Ones to Watch: Independent French Watchmakers

For the past decade or so, France has been quietly making its way back onto the horological map. The scene here is shaped by new, small, and revived historical brands. While the watches aren’t always fully made in France—they’re often assembled and quality-checked there—these brands are proudly headquartered in the land of wine, cheese, and bread. (I can say that with ease—I’m a Frenchy, after all.)

Whilst traditionally, watchmakers from my home country have leaned toward elegant, conservative designs, in recent years things have shifted. In this article, we’ll explore four new or recent releases from French independent watchmakers that offer a fresh glimpse into what contemporary horology is all about in France.

BeauBleu immediately stands out for designing all its collections around the concept of circular hands instead of the usual rectangular or triangular shapes. Through its latest release, the Ecce Figura, the brand pushes the concept further, framing it within a rounded rectangular case with a step-bezel, and a variety of dial configurations and colors.

The model that caught my eye is the Smalt, whose dial is designed and manufactured to resemble embossed wax seals—yes, those iconic seals from times immemorial. It’s also well spec’ed with a regulated Miyota 9015 caliber (4Hz/41 hours of power reserve,) a shaped sapphire crystal, 30 meters of water resistance and a compact figure measuring 30mm wide, 39mm long, and 8.6mm thick. This one retails for 890€ on a mesh bracelet. 

Animated by a passion for traditional military timekeeping devices, Vasco specializes in 24-hour watches, in other words, watches which show the local time on a 24-hour scale instead of a 12-hour one. The   All-Terrain/Off-Road was created to constitute the perfect multi-purpose tool watch for modern explorers and travelers, with 200 meters of water resistance, sapphire crystal, generous applications of C3 and BGW9 lume, and a Seiko NH34 (3Hz/41 hours of power reserve) beating inside. This rugged traveler/explorer watch measures 39mm in diameter, 47mm long, and 13.70mm thick. A few versions of it exist and I opted for the dive time/GMT bezel and date variant. It will set you back €599.

Technically, Carlingue was founded in 2024, but its founder, Alexandre Voirin, spent many years as a designer and curator at the Swatch Group. He was responsible for the relaunch of Longines’ Heritage line, including the Big Eye Chronograph—which won him a GPHG Award. The Military 01 is Mr. Voirin’s take on the perfect pilot’s watch, drawing design cues from the 1930s to the 1960s.

It's a darn legible piece of horology measuring 36mm in diameter, 45.90mm long, and 10.88mm thick. It’s powered by a Miyota 9039 with 4Hz/42 hours of power reserve and protected by a domed sapphire crystal. The dial is packed with plenty of beige SuperLuminova, and the watch offers a decent 50 meters of water resistance. It retails for €650. 

Rounding out our list of French indies to watch is the Eska Amphibian 250-BS—a faithful recreation of a rare, obscure 1950s diver, contemporary to the famed Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Only four examples of the original are known to exist worldwide, making the revival process quite the challenge. Visually, the new and old models are very similar, but technically they differ significantly.

The Amphibian 250-BS (“BS” stands for Black Shark) boasts 250 meters of water resistance, a domed sapphire crystal, and plenty of Old Radium lume scattered across the dial. Inside ticks a Sellita SW200-1 caliber (4Hz, 38-hour power reserve). It measures 40mm in diameter, 46mm lug-to-lug, and 13.5mm thick. It retails for €990.