Sources of inspiration to design watches are vast and wild. One can glean ideas from prolonged observations of natural phenomenons, for example the short period of intense changes between two seasons, the unique ways in which snowflakes melt upon landing on rocks in a Japanese mountain range, or the smoothness that blankets fine grains of sands when waves retreat from the beach. One can also find inspiration in one of the numerous artistic fields mankind has come up with since the dawn of time. For example sculpture, painting, poetry, métiers d’arts, and architecture. The latter domain of human creativity has been rather popular as of late, at least we’ve reviewed a few architecture-inspired timepieces such as the Palmos One and Pedral Triomphe. In both cases, some elements of the watches design were inspired by the art of shaping lines and curves into buildings, for example a super wide brushed bezel of brutalist appearance or a dial texture mimicking decorative elements of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. 

As you might have guessed already, today we’re going to discover something rather special from a brand I know for a fact you’ve never heard of: LAPS based in Paris and its newest collection called Studio. From the latter was born the Arche, a watch not only inspired by architecture but architectural at its core, boasting rather impressive specifications and an even more impressive price tag when launching on pre-order today—690€ tax included or roughly $801 USD. The Arche redefines what is possible to do for reasonable sums of money in the micro horology segment of the market by way of deceptively simple shapes fashioned in novel ways, the use of conventional finishing techniques however applied with surgical precision, and the clever use of average case dimensions which together form an interesting—very interesting—package. Through this new collection, LAPS celebrates its 10th anniversary and departs from models which mostly put the emphasis on dial colors and textures, thus leaping into the future. 

P.S. The brand name was inspired by the notion of time lapses thus my attempt at a fancy pun. 

Specifications 

It would be fair to assume that a watch so heavily anchored into design and a sub-genre of it would be accompanied by a simple suite of specifications because that is what they generally come with at certain price points—well below luxury levels. But things are changing in the small and independent side of watchmaking as brands are becoming increasingly good at making unique and exceptional watches for reasonable sums of money. More than that, they have a particular knack for applying singular design concepts and construction techniques to otherwise attainable—if not to say affordable—timepieces which the biggest and historical names of the Swiss and Japanese industries are plainly incapable of offering at this price point. Thus the LAPS Studio Arche is interesting to study from various perspectives—that of design, specifications, value, and novelty—which we’re going to plow through right about now. But before we do: please keep in mind the aforementioned pre-order price tag of 690€/$801 USD, wouldn’t you mind? 

The first point of interest with the Arche is its case. Not only how it is shaped but also how it is constructed. Something I’ve never seen before which doesn’t mean it has never been done but simply not in the microbrand watch space for less than one thousand American pesos, as far as I can tell obviously. The case is made of 316L stainless steel and measures 37.5mm in diameter, 44mm lug-to-lug, 9.8mm thick, and comes with a standard 20mm lug width. So I lied earlier when I said its dimensions are average as they are smaller than that in fact, however perfect to accompany the unusual manufacturing process of the case and the essence of its design. And that is where things become interesting: the chassis of the Arche is made of five (5) distinct parts—the case-back, the bezel, the mid-case, and two sets of lugs individually machined and finished before being attached to the ensemble. The latter act as wings which flank the case + dial combo in a rather magnificent way and that is neat to see at this price point. 

Or at all for that matter. 

The second point of interest are the hour markers of anamorphic nature which means, in terms I understand, that they create the illusion of distortion through their unique shape and a smart use of brushing and polishing I’ve (once again) never seen before and which we will get back to shortly. More than that, and despite its singular design, the LAPS Arche was created to be an everyday timepiece, granted one which will stop keen watch observers in their tracks and initiate one of many horological discussions, but an everyday watch nonetheless. This is why, for example, it is powered by the ever-so-popular Japanese-made Miyota 9015 which beats at 4Hz and comes with 42 hours of power reserve, boasts a relatively reasonable 50 meters of water resistance by way of a screw-down case-back and grippy 5.3mm push/pull crown, and is equipped with an AR-coated top sapphire crystal and another one on the case-back. Lastly, the Arche ships on a smooth leather strap equipped with quick-release spring-bars and a bespoke buckle. 

Design

I do feel a profound sense of satisfaction typing words into long sentences about unusual watches which are well made and designed to fit within anyone’s daily life. Evidently, not each and everyone of us would naturally lean towards architectural and architecture-inspired timepieces as daily drivers but I was surprised to feel at ease and comfortable sporting the LAPS Arche on my wrist of hardcore utilitarian horology aficionado. Because, as I’ve said it many times before and as I’m about to say again: it only takes one good watch to convert any of us to any new genre of horology and thus the Arche has made me into an amateur of design/artistic/sculptural (however we should define it) watches. As it is the case with cleverly designed automotive-inspired timepiece, for example the Maison Boanton Héritage or Atelier Jalapert AJ003, LAPS managed to transpose the idea of architecture into the dial and metal chassis of the Arche in ways which makes it come across as serious piece of design and not anything gimmicky. 

And I bet that’s hard to do. 

We can first spot the brand’s talent for unusual designs in the way it went about laying out all dial elements, starting with the hour markers. Earlier I mentioned their anamorphic nature, a way to explain their singular shape and use of polishing and brushing to create the illusion of distortions as if they tilted, shrunk, and grew depending from which angle you look at them and how light bounces off their sides. (Observing the hour markers “move” reminded me of Mona Lisa’s iconic stare.) More specifically, the hour markers are shaped into tall and narrow rectangles which lean either to the right or left and are composed of four polished sides and upper brushed section. On this version of the Arche (we will discuss its variations later on) the markers are anchored onto a glossy black enamel dial which exacerbates their anamorphic character. They are complemented by sharp asymmetrical hour and minute hands displaying a superb alternation of brushed and polished accents as well as a cap-shaped seconds hand disc. 

Moreover, LAPS added a trapezoidal date aperture at the four o’clock, composed of a polished frame and a custom date wheel with black printed numerals on a white background, emphasizing once again the Arche’s everyday nature and the brand’s ingenuity in incorporating another shape onto the dial by way of a date complication. And then there is the case: long and faceted lugs individually finished, boasting an impressive alternation of deeply textured horizontal and vertical brushed strokes of almost industrial nature and mirror-polished outer facets, flanking an horizontally-brushed case, and complementing a short stepped bezel made of vertically brushed sides, a polished chamfer, and a vertically brushed upper section. The intensity of the brushing highlights the intended architectural roughness of the Arche which contradicts with the multitude of polished and shiny elements emanating from the dial, making the observation of this model’s singular design even more so gratifying and its analysis the more interesting. 

A particular note should be made of the small but highly functional and perfectly machined crown and translucent finishing on the case-back, around which LAPS displays the watch’s basic specifications. 

The Heart of the Matter 

The more microbrand watches I review the more I believe that this most recent wave of privately-owned independent houses of watchmaking will define the industry for the next couple of decades. I never cease to be impressed by the fact that each year, and sometimes it feels each day, they’re doubling-down on their unique capacity to innovate from visual and technical standpoints. For example, what makes the LAPS Studio Arche stand out is the singular and clever design of its case and dial, which offer a plethora of new and reimagined visual elements many of us have never seen on a timepiece or together on one, let alone at this price point, combining anamorphic hour markers with an enamel dial and individually machined and finished lugs. Moreover, the novel use of relatively common finishing techniques brought up to high standards, combined with the redefinition of what straight lines and curves can do to a watch’s aesthetics, makes the Arche a rare and singular piece of horology which did not necessitate the invention of new materials or components. 

In other words, the Arche’s strongest points stem from the brand’s particular talent for reinventing the proverbial classic wheel of watchmaking through which it brings novelty at the reach of many. 

Conclusion 

As mentioned earlier, the LAPS Studio Arche comes in several versions, four to be exact, organized in two series: Serie 01 with textured dials and green or cream colors, and Serie 02 with enamel dials and black or blue colors. They are all currently available on pre-order for the price of 690€/$801 USD through July 6th, 2026, with deliveries slated for September of this year. After this date, the price will go up to 860€/$999 USD all tax included which remains quite reasonable I must say. That’s all folks! I invite you to read up more about LAPS and the Studio Arche by clicking on the link above to discover the other three versions of this outstanding collection. 

Thanks for reading.