MARCH LA.B BELZA Automatic Dive Watch
Starting from 1.795 €The MARCH LA.B BELZA Automatique is the French house's water watch, a 40mm diver born somewhere between Biarritz and California. Its stainless steel case, with taut, sport-chic lines, a screw-down crown and a black ceramic rotating bezel, gives the watch an instantly recognisable look. Beneath the sapphire crystal, the sandblasted dial revives the 1970s cross hair pattern, complete with applied hour markers and a custom-designed date window. Available in two dial colours, Ocean blue and Forest green, and paired with three straps made in France, the watch is powered by a Swiss calibre assembled on French soil. It is a piece designed as much for surfing and leisure diving as for everyday wear.
MARCH LA.B BELZA Automatique dive watch
Founded in 2009 between Biarritz and Los Angeles, MARCH LA.B has carved out a singular niche in French watchmaking: the graphic elegance of the 1970s blended with California surf culture, summed up by the motto “More with less”. Now based on Rue Charlot in Paris, the house designs and assembles its watches in France and claims to build timepieces that are “as French as possible”, right down to the Swiss movements it has assembled on home soil.
The Belza was born in 2018 as the collection's water watch. Its name comes from Villa Belza, a neo-medieval house perched on the rocks of the Côte des Basques in Biarritz; belza means black in Basque. The model also pays tribute to Peter Viertel, the American screenwriter who brought his surfboard from California to Biarritz in 1957, a founding moment for surfing in France. From launch, the brand presented it as much as a surfer's watch as a diver's, with a rotating bezel, screw-down crown and serious water resistance.
The current generation marks a genuine leap forward. Where the original Belza relied on a Miyota 8215 and a 16mm-thick case, the Belza Automatique gains a new-generation Swiss calibre, a ceramic bezel and a slimmer profile. It sits within the surf watch collection alongside more specialised variants, from the Belza Gitana, born of the partnership with the Gitana Team, to the bronze Belza Twin.
Technical specifications MARCH LA.B BELZA Automatique 40 mm
- Brand: MARCH LA.B
- Model: BELZA Automatique 40 mm
- Reference: Depending on version
- Indicative price: from 1,795 €
- Movement: Swiss automatic
- Power reserve: 68h
- Calibre: La Joux-Perret G100
- Diameter: 40 mm
- Thickness: 14.5 mm
- Water resistance: 200 m / 20 ATM
- Materials: 316L steel
- Bezel: black ceramic rotating, 120 clicks
- Crystal: Sapphire
- Dial: Blue or green
- Strap: Black silicone, black NATO or 3-link steel
- Warranty: 2 years
The MARCH LA.B BELZA Automatique dive watch
The BELZA Automatique applies MARCH LA.B’s sport-chic vocabulary to a genuine water watch. Its round 316L steel case measuring 40mm plays on taut lines and bevels alternating polished and brushed surfaces, with a screw-down crown that clears the wrist and reinforces the silhouette. This interplay of finishes catches the light along every facet, giving the case real depth without adding bulk. At 14.5mm thick and 47mm lug-to-lug, it stays compact for a diver of this water resistance rating, making it a watch as wearable day to day as in a wetsuit.
The sandblasted dial reads instantly: a central cross hair inherited from the 1970s, chunky applied hour markers, broad hands filled with Super-LumiNova, and a printed railway-track minute scale around the edge. The steel-ringed date window at 3 o’clock uses a retro typeface, with the number 3 highlighted in green on the corresponding month, a discreet house signature. The word BELZA is rendered in luminescent material to glow once the light fades. The anti-reflective sapphire crystal keeps legibility sharp face-on and at an angle, while the black ceramic rotating bezel, engraved with the brand’s interlaced lines, turns over 120 clicks. Together it forms a coherent, legible and thoroughly contemporary instrument, designed and assembled in France in keeping with the house’s stated approach.
Two sandblasted dials and three straps made in France
The BELZA Automatique comes in two dial colours: Ocean, a blue sandblasted finish, and Forest, a green one. Both versions share exactly the same construction, the same black ceramic bezel and the same movement; only the colour changes, more maritime for one, more verdant for the other. Each dial is paired with a choice of three straps, all 20mm wide and all made in France: a black silicone strap fitted on screwed spring bars, a black textile NATO woven by the Julien Faure ribbon house, and a three-link steel bracelet whose underside is perforated with micro-holes to reduce discomfort in heat or sweat.
Price follows the choice of strap, from €1,795 on silicone or NATO to €2,045 on steel. On the mechanical side, the La Joux-Perret G100 calibre is this generation's strongest argument: the first movement to come out of the partnership between the Swiss manufacture and the Besançon family firm Humbert-Droz, it is machined in Switzerland then assembled and regulated in France. Its 68-hour power reserve lets the watch rest from Friday evening to Monday morning without needing to be reset, and its stop-seconds mechanism allows for precise time-setting. With 200m of water resistance, the Belza suits both watersports enthusiasts and leisure divers looking for a recognisably French piece.
MARCH LA.B BELZA Automatique dive watch: the French surf spirit
The BELZA Automatique combines a 40mm 316L steel case, a thickness of 14.5mm, a black ceramic rotating bezel with 120 clicks and 200m of water resistance guaranteed by a screw-down crown and a screwed caseback engraved BELZA. The sandblasted dial, available in Ocean blue or Forest green, revives the 1970s cross hair with applied hour markers, Super-LumiNova hands and a custom date window at 3 o’clock. The La Joux-Perret G100 automatic calibre, machined in Switzerland and assembled in France, offers around 68 hours of power reserve. Three French-made straps are available, from €1,795 to €2,045.
Movement
The Belza Automatique is powered by the La Joux-Perret G100 automatic calibre, whose components are machined in Switzerland before being assembled and regulated in France by the Besançon-based house Humbert-Droz. This 24-jewel movement beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offers a power reserve of around 68 hours, enough to sit unworn over a weekend. Its stop-seconds mechanism allows precise time-setting, with a stated accuracy of between -4 and +6 seconds per day. The display combines hours, minutes, seconds and date.
Diameter and materials
The round case is machined from 316L steel and measures 40mm in diameter by 14.5mm thick, with a 47mm lug-to-lug and 20mm lug width. The black ceramic rotating bezel resists scratches and carries the house's engraved interlaced lines on its edge. The sandblasted dial comes in Ocean blue or Forest green, animated by a cross hair, applied hour markers and a date window at 3 o'clock. The sapphire crystal receives an anti-reflective coating to preserve legibility in bright conditions.
Water resistance
Designed as a water watch, the Belza Automatique claims a water resistance of 200m / 20 ATM. The screw-down crown and the screwed caseback engraved BELZA seal the case, while the unidirectional bezel with 120 clicks can track immersion time or the length of a session. Underwater or at night, legibility stays immediate thanks to the Super-LumiNova-treated steel hands and the luminescent BELZA logo. This level of water resistance comfortably covers swimming, leisure diving and everyday watersports.
Accessories
Three straps made in France are offered, all in 20mm: a black silicone strap fitted on screwed spring bars, a black textile NATO woven by the Julien Faure ribbon house, and a three-link steel bracelet with micro-perforations on the underside for added comfort in hot weather. The choice of strap directly affects the price, with the steel version being the most expensive of the three. MARCH LA.B also offers an optional gift box; the brand does not specify its exact contents.
Warranty
Every Belza Automatique comes with an international 2-year warranty. This coverage rests on a short production chain, since the movement is machined in Switzerland then assembled and regulated in France by the house of Humbert-Droz, under MARCH LA.B's direct oversight. This proximity makes after-sales follow-up, servicing and long-term parts sourcing easier, a valuable asset for a watch intended for regular use in water, where mechanical stress and exposure to moisture call for periodic checks of the movement.
March LA.B Belza Automatique The pros
and cons
- 68-hour power reserve
- 200 metres of water resistance
- Unidirectional ceramic bezel with 120 clicks
- Three straps made in France
- Movement assembled and regulated in France
- Fairly noticeable 14.5mm thickness
- Steel bracelet costs extra
- Distinctive, polarising design
- Gift box offered as a paid option
Discover all the brand's models!
Prices and technical specifications are subject to change. Content and photos are not contractual.
