Favre-Leuba Raider Harpoon Black Edition

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 featured a barrel shape case with dual crowns and a unique time display. The brand now adds a new version, a more ‘tool watch’ take on the model with an all-black colour scheme.

The Favre-Leuba Raider Harpoon is an unconventional, retro-futuristic dive watch, designed with a focus on the essentials. 46mm in diameter, this beast of a watch features only one hand. The minute hand – the only crucial indication when diving – simultaneously displays the hours on a rotating disc framing the dial. It is a bit puzzling at first but you get used to it and it avoids any confusion among the different hands. In the centre, the small seconds rotating indicator has no other utility than checking that the watch is still running (as required by the ISO 6425 standard). The luminescent minute hand, hour disc, seconds indicator and markers create a distinct display even in dim light conditions.

This unusual time display is driven by an automatic calibre whose exclusive module has been developed in-house. The movement is based on the tried-and-tested, reliable Sellita SW 200-1, running at 28,800 vibrations per hour and with 38 hours of power reserve (an ETA clone).

The newest iteration of the model retains the same functionality and look but in a more rugged and ‘tool watch’ style. The case is still a whopping 46mm x 16.5mm. It is now presented in dark sandblasted PVD steel. The bi-colour, unidirectional bezel is black and yellow anodized aluminium (versus blue or orange until now). At 2 o’clock, the helium-relief valve takes the shape of a second crown for easier operations. The screw down caseback ensures a 500-metre water-resistance rating. All the markings are always aligned and upright rather than positioned randomly which is often the case for screwed casebacks.

The Favre-Leuba Raider Harpoon is completed with an integrated rubber strap with a pin buckle. It retails for CHF 4,750 on a rubber strap or CHF 4,850 on a leather strap.

For more information on the Raider Harpoon, visit www.favre-leuba.com.

Note: Like all Favre-Leuba watches, the warranty is of 5 years when activated by an authorized distributor. Interestingly, this is managed through a highly secured, encrypted software system. The system is implemented with WISeKey and can also be used to authenticate and protect Favre-Leuba’s watches and their owners. Upon activation of a warranty, the legitimate ownership of the watch is registered in the company’s highly secure database supported by Blockchain technology.