Themed watches can be tricky. You want the finished product to exhibit the inspiration for its design, but it shouldn’t be so apparent that the watch becomes a novelty. The less concrete the theme, the more difficult its execution. The designers at Parisian watchmaker Buci deftly navigated these daunting parameters when creating their poetry-themed watch, the Buci Garde-temps I have for review today.
I never start my analysis with the strap, but in this case, I must make an exception, as the words inscribed on the Garde-temps’s leather are its most direct connection to the literary arts.
“Aimer, c’est ne plus savoir compter le temps à tes côtés.” The words are stamped into the black surface in a soft, handwritten script typeface. “To love is not to know how to count the time at your side.” Buci offers three other phrases and two other colors (brown and camel). You can opt to have the inscription on the underside of the strap, but I wouldn’t. As a design element, the incorporation of a phrase is central to the Garde-temps’s essence, and visually, it works surprisingly well. The letters’ low height, tight kerning, central alignment, and low contrast make the phrase appear more like a decorative stripe than an obvious sentence.
Even if you were to hide the text against your wrist, you would have a very nice 20mm strap that tapers to 18mm at the signed buckle. The leather is soft and unpadded, so it conforms easily right out of the box; the ends are curved to fit snugly against the case, and if you order more than one, quick-release pins will make swapping them a breeze.
Of course, the Buci Garde-temps is more than just a nice strap. Its 38mm stainless steel case is handsome, well-thought-out, and expertly finished. It combines bright polish on its rounded sides, signed crown, and delightful convex bezel, with sharply contrasting longitudinal brushing on the top surfaces and chamfers. Its sapphire crystal is double-domed, AR-coated, and rises ever so slightly above the bezel’s lip.
With a modest lug-to-lug length of 46mm and just 11mm in height, the Buci is a true unisex size and is right in line for a modern men’s dress watch. Of course, it fit my 6.75″ wrist perfectly and tucked under my buttoned shirt cuff without complaint. This is good because while the Buci is not so formal that you wouldn’t wear it every day, its 30m water resistance will prevent you from joining Pablo Neruda to “spin on the circle of wave upon wave of the sea.”
Buci describes this dial as a green paper effect. It is a curious color that shifts between grey and a rich, mossy hue depending on the light. It is also available in brick. The more conventional beige color is now sold out.
The texture appears dense and fibrous, like the high-quality papers often used for calligraphy. Its surface looks similar to that of the Havaan Tuvali Duodecima, and I offer that as great praise because Havaan Tuvali makes theirs from actual, hand-dyed, Japanese cotton paper. Without the aid of a loupe, I’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
I am pleased that the Buci’s face is uncluttered. The only text is the brand’s stately name and crown logo. The polished hands and markers are similarly clean and refined, yet not without detail. Notice the leaf-shaped counterweight on the second hand that matches the shape of the hour and minute hands, and the pen nibs at the cardinal markers.
A sapphire window allows a look at the Buci’s Swiss Soprod Newton automatic (23 jewels, 28.8k bph, 44+ hours power reserve). Although the movement itself isn’t terribly fancy save for the rhodium-plated, Geneva-striped and signed rotor, the case back is attractive nonetheless, displaying radial brushing, exposed fasteners, and crisp engraving.
Finally, I must mention the box. The Buci Garde-temps arrives in what appears to be a handbound book.
Its cover is wrapped in case cloth and has a printed spine. When you open its cover/lid, you discover a marbled backing and a chapter full of literary quotes about time. Remove the insert, and there is your watch, strap, and warranty card. Like everything about the Garde-temps, the package is clever and whimsical with an understated elegance.
As I said at the outset, a design theme can easily overwhelm a watch. It takes an eye for detail and a modicum of restraint to do it right, as Buci has here. The Garde-temps is a lovely watch that successfully evokes poetry, and by making the strap script optional, it puts the wearer in charge of how loudly they care to broadcast it. Most importantly, this is a watch that anyone can enjoy without any advance knowledge or explanation of its literary inspiration. You can simply enjoy its elegant face and shape as you go about your time-telling day.
If you believe the Garde-temps does not take its theme far enough, then you might enjoy the new Buci x seconde/seconde model, a limited edition of 40 that features a dramatic “ink bot” on its cream dial.
The Buci Garde-temps in green or red is available now at buci-paris.com and authorized retailers in France for 1,185 €. Additional straps are 149 €. The Buci x seconde/seconde may be pre-ordered for 1,495 € until April 15 and will be shipped in May 2024.
Should you buy one? Why not? After all,
Vivez, si m’en croyez, n’attendez à demain :
Cueillez dès aujourd’hui les roses de la vie.
Heed me, and live for now: this time won’t come again.
Come, pluck now — today — life’s so quickly-fading rose.
— Pierre de Ronsard, Sonnets pour Hélène, 1587
