March LA.B’s new Golden Hour brings warmth and opulence to the Mansart collection thanks to its gold-plated case. It also benefits from a new LJP movement and a little unexpected extra…
March LA.B Mansart Golden Hour Overview
Whilst perhaps not being as iconic or idiosyncratic as the ever-popular AM2 collection, the Mansart line remains instantly recognisable as a March LA.B watch, such is the brand’s strength of identity. The Mansart case shape is said to be inspired by the octagonal architecture of the Place Vendôme designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, architect to the Sun King. Originally available with a centre seconds display, the more recent ‘Small Second’ variants of the Mansart use an exclusive La Joux-Perret movement (on license to March LA.B for six months). In Golden Hour guise the case is shrouded in a 3 micron-thick layer of 18ct gold-plating, turning the volume up on the 70s vibe. Oh, and an extra dial is included in the package. Yes, you read that correctly, an extra dial!
The retail price is €3070 (approx. £2660 at time of publication*) and the warranty period is two years from date of purchase. The Golden Hour is a niche watch within an already niche collection. But if you embrace quirky watches and like to stand out from the crowd, the Golden Hourcould be just what you’re looking for!
The Case and Wearing Experience
The angular, octagonal case is elongated but squarer than the AM2 and measures 35mm wide by just 39mm tall, thanks to its lugless design. Based on these figures alone, you might be thinking that it sounds like a petite watch, but the reality is that it has pretty good wrist presence. Why? Firstly, square watches tend to wear larger. Secondly, the overall thickness of the Golden Hour including crystal is 11.1mm, which is on the chunkier side for a watch of this type. Plus, it sits a little high on the wrist due to undercut case and protruding case back. Shaving a millimetre or two off the thickness would improve the wearing experience even more, but even ‘as-is’ it weighs just 61 grammes and is incredibly comfortable. The dimensions are similar to the ever-popular Cartier Santos Medium (the Cartier is slightly longer from lug to lug, but thinner).
The Mansart has more straight edges and is more architectural than the AM2 giving the watch a retro-modern look with a healthy dash of 70s style. The geometry is beautifully accentuated by the mix of polish and brushed elements at play. To fully appreciate the remarkable complexity of the case, it’s best viewed from the side so you can clearly see the four layers of stacked angles and facets, an impressive sight.
Working from dial side to rear, the flat sapphire crystal rises above the bezel and benefits from three layers of anti-reflective coating. The inner rehaut protrudes slightly inwards of the bezel provided a lip for the crystal to sit atop and creates a beautiful thin halo around the brushed bezel, adding to the visual appeal and bringing a real charm. The bezel itself is polished to its front face, as has vertically brushed sides. The mid-case is split into three sections. The angled top layer is polished to its main six facets, but horizontally brushed between the lugs, and there are small bevels on the inner lugs. Beneath this is the mid-layer which has vertical sides and features vertical brushing. The four end sections (effectively forming the lugs) angle downwards. The rear third of the mid case is undercut and polished, which makes the watch look slimmer on the wrist, but at the same time makes the watch sit slightly high on the wrist, rather than bedding down. The strong geometry of the side profile is only broken around the crown.
The caseback is secured by four screws and is longitudinally brushed with a polished perimeter. The automatic movement is visible beneath a signature green tinted mineral crystal display window at the centre. At risk of sounding like a cracked record, I do wish March LA.B would just colour the rotor green rather than tinting the mineral glass. I think it would look more elegant and also allow a better view of the movement.
March LA.B ‘s signature 4 o’clock crown is present, but it’s been given the octagonal treatment to match the case shape. It’s a nice design and the knurling and branding is attractive, but it’s not the easiest shaped crown to use and wind. The push-pull crown is also prone to being knocked. Water resistance is 50 metres, which is as expected for this type of watch and enough to make it splash proof or suitable for modest pool use.
Unlike many of March LA.B offerings there is no bracelet option for this watch. This is a shame as I’ve always liked the brand’s bracelets. However, the plus side is that no bracelet means no March LA.B finickity clasp to deal with (the only downside to the bracelets). Instead, the Golden Hour is supplied on a 20mm black alligator leather strap. It’s of reasonable quality, but I do feel at this price point the quality could be better. The strap tapers down to 18mm, terminating at the beautiful gold-plated custom tang buckle and attaches to the watch head via quick-release spring bars (dubbed the ‘presto’ system by March LA.B). Whilst entirely appropriate to this style of watch, alligator leather straps are often either a love it or hate it thing, and for me, I’m afraid it’s a hate thing. It looks okay, but I found myself swapping the strap out for a high-quality wine-coloured top-grain leather which transformed the watch completely for the better. It made the watch really sing and I went from liking the watch to loving it. It always amazes me what difference a strap can make!
The gold-plated case is generally very well executed, comfortable and attractive, although there were minor imperfections between the transitions from brushed to polished sections on my prototype watch.
The Movement
The Mansart Golden Hour houses the highest-grade soignée version of the G121 a modern Swiss-made automatic movement from La Joux-Perret comprising 289 components. Machined in Switzerland and assembled by master watchmakers at March LA.B’s workshop in Besançon, France, this 24-jewel movement is an admirable choice as it offers a very respectable power reserve of 68 hours. March LA.B regulates the movement to four positions in-house to bring improved accuracy of between – 4 and + 6 seconds per day, which is impressive and within COSC (although to keep costs down it’s not certified COSC). Being a brand new movement it’s not as tried and tested as Sellita or ETA movements, but it should prove to be very reliable as La Joux-Perret is part of Citizen group, a company with an exemplary track record. You can hack the movement to stop the seconds hand for precise setting of the time, and the beat rate is 28,800 bph (4Hz) which gives a nice smooth glide to the seconds hand. Decoration includes cote de Geneva stripes, bevelled angles and perforated March LA.B ‘M’ lines on the oscillating rotor. It’s worth noting however that the rotor noise is considerable on this movement.
The Gorgeous Gleaming Gold Dial
The light gold hexagonal dial is entirely monochrome, save for sub-dial printing and branding, but the dual layers and different textures bring depth and contrast.
Polished baton-shaped applied indices sit atop the horizontally-striped main dial layer. There’s a double baton for the 12 o’clock hour marker and a shortened double baton for the six o’clock hour marker. The polished indices look great against the matt embossed striations. There is no lume anywhere on the watch, which is to be expected for a gold dress watch. The small seconds display sits on a matt sub-dial at the seven o’clock position, with every five seconds marked by simple black printed scale. The handset is simple, comprising polished baton shaped hands for hours, minutes and seconds. The centre pinion is capped which is a lovely touch. Other than that, dial furniture is minimal, with just the applied pictorial ‘M’ logo at 12 o’clock above the pinion, brand name printed in black beneath that, and Made in France printed at the base of the dial.
Considering the monochrome dial and hands, overall legibility is reasonably good for this type of watch, thanks to the textures and finishes on show.
Of course, one of the selling points of the Golden Hour is the inclusion of an extra dial! Should you get bored of the monochrome gold hues, you can replace the gold dial for one in March LA.B’s signature dark green. This spare dial is protected in its golden case against external elements and according to the brand, can be switched as you want.
However, in practice I just don’t think buyers will swap the dial out often, if at all. Why? Because you’ll have to either send the watch and extra dial to a March LA.B store or your local watchmaker to swap out. If you take it to a March LA.B store, the first swap-out is free, but thereafter each dial change is charged at €100. If you decide to get an independent watchmaker to change the dial who knows what the cost will be, and March LA.B will only maintain the warranty if any issue with the watch does not originate from that intervention. Besides the cost implications of a dial swap, you’ll also be without your watch for a period of time. This isn’t so bad if you’re a collector and have other watches to wear, but if it’s your only watch I think it’s more likely the extra dial will just sit in a drawer gathering dust! I can totally understand parts like extra bezel on a dive watch where you can just change it yourself easily and at no cost, but in this instance I don’t necessarily think it will be a selling point.
Final Thoughts
The 70s-inspired Golden Hour is a great looking watch and a worthwhile addition to the Mansart lineup. It amps up the angular shapes and combines many elements that I personally like in a watch…a non-round case, textured dial, distinctive character and relative scarcity (you’re unlikely to see another person wearing one). Plus, the use of gold seems to really suit this type of watch. I can also see the added value in the exclusive license of the La Joux-Perret small second movement and the extra dial, something I’ve not seen offered before. However, as explained above, in practice I just don’t think buyers will swap the dial out often, if at all. And then we come to the price. As much as I love the Golden Hour, I feel like it’s a hefty asking price for what it is, especially considering it’s only supplied on a leather strap. However, some of this cost must surely be down to the incredibly complex case – I gave up counting the number of facets when I reached 50! Also, to be fair, March LA.B does appear to have a strong following and many of its watches sell out, so they obviously know what their customers are willing to pay. It just might be more difficult to win over new customers based on the specs alone. Another minor criticism is the travel case that the watch is supplied with. It doesn’t look or feel premium and the way you have to force the watch back into its incredibly tight little pocket feels undignified. Other than that, the only other slight negative to point out for our readers is the rotor noise.
Overall, the positives outweigh the negatives and provided you’re ok with the asking price, you’ll get a bold and for the most part beautifully finished watch that houses a regulated Swiss automatic movement and (for me at least) has the best Mansart dial to date. A monochrome colour palate could be at risk of being boring, but not here, thanks to the shapes, textures and layers, which bring lots of light play and interest. It’s also worth bearing in mind that, if you like the look of the Mansart, but the gold is just too much bling for you, all is not lost. Two stainless steel versions of the Mansart Small Second are available priced at €1995 (considerably cheaper than the Golden Hour). The Small Second Grall has a signature green dial and silver indices, whilst the Small Second Shelter has an off-white dial and gold indices. Plus, both are available with matching stainless steel bracelet.
