carefully made in Besançon, the heart of watchmaking – no less.
Let’s start from the beginning, an invitation to travel, where every smell, from leather to oil from the machines, passing by the wood of the workbenches, transports you to that land of dreams: the Craft Industry.
Almost religiously, we follow Thomas, grabbing a piece of undyed leather, going to carefully shape a strap. With a knife, the craftsman meticulously cuts the two strips of leather. Then, he repeats this step with a piece of leather that will be in contact with the skin. After this cutting phase, we move on to the assembly where a reinforcement piece is inserted between the skins to give rigidity and support. After gluing these three layers, we sew the pieces together, then and thread by hand the edges of the strap.
We finish this manufacturing process with several layers of dying on the strap’s edges with rubber to protect it through the days. Finally, to illustrate this first step, we engrave the inscription “handmade” and the logo of Beaubleu.
The natural leather straps are now ready to be receive their patinas.
Once the strap manufacturing is finished, we receive them in Paris at our workshop for creating the patina.
First of all, adding the patina to a leather strap consists of manually achieving the aged look, that only time has the secret. To do this, we will create make this effect by successively applying dye with several brushes.
Before anything, we apply the first layer of dye, called “light” (an emerald green for example) on the whole strap. After letting the leather dry, we will brush it with a very little dye quantity, but this time with a “dark” shade (a racing green, in this example). It is through the accumulation of this brushing that the patina will take shape, taking care of obtaining a soft and realistic shading; dark on the edges of the straps and lighter in its center as if you had worn it for several years.
After almost an hour, the patina has dried and is finished. Last, but not least, we have to apply a cream to reveal the work, make the leather shine, and protect it from stains during your well-watered parties.
Obviously, this 100% handmade work makes each creation unique; depending on the gesture, the mood or the intensity of the craftsman’s movements, each imperfection becomes a mark of distinction.
This coquetry for sunny days will underline your style with delicacy and elegance.
Just to let you know, pre-orders start on April 22nd with only 20 pieces per model (Green, Blue and Cognac). If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us on the chat or through our social networks.
Wishing you wonderful hours,
Team Beaubleu
The watches from the Union Collection are about to be assembled in our Parisian Atelier. Since moving from pocket to wrist, watches now require straps.
Our Union Collection offers three leather bracelets in blue, black, or green, whose exotic details give real personality to the watches. What makes it distinct? Each bracelet is handmade and artisanal, making it truly unique.
The manufacture of our bracelets has begun. The leathers are bought raw, then prepared, and tanned in the atelier. How does it work? The leathers will undergo different treatments, carried out by specific (and traditional) machines. These machines are essential for refining and tanning the skin.
Of course, as with every element of the watch, if certain pieces of leather do not have the quality necessary for the manufacture of our bracelets, they must be permanently removed from the production chain. The team is, therefore, busy detecting scratches and stains on the skins to keep only the best quality parts.
After having selected the pieces that we will use to make the bracelets, we must dye the skins to obtain the colors of our bracelets: green, blue, and green. It will then be a question of completing the details in alligator, for the black and blue bracelet, and the téju for the green bracelet.
When we have the desired results, the skins are polished to obtain the best possible finish to protect the leather in the long term.
Once the leathers are stored, we begin cutting the skins in the best parts to obtain the different elements that will constitute the bracelet.
A bracelet is composed of a skin carefully selected on the top added with a leather lining imperatively treated to be biocompatible (hypoallergenic among others). Between these two strips of leather, we place a tear-resistant reinforcement to make the bracelet, not only more comfortable but also more durable over time in the face of daily use. These three elements are glued together and then sewn by hand.
To achieve tone-on-tone solid topstitching, our leather craftsmen use the saddle stitch. Saddle stitching is done with only a few feet of thread at a time and must be made by hand. To create each stitch, the entire thread serpentines two times through the layers of leather.
The final touch is the application of a colored resin to protect the edge of the leather. For the blue and green bracelets, we chose an azure resin, for an even more pronounced contrast.
Now we will cut the bracelet to be able to insert the flash pump. It will allow you to change your bracelet with more ease at home, without tools. Of course, this bracelet manufacturing process ends with quality control before receiving them at the atelier. There they will then be added to the watches, depending on the choices you have made.