Beaubleu Ecce Figura Watch Review

Beaubleu is a Parisian microbrand who take an unapologetically French approach to watch design. Their watches are designed for wearing at street corner cafes on cobblestone roads while a beautiful stranger smokes a cigarette leaning on an antique lamppost a short ways off. While I might be reviewing their latest watch on a dreary British morning as the English rain finally catches up with the early summer, the Beaubleu Ecce Figura transports me to the heart of France.

The biggest difference between the Ecce Figura and Beaubleu’s previous collections such as the Seconde Française is the shape of the case. Instead of a standard circle, the new watch is described as being semi-octagonal. To you or me that means it’s rectangular with rounded corners that are flattened just enough that they count as additional sides to the shape.

The rectangle watch as a concept is in itself very French thanks to its strong ties to one of the most famous French ateliers of all time, Cartier. However, the Ecce Figura manages to avoid the pitfall of being a Tank clone. It’s far more dynamic with a stepped design thanks to a concave bezel leading up to the smooth sapphire crystal, like the tiers of the Eiffel tower. In turn that shape is reminiscent of another designer, Gerald Genta and particularly his eponymous brand Gerald Charles. But also here, Beaubleu manage to toe the creative line and while you might say it’s inspired or influenced, it never copies.

In terms of structure, the Ecce Figura measures 30mm in width with a length of 39mm, placing it in the mid-size range when it comes to rectangle watches. Strapping it on, it has really good wrist presence without being overwhelming. It also sits on the wrist really well thanks to the hidden lugs that are integrated into the underside of the case.

There are six versions of the Ecce Figura being produced, split across two series. I have here two of the Series No.1 models, the Ecce Figura Alba and Ecce Figura Onyx. Both are made from steel but while the Alba wears its steel exposed, the Onyx has a rose gold coating that gives it a far more luxurious aesthetic. That’s also borne out on the dials with the Alba in matte white with Art Deco railway track markings and the Onyx in shiny black with its markings picked out in three dimensions so that you can only see them as light shines across them.

Of course, the elephant in the room is that they’re equipped with circular hands. It’s Beaubleu’s signature design element and while it’s in theory a simple change (they are just hour, minute and seconds hands, same as any other 3-hand watch) the impact on how you read the watch is drastic. The Alba has blue hours and minutes with a silver seconds while the Onyx is gold with silver. It encourages you to watch the dance of the circles as the shapes constantly shift like M.C Escher ‘s ideal Venn diagram. A captivating waltz playing out on the streets of France’s capital.

Powering that dance is the Miyota calibre 9015, an automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve. It’s the Japanese manufacture’s premium ultra-thin movement, which is what makes it suitable for the slim proportions of the Ecce Figura. It’s protected by a solid caseback engraved with details of the watch’s specs such as the 30m water resistance rating, as noted by the figure “3 ATM”.

Keeping the watch secured on the wrist is a braided steel bracelet with easy change bars and a sliding clasp. They also produce a leather strap with deployant butterfly clasp for the watch, which I think looks great on the Alba, the black leather echoing the black railway track markings nicely. It would feel odd to me to present the Onyx on anything other than its rose gold coloured braided bracelet because they work so well together.

To touch quickly on the other variants that I don’t have to hand: there’s the Lys in gold with a white dial the Smalt with steel case and blue dial to round out the Series No.1. Series No. 2 then consists of the steel Vesperal and gold Sienna, which stand out in comparison to the first series due to their brushed dials and baton hour markers giving a more minimalist interpretation compared to the Art Deco Series No. 1.

The Beaubleu Ecce Figura is available from €890 (approx. £750). At that price, these might be some of the best value for money dress watches I’ve seen in a long time. They feel like they punch well above their weight in terms of class and refinement. Frankly they’re also just a lot more interesting than many of alternative accessible dress watches that all seem to follow the same formula.

More details at Beaubleu.

​Oracle Time 

Read More