There are not so many watches equipped with a mechanical altimeter out there. Among them is the Favre-Leuba Bivouac 9000, a watch inspired by a vintage, 1960s model of the brand, already equipped with an altimeter. Presented at Baselworld 2017, the modern Bivouac 9000 stands out as being the first mechanical watch capable of displaying […]
Over the past few years, Favre-Leuba, one of the oldest names of the Swiss watch industry, made a strong comeback by releasing a series of rough, sturdy mechanical watches with distinctive designs. The Raider collection with, for instance, the Bivouac, the Bathy or the Harpoon offers gargantuan timepieces, with 46mm to 48mm diameters, featuring unique built-in functions designed for active wear – a depth-gauge for the Bathy or an altimeter for the Bivouac. If these heavy-duty tool-watches for “conquering frontiers” work perfectly in everyday life too, Favre-Leuba has also something for those looking for a watch that would be a bit less rugged and on a more ‘elegant’ side with the Sea King (and the Sea Bird for ladies).
As the end of the year is fast approaching, it is time for us at MONOCHROME to take a look back at the main novelties of 2018 and to decide what were the best watches we’ve seen. As we did with our best watches below EUR 2,000, here’s our second buying guide, this time with the best watches of 2018 priced between EUR 2,000 and EUR 5,000. And this has been a tough selection, as this category is crucial for luxury brands – there’s a huge competition in this price range, as “accessible luxury” companies are fighting with entry-level models of more established names. But here is our top-10, just to give you an idea of what you could get with your hard-earned money this year.
Favre-Leuba has a long tradition of crafting dive watches. A couple of years ago, the brand introduced the Raider Harpoon, a retro-themed dive watch whose quirky design features a barrel shape case with dual crowns and unique time display. The brand now adds a new version, a more ‘tool watch’ take on the model with an all-black colour scheme.
Men are natural pioneers and explorers pushing the limits to reach higher summits or plummet to greater depths. With the advent of the mechanical watch, explorers expressed the need for a piece of equipment to help them in their conquest of new frontiers. In 1962, Favre-Leuba created the Bivouac, a watch equipped with an altimeter and […]
If scuba diving is a popular recreational sports, it is a dangerous activity that needs to be properly prepared and monitored. If a diver ascends too quickly, this can lead to decompression illness that can be painful and life-threatening. As depth increases the physiological effects become greater. A reliable dive watch and a depth gauge are essential pieces of a diving gear to monitor depth and track the duration of an underwater adventure. Both are needed for using decompression tables. Traditionally, divers were using a dive watch and a depth gauge, to calculate decompression time at given depths. Today, many divers today choose to dive with a computer but some still use a mechanical depth gauge, even if used only as a backup.
Since its re-introduction in 2017, Favre-Leuba brought several interesting purpose-built instrument-watches on the market – for instance, the Bivouac 9000 with a mechanical altimeter or the Bathy 120 MemoDepth with a mechanical depth gauge. Yet, at 48mm in diameter, we can’t say that these watches were the easiest ones on the wrist, at least for a daily use. Combining the cool and original design of the collection with a more restrained attire, here is the new Favre-Leuba Raider Sea King 41mm.
Now that Baselworld 2018 is over, it is time for the MONOCHROME team to look at the best watches of the show. One category that usually appears to be highly disputed is the dive watch and 2018 has again been a productive year. From vintage-inspired pieces to proper instruments, here are 10 of the best dive watches we have discovered at Baselworld 2018.
Silent for a number of years, Favre Leuba is back, re-energized with the launch of a collection of rugged and functional timepieces such as the Raider Harpoon or the impressive Bivouac 9000. For Baselworld 2018, the brand introduces another bold dive watch packing multi-functional punch and a cool (and rare) mechanical depth gauge. Meet the new Favre-Leuba Raider Bathy 120 MemoDepth.
Combining a dive watch and a chronograph is always tricky, both visually and technically. It indeed means adding holes in a case that required to be waterproof. Quite a technical nonsense. Visually, it also means combining land and sea, racing and diving, depth and height. Two worlds that are, at first, in complete opposition. Diving chronographs are hard to master, but Favre-Leuba took up the challenge and proposes its vision of such a watch: the Raider Sea-Sky. The best of both worlds? Let’s find out.