Our opinion on the Beaubleu Union collection and its new “Rive Gauche” and “Rive Droite” lines from the Parisian watchmaker Beaubleu. Parisian elegance and creativity united.
Beaubleu: a Parisian nugget not to be missed.
From March 2018, Jimmy introduced you to the sublime Beaubleu brand on the MBA blog. Created in 2017 by Nicolas Pham and Emmanuel Georgy, the Parisian brand had amazed everyone with its elegant B01 watches with magical circular hands. This collection was a great success and watch lovers were impatiently waiting to see the rest… they won’t be disappointed!
A new “Union” collection with Parisian elegance
The new “Union” collection takes up the strong points of the brand: a subtle blue, round hands that make the originality of the watch, a very successful harmony that emerges from the whole. A result that will appeal to both men and women looking for a beautiful and original automatic watch.
Beaubleu round hands: original, elegant and poetic
Watch connoisseurs will see a luxurious tribute to the Soviet Raketa Copernicus, astronomers and poets an ode to the solar system, one can only fall under the spell of these 3 spheres which subtly intersect on the dial. You will be surprised by the number of people who will ask you to see your watch up close!
Compared to the previous B01 collection, there is now a third round second hand, which makes the whole thing even more balanced and elegant. Seeing these circular needles overlap and intersect is a real spectacle.
We will also note 2 new changes: the crown has been enlarged for more maneuverability and the bracelet now incorporates a folding clasp.
The “Union” collection is available in 2 lines with evocative names for lovers of Paris: “Rive Gauche” and “Rive Droite”.
The Beaubleu “Rive Gauche” line
The very beautiful “Rive Gauche” line has a flat dial and is available in matte or glossy colours. Each dial, whose minute index is proposed in figures, is associated with a case version signed Beaubleu.
Price: €740 including tax (read below for big discounts for MBA readers).
The Beaubleu “Right Bank” line
I personally find the “Rive Droite” line even more successful: it has a lacquered and curved dial on its edge and comes in three very chic velvet colors.
Price: €790 including VAT (read below for big discounts for MBA readers).
Technical data of the Beaubleu “Union” collection:
– Diameter: 39mm
– Thickness: 9.5mm
– Between lugs: 20 mm
– 316L stainless steel
– Scratchproof & anti-reflective sapphire crystal
– Coating: Premium Black PVD / Rose Gold
– MIYOTA 9015 movement
– Water resistance: 30 meters, 3 ATM
– White Super-LumiNova hands
– Strap: 20 X 16 mm with folding clasp
A special price for MBA readers!
A little secret seen live with Nicolas Pham for MBA readers. The new collection will be pre-order on Kickstarter officially on Sunday March 1, but we will open unofficially on February 29 for MBA readers as well as friends of the brand on the Kickstarter sales site here.
This preview will be rewarded by a price of €480 (i.e. -53%) for only this “first” day before going to 520€ and more for the following days!
I can only recommend this pretty watch, you won’t be disappointed and we have to support our talented young watchmaking companies!
Interview with Nicolas Pham, creator of Beaubleu
– Nicolas, tell us about your career in watchmaking before the creation of Beaubleu in 2017.
Initially, I started as a designer specializing in automotive design, but I quickly got closer to watchmaking for its relationship to technique and craftsmanship. So naturally, I went through Switzerland to Zurich to work mainly on watchmaking projects and some luxury product projects. Then I returned to Paris to join Van Cleef and Arpels, a house known for its fine craftsmanship and fine jewelry. I mainly took care of special orders and watch collections. After this experience, I created my design agency to support startups and large companies on innovative projects before co-founding Beaubleu.
– What prompted you to launch your own brand?
Many things of course! Both the experience alongside startups by learning about the difficulties and challenges of this type of structure. Having seen how some big Houses work, allowed me to refine my overall vision of watchmaking, customer relations, communication management, etc. And the keystone of all this is the design of the round hands. I had brought out an old design from my diploma project and I wanted to give it a fresh look. Over the course of sketches and research, the Beaubleu needles appeared. So I had in my hands, an aesthetic signature that could be noticed without even a brand name, experiences with startups and a specialization in watchmaking… It was a great opportunity.
– 3 years after its creation, how is the Beaubleu brand doing?
Very good I must say. The objectives have been achieved, that is to say: to build a strong community around a first collection sold mainly on our site, to open up to department stores (Printemps, Samaritaine, etc.) and to make needles known rounds in France. Now the first collection is out of stock and as we like limited editions, the 2017 design will not stand out. The idea is not to “make a hit” but to build a brand over the long term, so we take our time to do things right.
– We love the circular hands of your Beaubleu watches, where did you get this inspiration from?
The inspiration for the circular needles comes from several sources, the first is my thesis on the Void. From astronomy to architecture, pictorial art and music, the circular form is in fact the purest and most suitable form for designing a space, whether for the race of the planets or for constructing the composition of the classic painting for example. The second inspiration was Galileo’s research on the solar system.
– Are there any technical difficulties in using circular needles?
At Beaubleu, everything is always technically impossible (laughs) – During the technical design with a Geneva factory, a part was possible for one but impossible for the other. And these impossibilities changed depending on the pieces and the experts. So the needles, the challenge was daunting. I first wanted the needle to be placed visually on its axis and not offset / off-center, aesthetically fairer but difficult in terms of lift. We therefore refined the needles for its weight, but this posed another difficulty: assembly. Unlike conventional needles, circular needles cross several times and as they are lighter, they must not veil and risk touching each other. After a few scares, everything was finally settled, it was a question of dosage.
– You wanted to offer readers of the MBA blog a preview discount, what MBA represents for you ?
MBA is for me one of the (very) rare watchmaking spaces where there is a real tone, an authenticity and a look at watchmaking that I completely share – I was an MBA reader before Beaubleu. Then, MBA was the first to talk about Beaubleu creations and the community we share today is really involved and enthusiastic about the Beaubleu adventure. So it was normal for a gesture to be made. We do not forget the support of the first hour.
We thank Nicolas Pham for this interview and for these technical details.
We hope this will make you want to buy the new Beaubleu that you will find in pre-order on Kickstarter here.
Thomas M.B.A.
February 2020
