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
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
You all know our black straps from Florence which match perfectly our watches. Maybe you know them too well… Then we have decided to create a finished patina aspect straps collection mixing our favorite ingredients: elegance, poetry and Parisian craftsmanship. This collection is composed of four shades inspired by our preferred Parisian locations.
Before telling you our knowhow technic for the finished patina aspect of our straps, we have to go back to the basis. What is the patina? At the beginning, the patina was a wear mark on leather shoes. For Beaubleu, we prefer to say that it is the mark of the time. Scratches become the physic manifestation of the lived stories. This natural patina takes time and give a real personality to the leather. However, there is quite a big problem: the time. We need months and often years to obtain a good natural patina. This is how comes the manmade patina. It makes the same effect but faster, in a few hours only. Nevertheless, this technic need experience and a unique knowhow.
The finished patina aspect straps are entirely made in France. In natural calf leather, they are produced in Besancon and bring back to Paris, in our workshop. Each piece is unique because of the handmade patina technic used. First, we select the best silk hair paintbrush. After we apply two layers of leather paint to establish the color basis. Each bracelet can react differently with the color contact. The craftsman has then to adapt himself. Of course, this adaptation capacity depends on his experience.After a break of a few hours, the time for the leather paint to dry, we start the most meticulous step of the process which need patience and attention. We have to apply the darker color while lightly brushing the strap. This gesture will highlight the volume and the color depth. After some more hours resting, the result is here. The finale touch consists in applying a last protecting layer for the leather and the shade. Here we are, the finished patina aspect Beaubleu is ready to join your watch.
