Favre-Leuba Raider Sea King – A Subtler Take On The Brand’s Design

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.

As we already explained, the “new” Favre-Leuba goes back to the roots of the brand, with most of its watches being focused on exploration or sports activities. Whether we talk about diving, climbing or exploring some of the toughest places on Earth, there will be a dedicated purpose-built watch in the Raider collection to fulfil your needs. For instance, Favre-Leuba has developed a watch with a mechanical altimeter that can measure heights up to 9,000 meters (meaning that you can climb the Everest with it) or a watch with a mechanical depth gauge measuring depths until 120m. Obviously, these are very cool instruments and both show great mechanical ingenuity. However, these remain watches made for action and a wearing them on a daily basis could be quite difficult – except if you are Bear Grylls or Mike Horn…

So, if you find the idea behind the brand and the design of their watches attractive, there is now a solution which might suit you: the new Favre-Leuba Raider Sea King. Smaller, less instrument-focused, slightly more casual and mainly, easier on the wrist. The main idea with this new member of the Raider collection is to offer the tool-ish flair of the other watches and the same overall design, in a more restrained and much more affordable package.

The case of the Favre-Leuba Raider Sea King indeed measures now “only” 41mm in diameter – far less than the 48mm of the Bivouac or the 44mm of the Deep Blue. This doesn’t mean that the DNA of the brand has been forgotten either, as we find here the same, rather squarish, tonneau-shaped case – however here, without additional functions, such as a rotatable bezel. Instead, the dial is circled by a fluted, fixed and brushed bezel which adds personality to this model.

With its 100m water resistance, its robust case and its protected crown, the Raider Sea King remains a very decent sports watch, which will feel at ease during a trip at the sea or in the mountains. But now, it will also be suitable for a more corporate use. The Raider Sea King is offered with 3 different dials – Midnight Black, Oceanic Blue or Slate Grey – and can be worn with an antelope leather strap or a stainless steel bracelet.

The dial also uses the same codes as the rest of the Raider collection: squared, luminous applied indexes and minute hand with octagonal tip. The black and grey models show a matte finishing while the blue model could be considered slightly more elegant, with its sunray brushed pattern. Inside the case is a robust self-winding movement, based on an ETA architecture.

The Favre-Leuba Raider Sea King 41mm also has a smaller partner, the Raider Sea Bird, a 37mm version of this watch intended for ladies. It will retail as of USD 1,900. More details on favre-leuba.com.