Favre-Leuba’s signature diver’s watch gets a makeover with a modified case, redesigned lugs and hour displays in black.
Favre-Leuba has been one of the big names in dive watches since the earliest days when timepieces were first created for divers. The Water Deep came in 1960, followed three years later by Deep Blue, which boasted of being waterproof up to 200 m. Almost simultaneously, in 1962, the brand had launched the Bivouac targeted at mountaineers, which became famous for being the world’s first mechanical wristwatch with an aneroid barometer for altimetry and air pressure measurement. So it wasn’t surprising that in 1968, Favre-Leuba engineers decided to apply the principle of the aneroid barometer used in the Bivouac to measure pressure under water. The Favre-Leuba Bathy thus became the world’s first mechanical wristwatch that displayed diving depth along with dive time.
The Raider Harpoon which was launched three years ago is a worthy heir to that rich tradition. Inspired particularly by the Deep Blue, it stands out not just for its bold colours and heritage barrel-shaped case, but also for the unique single-hand time display system. The hand displays the minutes, while the hours are indicated on the co-rotating disc on the edge of the dial, which has a blue emission luminous display, ensuring great visibility even in the dark.
The single-hand enables quick reading of the time underwater no matter the surrounding light conditions. The reason for engineering this method of time display is that elapsed minutes is the most crucial information for a diver, therefore the minute reading is front and center on the face of the Harpoon. This also prevents the confusion caused during the overlap of the hour and minute hands, which can be fatal during diving. Further, seconds are displayed using a function control central rotating disc.
The 46 mm case of the watch comes with a stainless steel, unidirectional bezel. This has a 20 minute marked dive scale on it, which is visible on the anodized aluminum insert – an essential tool for keeping track of dive times. Super-LumiNova on the hour ring, the minute hand and the central function control disc ensures clear visibility in the dark, and the extreme lume assists deep ocean divers as the light begins to dim below 50 m. The watch is water resistant to 500 m.
The 2019 version of the Harpoon comes with a brand new look. The case has been modified, and the new design of the lugs allow for a superior fit. Both the central dial and the hour display ring are now in black. This, along with the matt finish of the PVD gunmetal provides the watch with a more distinct, robust and sharp style. The dual sided antireflection coating of the sapphire crystal ensures ease of time reading during a dive and also on dry land. It is powered the Automatic FL301 movement, based upon the Sellita SW200 caliber.
Two years ago the famed British Arctic explorer Pen Hadow wore the Raider Harpoon on his pioneering boat expedition to the North Pole, the first to sail in that region without icebreakers. “Watch-making and exploration became closely entwined when accurate timepieces developed beyond timekeeping and became instruments to reckon with in the deep unknown,” he said in praise of the timepiece he was wearing.
Friend of the Brand Milind Soman says, “The Raider Harpoon timepiece matches with my aesthetic in style but doesn’t just get limited to that. The unique timepiece goes beyond to prove useful as a diving instrument as well which I intend to put to test very soon!”
Also available at select Ethos & Helios stores.
