by Brent Robillard
Poetry in Motion
Born in Franche-Comté at the heart of French watchmaking, Nousseïma Baraket, founder of Buci Watches, grew up only a stone’s throw from Switzerland. It is no surprise then that she would find herself, years later, as the head of her own brand, Buci Watches. However, time is not Nousseïma’s only concern. Rather uniquely, Buci pairs her love of language and literature with her passion for time.
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Buci takes its name, for instance, from a rather famous street in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris. Considered widely as a gathering place for artists since the 19th century, Buci welcomed the likes of Marguerite Duras, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Romantic-era painters like Eugene Delacroix might well have rubbed shoulders with modernists like Édouard Manet. And later, experimental filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard would haunt its bars and cafes. In this way, Buci Watches is a celebration, not only of timekeeping, but of French letters and the arts.
In fact, the brand goes to great lengths to source and assemble its watch components from across France. The rather exclusive leather straps are hand made in Besançon and stamped with a line of poetry. The “sage leaf” hands are made in Morteau. The movement is made in the Jura region (partially in France, partially in Switzerland), and the watch is assembled in Mulhouse. Design and conception take place in Paris.
The efforts have earned Buci the right to label its timepieces as Made in France.
Key Features of the Buci Garde-temps
The Garde-temps Green Paper-style Dial featured here is limited to only 100 units. It is fashioned from 316L stainless steel and measures 38mm in diameter with a lug to lug of 46mm. The watch is only 11m thick, despite the lovely double-domed sapphire crystal. Its shape is quite organic up close, where the bottom of the watch is saucer-shaped, tapering into the case back–which is see through–and attached with four screws.
The exhibition window gives onto the Soprod Newton automatic calibre. It features 23 jewels and beats at 4Hz for a smooth second hand sweep. It is regulated in 3 positions and promises an accuracy of +/- 7 seconds per day, as well as a 44-hour power reserve. Here the rotor has been customised with Geneva striping and is signed with the brand name and logo.
The highlight of this particular model is the textured dial, which is gently pebbled to resemble the relief of a sheet of paper. The custom markers and sage-leaf hands are polished nickel-plated steel and dial printing is kept to a minimum. The overall effect is one of understated elegance.
The vegetable-tanned leather straps feature quick-release spring bars that have been curved to meet the case edge and taper from 20mm at the lugs to 18mm at the buckle. There are four straps to choose from—brown, camel, and two black, which each feature different lines of poetry.
The watches also come in a distinctive “volume” box and include a small book of French verse.
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SPECS
| Case | 316L Stainless Steel 38mm Diameter 46mm Lug to Lug 11mm Thick 20mm Lug Width Push/Pull Crown Display Case Back 30m Water Resistance |
| Dial & Crystal | Double-domed Sapphire Crystal Textured Dial Applied Indices Custom Sage Leaf Handset |
| Movement | Newton Soprod P092 23 Jewels 28 800bph 44-Hour Power Reserve |
| Strap | Vegetable Leather /w Stamped Poetry & Steel Buckle |
Buci Garde-temps
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Final Thoughts
Passion. You can find it anywhere in the watchmaking world. I have spoken to numerous people who work as designers, administrators, marketers, and retailers for some of the biggest Swiss houses on the planet, and I have discovered passion. But where you are most likely to discover it in spades is in the world of microbrand or independent watchmaking. These individuals do not depend upon market research or focus groups or committees. Their decisions are personal. They come at great risk. To move from concept, to design, and then into being, a microbrand watch must have a dedicated champion. You can see this in Nousseïma Baraket’s work. The Buci Garde-temps is a labour of love. The watch. The packaging. Everything. She and her team of artisans–from all over France–have created a veritable gem of watch. And there aren’t many of them. Is one of them yours?
Pricing & Availability
The Buci Garde-temps is assembled in France and is available now for $1185 Euros. For more information, please visit the brand website.
Vegetable-tanned, hand made leather strap @calibre321
About the author
Brent Robillard is a writer, educator, craftsman, and watch enthusiast. He is the author of four novels. You can follow him on Instagram.
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Whew….that is a whole lot of Beautiful in one incredible work of Art. Your composition is perfect. It succesfully captures the Majestry of ‘the written word’, unfolding with the same skill and delivering to the reader the sense of awe that such a combination of precise measure creates. She must be one of the great
artists of the world. This is truly a masterpiece. Gorgeous Article.
Thanks so much for the feedback!
Very impressive here Robi 🙌🏽👍🏽 I’ll be checking it out‼️😎
It’s classy🙏