Today we are gonna talk about a watch from a brand that I wanted to review for a year now, but only now I got one sample sent in! The company we are talking about today is called Beaubleu which is a small microbrand watch company from France. They make these very unusual watches with very interesting case and hands. The watch we are taking a look is from the B01 collections called Le Lumineux. The Beaubleu B01 collection is made up of four different variants. The one we have in for review Le Luminuex (in polished steel), the Le Survolte (in black and rose gold), Le Mysterieux ( in black PVD) and Le Dynamique (in polished steel and black PVD). All of these share the same 42mm case, sapphire crystal, and Miyota 9015 automatic movement. So, when it comes to all the variants, you just have to choose between the different colours, but I chose the simplest one with black dial and all polished steel case.

The watch came in a very nice rectangular box, I like how the watch is presented in the middle and on each side we have the warranty card and instructions manual. The first impressions are good. I really like the case and how the lugs are skeletonized from the sides and I like how the fixed bezel curves. The hands are also pretty cool. The one thing that I immediately noticed on the first 10 minutes by examining the watch, is that the crown is too small and very hard to pull out, set time and impossible to wind the movement by the crown.

The case of the B01 is made of 316L stainless steel. The machine work is exceptional, The case is really well machines with nice lines. The case shape is round, but the lugs look almost like they are removable, they kind of look like exoskeleton holding the round watch face. The finishing all around the case is high polish and it is done pretty well too. The diameter is 42mm, the thickness is 10,5mm, from lug to lug it measures at 48mm. The proportions are pretty good, it almost wears like a 40mm watch, but I actually would like it to be 40mm, that size just fits it more. But any case the watch wears pretty well on a big or small wrist as the lugs are pretty short. At 3 o’clock we have a very small signed push-pull crown. The crown, in my opinion, is a pretty big problem as it is quite hard to pull out and to manipulate. I tested it with my girlfriend who has smaller hands and she was even struggling with it. I think they could’ve left the size as it is, but it should be more out of the case so it would be easier to wind the movement or change time. The exhibition case back is held on with 4 small screws. The crystal on the case back is a flat mineral crystal. For this price, I actually was expecting a sapphire case back crystal as I have reviewed a couple of watches that are much cheaper and feature the sapphire on both sides. Around the case back we have some specifications written and also the Limited Edition number you get. Yes, these are limited, basically, each colourway is limited to 125 timepieces and mine is the 124, it just makes it a little bit special! The crystal on top is a slightly domed sapphire crystal. The water resistance is 50m, which is ok for this kind of watch, just remember that no swimming!

The dial is pretty simple with a subtle twist with the circle hands. Yes, the hands are circles with small pointers at the end that tell time. The hands are white and actually pretty easy to read, at first you need to get used to them, but after some time you just look at the watch and you can tell time just like from regular hands. The dial is in this black, dark grey colour. Around the dial, we have the hour markers printed in white. Then we have a circular textured ring with the applied Beaubleu logo at 12 o’clock in silver colour. Then we have a silver circle frame with black middle portion. A very subtle dial at first, but when you see the circular hands and the details on the dial it changes just from a regular watch to a conversation piece!

The watch is powered by well known Miyota 9015. This is one of the better, widely available Japanese mechanisms. It beats at 28800 beats per hour. It is often compared to the ETA 2824-2 movement, and by some referred to as better, due to the lower height of the Miyota and a longer power reserve – 42h (ETA – 38h). You just can’t go wrong with Miyota movements as they are pretty well made and the great part is that it is very easy and cheap to service or repair these movements. On the rotor, we have a  Beaubleu logo. Mine example is running at around +7 seconds a day which is pretty good for these movements right out of the box. You can technically regulate them to run under COSC which is +/5 seconds a day or less, but I’m not that bothered with precision.

The strap is just a regular black leather strap with a smooth surface. I actually like that they didn’t go with the crocodile pattern strap as most of the companies do with these watches. The strap we have here looks much better than any crocodile pattern strap will do. The strap width is 20mm at the lugs and 18mm at the buckle. The strap is a bit stiff at first but after some wear in time, it will get more comfortable for your wrist. Mine example wears really well on my wrist after the wear in time and it sits very comfortably.

Overall it is a very well built watch with a very interesting design, but the one thing that scares me a little is the price of 595€. Yes, it has a design that kind of is worth that money and that it is a limited edition, I can understand the price because of that because ordering smaller batches from the factory could be more expensive. But the only thing that doesn’t back it up is the movement, which is a Miyota and they aren’t that expensive. Would I buy it? Well the design is really attractive and I can’t wait with what they come up in the future, but I would get it on sale somewhere!

Price: 595€ @ beaubleu-paris.com

DIAMETER : 42 MM
THICKNESS: 9,4 MM
GLASS : CRYSTAL SAPPHIRE AND SCRATCH RESISTANT
STAINLESS STEEL 316 L
AUTOMATIC SLIM MOVEMENT
MIYOTA 9015 DECORATED
POWER RESERVE : 42 HOURS
WATER RESISTANCE : 5 ATM (50 METERS)
BUCKLE : PIN BUCKLE
STRAP : ITALIAN LEATHER, 20 MM