Hands-On: the Ace Jewelers x Cedric Bellon CB01 Small Seconds

When is a watch more than a watch? It honestly sounds like a pretty dumb question, but it’s a question that I just asked myself when writing about the Cedric Bellon CB01 – a grade 5 titanium watch that’s just as much a watch as it is a case study in sustainability. I’ll admit, when I first laid eyes on the watch, I thought it looked very raw, almost unfinished. Upon closer inspection and a deeper dive into the brand itself, it started to click. The CB01 is a joint partnership between Watch Angels (a crowd funding platform), Ace Jewelers (an Amsterdam-based retailer) and Cedric Bellon (a watch designer) – by their powers combined, this watch is good for the planet! Captain Planet jokes aside, the CB01 is a 40mm titanium watch that features a mix of finishing techniques, an interesting movement, and very wrist-friendly dimensions. Let’s dig in and take a closer look at this collaboration that aims to bring sustainability to your wrist in a big way. 

Case

Measuring in at 40mm wide by 47mm lug-to-lug, the CB01 is a nice fit for my 6.75” wrist. The case is crafted from repurposed titanium. At first, I thought that repurposed was synonymous with recycled, but it’s not. The core belief behind this watch design is that when possible, materials from other productions will be used for this project. So maybe there was too much material ordered for another project that can be used here, having the watch achieve a higher “circularity score”. The principle behind circular manufacturing is that while recycled materials are great, repurposed materials can have an even higher impact on sustainability. They take into consideration what materials are being used, where they originate, and how they can be transformed (and at what environmental cost) into a wholly new watch. This sounds kind of confusing, but Watch Angels provide a downloadable sustainability report right on the product page, and digging into that has been pretty interesting. 

The case measures in at 11.7mm thick, which is very reasonable for a watch sporting 200 meters of water resistance. As I mentioned earlier, the finishing throughout gives off a very raw feel. Sharp edges between the mid case and top, minimal polishing, and a variety of directional brushing result in a dynamic look while all using the same base titanium material. I do wish that the case was a bit more contoured — I feel like it could hug my wrist a little better, where I’ve found that the lugs can feel a bit like they’re cantilevered over my wrist depending on how it’s bent. 

The flat sapphire crystal keeps things thin, while the coin-edged bidirectional bezel surrounding it blends the mid case into the crystal with a gentle slope. On the right side of the case, there’s a signed screw-down crown that has its own little platform to sit upon. This platform not only gives the screw down crown a solid little landing platform, but also puts tension on the bidirectional bezel. At first, I overlooked this feature, but while researching the watch, I found that the tighter you screw in the crown, the stiffer the bezel gets. 

I personally prefer a bezel with a nice click action and it feels like an odd choice for something that’s marketed as a tool watch to contain a bezel that feels like it should be on a vintage skin diver. The mechanism to keep the bezel from turning is interesting, but I’m not sure how I feel about having to crank the crown down to lock the bezel. While I’m not advocating for loose crowns or anything over here, but with the review sample I wore you really have to crank the crown down to stop the bezel from moving. A note here that according to Cedric Bellon’s user manual for this model, a half turn of the crown counter clockwise from a “locked” position is all that’s needed to rotate the bezel. In my experience, even at its tightest, you can still turn the bezel, but it’s much harder to knock out of position by accident.

Dial + Hands

More titanium is present on the dual-layer dial, which features a vertical brushed treatment. The brushing on the dial is deeper than that seen on the case, which provides a more intriguing texture that plays with the light. Depending on the angle you hold it, the dial can appear light gray or lean very dark, almost black at times. At 12 o’clock, you’ll find the only evidence of the dual layer dial in the form of a small running seconds dial with a laser engraved cross hair pattern. The markings on the dial are all laser engraved, with the exception of the cardinal indices. They’re small recesses in the dial that are filled with luminous paint. The pencil-shaped hands are also treated with lume, and an even glow across all of the lumed elements can be observed. There isn’t a whole lot of lume here though, it glows rather faintly and doesn’t last all that long. 

Since all of the visual elements of the dial are laser engraved, there’s not a whole lot of finishing to be observed. The circular brushing of the small seconds sub dial is in stark contrast to the vertical brushing of the dial. That sub seconds also features darker laser engraving than the main dial, but the engraved lines aren’t as sharp. There’s a bit of burning from the laser, which gives off a blurry effect to the lines, making them appear not as crisp as they should be. There are also two asymmetrically placed dial screws visible just below the 3 marker and just above the 9 marker. They match the overall raw feel of the watch, but will definitely bug those who crave symmetry. 

Text on the dial is kept to a minimum, with the CB logo just under the center pivot, with three Xs underneath, representing the flag of Amsterdam as a nod to the home of Ace Jewelers. “Swiss” and “Made” flank either side of the 6 marking, and are again applied via laser engraving. 

Movement

Inside the CB01 is a repurposed Dubois Dépraz DD14060, meaning that it more than likely was sourced from another existing stock somewhere. Dubois Dépraz is known for modifying movements rather than making their own, and information on this exact movement is pretty scarce. What we do know is that the movement was modified to have a small running seconds sub dial at 12 o’clock, features a beat rate of 28,800vph, contains 29 jewels, and is self-winding with a 44 hour power reserve. The movement hacks and features hand winding too. 

Straps + Wearability

Keeping with the monotone theme, the CB01 ships on a gray Alcantara strap with a really nice titanium buckle. The strap has a nice amount of cushioning and I found the 20 to 18mm taper to wear comfortably on my wrist. Since the CB01 completely lacks color, there are endless options for strap pairings. You could throw anything on this watch and it will work. Whether you’re tossing it on a pass through strap for tool watch duty, or a nice leather band to dress it up a little, there’s really nothing stopping you from dressing this one up or down. 

I’ve found the case to be comfortable, and a large part of that is because it’s so light. The watch with the included strap weighs in at 61 grams, and at just 50.7 grams strapless. Just for fun, I decided to weigh a nato strap with steel hardware, and it came in slightly heavier than the Alcantara strap with titanium hardware, so if you’re after the lightest possible solution, the default strap is a strong contender. The CB01 does wear a little bit large for its size, and I believe that’s due to the case shape. In profile, there isn’t a whole lot of curve to the lugs as they terminate at the end of the case. Sometimes it can feel a bit flat on my wrist, but maybe that’s the watch and strap combination (or perhaps the strap needs some breaking in, too. 

Conclusion

With its raw approach to design and use of materials, it feels almost as though it came out of someone’s garage (I’m not saying this in a pejorative manner) as opposed to one of those Swiss clean rooms that looks more like they’re making microprocessors than watches. It feels bespoke and industrial in the best way possible. It’s also a study in sustainability in the watch world, and that in itself is a refreshing approach. There’s no denying that we (the human race) tend to have a lot of stuff, and few of us think about how much waste there is in the process of acquiring all that stuff. The CB01 takes a look at those materials that may have been tossed in a scrap pile and made something interesting from them.  I encourage you to dig through the sustainability report that Watch Angels has posted on their website. It’s a fascinating look into the where, what, and why of this watch. 

The CB01 is available through Ace Jewelers and Watch Angels, so head over to either of them if you’re curious about learning more about this stand-out collaboration.