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
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.