As someone who writes about watches for a living, I spend my days looking at hundreds of different dials. But my own personal watch box? It’s actually pretty modest. I don’t have a massive, sprawling collection locked away in a vault somewhere. I prefer to carefully curate a few pieces that actually mean something to me and get plenty of wrist time. For a long time, my personal tastes have leaned heavily toward no-nonsense German craftsmanship. I genuinely love that clean, disciplined approach to telling time. Recently, however, I’ve found myself looking at my wrist and craving something a bit softer. That’s when I stumbled down the rabbit hole of Beaubleu, so you can imagine how chuffed I was to get the chance to take a deeper delve into five of the brand’s best watches.
Founded by Nicolas Ducoudert, this independent Parisian brand uses beautifully proportioned circles instead of hands to convey the time. It sounds like a bit of a gimmick at first, but when you actually see the concept in the metal, it makes perfect sense. Its deliberate mechanics compel you to slow down and live in the moment, which likely explains my fondness for German brands like Meistersinger and its compelling single-handed philosophy. Either way, putting together a watch guide for a brand like this is genuinely fun because it’s not just about throwing a bunch of numbers against the wall. Ultimately, a watch must be judged by its presence on the wrist and everyday wearability. Yet, as enthusiasts, we are inevitably drawn to the mechanics beneath the dial. With that in mind, let’s explore five standout pieces from Beaubleu and examine the finer details that make them tick.
La Pièce N°2 Rose Gold
The La Pièce collection is probably Beaubleu’s most theatrical of all, pairing warming golden hues with what is unquestionably a bold use of form. It’s a design language that feels unique to the brand. The warm golden PVD-coated case, coupled with those signature circular hands, makes the simple act of reading the time feel incredibly special, if not wonderfully avant-garde. As the hands of the La Pièce N°2 Rose Gold perpetually overlap, they cast an ever-evolving ballet of shadows across the dial as the day progresses.
Looking closely at its architecture, the case sits at a very versatile 39mm in diameter. It’s crafted from 316L stainless steel, meticulously finished in a warm, rose-gold tone that captures the light beautifully. Looking through the glare-free sapphire crystal reveals the sculpted depth of the monobloc dial. Providing the heartbeat within is a genuine France Ébauches (FE) automatic calibre, delivering a commendable 46-hour power reserve and paying homage to the much-welcomed renaissance of French movement manufacture.
Without doubt, this is an unconventional design but one that also feels surprisingly approachable and classic. The La Pièce N°2 Rose Gold is available at the Time+Tide Shop. Price: £1,680.
Ecce Figura Smalt
I count myself among the multitude who are deeply encouraged to see the watch world collectively rethinking case sizes and embracing a more refined, wearable scale. At a wonderfully compact 30mm, the Ecce Figura is an absolute dream for those less endowed wrists. The semi-octagonal shape is an alluring characteristic in and of itself, but the real talking point has to be the dial, which Beaubleu adorns with deep blue. The Smalt blue is just perfect, it’s rich and moody, and it serves as the perfect backdrop for a gliding light-blue seconds hand. This is a beautifully thought-out watch with tons of everyday character. Its proportions are virtually flawless: the 316L stainless steel case measures just 30mm wide by 39mm long, entirely departing from the conventional lugs. Crucially, that exceedingly slender 8.6mm profile makes it so wearable, allowing it to sit perfectly on a slimmer wrist.
Beaubleu opted for brushed and polished finishes to frame a flat sapphire crystal, while inside the case itself ticks the Miyota 9015 calibre, delivering 41 hours of power reserve. The embossed, wax-seal-inspired dial also adds a lovely tactile quality to the display that you rarely see executed so well at this price point. For me, the clever engineering lies in the complete absence of those traditional lugs on a 30mm case, enabling the watch to sit so flat and free of any awkward gap. The Ecce Figura Smalt is available at the Time+Tide Shop. Price: £862/A$1,780
La Pièce N°1 Champagne
To endow a timepiece with a champagne dial that exudes a subtle undercurrent of luxury without tipping into “garish” or the overly traditional is to achieve a feat that eludes the vast majority of manufacturers. Beaubleu has managed it with the La Pièce N°1, giving the champagne dial a totally fresh spin with those sweeping circular hands. Because there aren’t any rigid numbers on the dial, reading the time becomes much more intuitive. This watch shares the same universal 39mm diameter as its rose gold sibling and sits nicely at 10.2mm in height. The inner circle of gold-plated Roman numerals is another nice touch, providing a gentle contrast against the gently stepped, champagne-coloured canvas. It’s also limited to just 888 pieces globally, giving the watch an extra layer of exclusivity.
Turning the La Pièce N°1 Champagne over reveals a transparent sapphire caseback that exposes the beautifully symmetrical French Ébauches FE automatic Calibre at work once again, boasting an accuracy rating of -9/+9 seconds per day. Combined with 50 metres of water resistance, it perfectly balances everyday durability with genuine couture-like elegance. I also love how the champagne dial is a bit of a chameleon under different lighting conditions. Guaranteed it will shift from a bright gold to a soft, warm cream as you move through your day. The La Pièce N°1 Champagne is available at the Time+Tide Shop. Price: £1,680
Ecce Vesperal
Sometimes you just want a watch that focuses on the basics. The Ecce Vesperal is the brand’s answer to that. It’s a reliable everyday steel watch measuring 39mm, complete with a dial that has a brushed, almost industrial texture. The display perfectly balances the sweeping, poetic hands, and if you look closely, you’ll see a tiny, subtle blue border tucked away in the bevelling that you only really catch when the light hits it just right, pairing with the dominant hour ring. It’s also powered by a super reliable Miyota 9015 automatic movement, making it a rugged companion for daily wear.
In terms of dimensions, the Ecce Vesperal strikes a real sweet spot. It spans 39mm across but keeps an incredibly slim profile at just 9.5mm thick, which, again, is pretty slender for an automatic watch. The stainless steel case work deserves a genuine shout-out here, too. The crisp transitions between the brushed and polished surfaces look far more expensive than its price tag would suggest. Protected by a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and sporting 50 metres of water resistance, the Ecce Vesperal is more than capable of handling the rigours of daily life.
The Miyota 9015 (one of Miyota’s most common movements) operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour for that buttery smooth circular sweep, backed, of course, by a very practical 42-hour power reserve. What really stands out to me is the model’s hidden blue border disrupting the monochromatic dial, since it’s these small, thoughtful design easter eggs that make living with a watch day in and day out so much more rewarding. The Ecce Vesperal is available at the Time+Tide Shop. Price: £862/A$1,780
Seconde Française 19.24 Imperial Green
For those of us who harbour a profound affection for watchmaking history, this watch from the Seconde Française collection is precisely the sort of timepiece that genuinely accelerates an enthusiast’s pulse. Beaubleu has packed this watch with the same France Ébauche FE automatic movement and equipped it with a rich green enamel dial. A crisp white railroad track surrounds the stunning centre, yet the absolute best part is the floating seconds hand – a little pastel-green circle that glides around the outer edge of the dial like magic instead of pivoting from the centre.
A neatly hidden crown keeps the 39mm case perfectly symmetrical, while a compact 45mm lug-to-lug distance will allow the Seconde Française 19.24 Imperial Green to sit squarely on the wrist without overhanging. Its 10.2mm-thick case houses the movement, complete with a 46-hour autonomy. What’s more, the dial itself is a pad-printed enamel, sitting safely beneath a curved sapphire crystal that gives the whole watch a slightly vintage distortion at extreme angles. Like the La Pièce models, this is strictly limited to 888 numbered pieces and features 50 metres of water resistance. The Seconde Française Imperial Green is available at the Time+Tide Shop. Price: £1,297
When you step back and look at what Beaubleu is doing, it really highlights why independent watchmaking is so much fun right now. Getting used to those circular hands definitely takes a minute, but you quickly learn to read the shapes and the negative space around them, instead of just looking for a pointy hand. For those who value a small, meaningful collection over a giant vault of watches, finding a brand that creates watches with a little “off-the-wall” eccentricity is a welcome excuse to smile at the otherwise mundane ritual of checking the time.