Earlier in 2024 Swiss watchmaker Favre Leuba relaunched (again), this time with a new leadership and strategy, and beginning with a starting focus on three timepiece collections. Each of those watch collections is inspired by historic watches produced by the very aged name in watchmaking, and today, I’d like to chat a bit about the revived Fabre Leuba Sea Sky Revival Chronograph. In a sense, the Sea Sky is the least visually distinctive of the three debut collections that Favre Leuba launched in 2024. The Favre Leuba Chief and Deep Blue watches might be just as standard in terms of fitting into relatively generic sports watch themes, but they have a visual design that is a bit more original to Favre Leuba. The Sea Sky on the other hand is a well-priced and attractive classic-style sports watch meant to fill a mold, and I think it does that pretty well.
The Sea Sky Revival Chronograph design, in general, is based on a combination of a pilot’s watch and a diver’s watch. All in a package that looks as though it was designed for the 1970s. Looking at it, you can easily understand the theme and also recognize that there are other watches on the market that don’t look too dissimilar. The Sky Sea is supposed to be a solid value proposition and commendable entrant by Favre Leuba in a particular watch category, but it isn’t meant to redefine that category, and if this watch looks like a Breitling at a glance, then that’s probably what the company was going for. Favre-Leuba CEO Patrik Hoffmann has made it clear that marketability and familiarity in design is exactly what he was going for as part of the brand’s relaunch.
In many ways, the Favre Leuba Sea Sky Revival reminds me of the NORQAIN Freedom 60 Chrono. Both watches from the Swiss brands have available 40mm wide steel cases, three register automatic chronographs, a roughly vintage sport watch style, and are very similarly priced. Both also want to compete in a larger field of luxury sport chronograph watches, with value propositions that are intended to undercut and compete with some of the bigger brand names out there. This is a solid strategy but it requires consumers to first be romanced by the more popular or expensive styles of these watches and then to later discover products like the Sea Sky which “scratches an itch” for less cash.
These watches exist in an interesting middle zone between the pricing of larger Swiss brands and that of smaller “microbrands.” This is a “medium hot porridge” option for consumers who are confident enough in their watch knowledge not to have to buy from a really big brand, but still want the polish and sheen of a more professional and established company and team. Truly, these are among my favorite brands and products to discuss because they are intended for confident, experienced watch consumers and collectors like me.
Eventually, aBlogtoWatch will probably do a more in-depth long-term review of the Favre Leuba Sea Sky Revival Chrono. These are watches I checked out briefly with the aBlogtoWatch team in Geneva. You can see that the Sea Sky Revival is a handsome watch that comes in three dial color options including black, blue, and brown. The dial color is matched by the color of the ceramic insert on the rotating diver’s-style timing bezel, along with the color of the leather strap. The 20mm wide straps are set on quick-release spring bars and can easily be swapped out with something else. I am not sure if Favre-Leuba has a matching steel bracelet design planned for the Sea Sky Revival, but it could probably make for a very handsome wearing option.
The Favre-Leuba Sea Sky Revival Chrono’s case is 40mm wide and about 15.2mm thick. The case has 100 meters of water resistance with a screw-down crown and traditional chronograph pushers. 40mm wide is a good all-around size for a sports watch like this, even if 41 or 42mm wide would have also been good. For anyone worried that the Sea Sky Revival Chrono might feel too small, I would respond by reminding them that more than 15mm of case thickness will add to the perceived size of the Sea Sky Revival’s case.
Inside the watch is an automatic mechanical chronograph movement that Favre-Leuba calls their caliber FLC01. I believe it is produced for them by Swiss La Joux-Perret, which produces most if not all of the movements used in the first round of revived Favre-Leuba watches. The movement operates at 4Hz with about 60 hours of power reserve and the chronograph has a column wheel transmission system. Visible through the sapphire crystal caseback window, the movement is also nicely decorated for the price. It features the time and 12-hour chronograph. Favre-Leuba made the design call not to include the date, which was probably a good decision because it helps keep the watch face cleaner and more consistent.
The watch face of the Sea Sky Revival Chronograph is classically handsome with contrasting colors and a lot of pop. These types of dials are so popular that it is truly hard to make them ever look particularly distinctive. One thing Favre Leuba does is include both a telemeter and tachymeter scale for the chronograph right on the dial itself. This “instrumental clutter” is part of what makes the watch feel like certain Breitling models, and does help give the watch additional personality and flair. With that said, these scales are almost entirely useless to most wearers, and act as a spoiler or body cladding on most cars where you find such elements being used merely as decorative embellishments. It is easy to poke fun at such useless features until you see the watch designed without them and then realize that functional-only luxury watches are a bit on the boring side.
The early success of the Favre Leuba Sea Sky Revival Chronograph is going to depend on market placement. These watches are specifically intended to appeal to consumer interest in a particular style and attempt to offer a handsome design and good price within that style. Favre Leuba is probably smart to start the relaunched brand this way, and I look forward to seeing how today’s Favre Leuba brand evolves, as well as how the Sea Sky Revival Chronograph watch collection continues to develop. Price for the Favre Leuba Sea Sky Revival Chronograph watch is $4,350 USD. Learn more at the Favre Leuba website.
