While the brand was founded back in 1969 and was one of the watch companies that supplied timepieces to the French Navy, Le Forban Sécurité Mer eventually closed its doors and remained dormant for decades following the industry contraction of the Quartz Crisis. However, the French brand was recently revived in 2019 by Jean-Sébastien Coste, who is also responsible for the revival of the Triton watch company, and in the years since making its return, Le Forban has been dipping into its archives and creating watches inspired by its maritime history. Following the success of its first two models (the Brestoise and the Malouine), Le Forban has created a third timepiece for 2023, and the new Le Forban Sécurité Mer Rochelaise represents a combination of a variety of vintage dive watch features that are emblematic of the 1960s and 1970s.

While the previous two releases from Le Forban Sécurité Mer followed a more traditional dive watch format, the Rochelaise embraces a dual-crown setup with a cushion-shaped case and an internal rotating bezel. The case itself is crafted from brushed and polished stainless steel, and it measures 39mm in diameter by 11.4mm thick, with 20mm lugs and an overall lug-to-lug profile of 46mm. With that in mind, the domed sapphire crystal and solid screw-down caseback account for approximately half of the total height of the watch, and when you factor in the downward curvature of the lugs, the case of the Rochelaise ends up wearing surprisingly thin, with its well-considered geometry allowing it to sit incredibly flat against the top of the wrist.

The domed sapphire crystal receives an anti-reflective coating, while the caseback of the Le Forban Sécurité Mer Rochelaise is embossed with a nautical rope motif and engraved with each watch’s individual serial number. On the right-hand side of the case are two crowns, with one dedicated to the movement, while the other is used to operate the internal rotating timing bezel. The unsigned crown at 2 o’clock is partially recessed into the case, and since it is used to turn the bezel, it simply rotates and doesn’t screw down or pull outwards in any type of capacity. Meanwhile, the crown at 3 o’clock is signed with Le Forban’s anchor logo, and since it performs the winding and time-setting functions, it screws down to the middle case in order to help ensure the Rochelaise’s 150 meters of water resistance.

At the time of writing, Le Forban Sécurité Mer currently offers the Rochelaise in two different colorways. The first is known as Sand Gray, and it features a warm, golden slate-colored dial, while the other (the version featured here) is named Sea Green, and it receives a deep teal dial. Aside from their colors, the two dials are otherwise entirely identical, and in addition to featuring the same time-only layout and subtle sunburst finish, both colorways also receive the same type of handset that features polished surfaces and a red-finished seconds hand. Applied extra-wide batons with luminous centers appear at the cardinal points, while printed luminous batons serve as the rest of the hour markers, and the hands, indexes, and bezel markings all receive an application of Super-LumiNova C3 to provide them with a green-colored glow in the dark.

As far as dial text on the Le Forban Rochelaise, the brand’s name and anchor logo appear on the upper half, while the model name and depth rating are printed below the hands, and they are joined by a thin stripe in the colors of the French flag as a nod to the brand’s identity. Surrounding the dial on both versions is a black internal rotating timing bezel that is made from pressed steel with raised markings that appear in a glossy finish against the matte surface below them. To match the hands and hour markers, the bezel receives luminous dots at the five-minute indicators and an inverted triangle for the zero marker; however, the bezel omits the luminous dots at the ten-minute intervals (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50) and instead replaces them with raised Arabic numerals that match the tone-on-tone style of the hash marks that reside between them.

While the dial and hands of the Le Forban Sécurité Mer Rochelaise aren’t especially ornate or elaborate in their overall design or finishing, they do offer a similar type of style to what you might find on the vintage dive watches from the 1960s and 1970s that serve as the inspiration for this model. Additionally, since the luminous elements are relatively small, they don’t glow as brightly or as long as what you might find on a modern overbuilt dive watch with massive chunky lume plots, although I would hardly say that the Rochelaise suffers from any type of issues relating to low-light legibility. With that in mind, the standout feature of the display is easily the pressed steel bezel, and its raised glossy markings create a significantly more dynamic appearance than if they were simply painted on its surface.

Powering the Le Forban Sécurité Mer Rochelaise is the Miyota 9039 automatic movement, which runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 42 hours. As part of Miyota’s premium line of self-winding mechanical movements, the Cal. 9039 is an entirely respectable choice for a diver at this price point, and the Rochelaise takes advantage of the movement’s thin design to help achieve its rather svelte profile (within the context of cushion-cased divers). Additionally, since the Miyota 9039 is the no-date version of this popular automatic movement series and the Le Forban Rochelaise is a time-only model, the crown offers only two positions (winding and setting), and it doesn’t have the bothersome “ghost” position that frequently exists on affordable time-only watches. While this should be a fairly easy thing for brands to get right, ghost positions are surprisingly common, and the fact that Le Forban Sécurité Mer chose a proper no-date movement for the Rochelaise is reflective of the attention to detail that is present throughout the rest of the watch.

Le Forban offers the Rochelaise with the option of either a tropic-style rubber strap or a stainless steel bracelet like the version featured here. The bracelet features what could best be described as a triple H-link design, with flat brushed center sections and slightly rounded side links that have a high-polished finish. The removable links are secured by single-sided screws and the end links connect to the case with integrated quick-release spring bars; however, the clasp is a simple stamped design with a friction-fit closure and a signed outer safety latch. While the clasp is slightly underwhelming and lacks any type of built-in extension system, it is also entirely functional and proportionally sized for the watch, and I’ll happily take this clasp over one that offers ample extension abilities but ends up being nearly as bulky as the watch itself.

While the dial and hands aren’t the most elaborate and the clasp is about as standard as it gets, the rest of the Le Forban Sécurité Mer Rochelaise is very well executed, and there is ultimately very little to nitpick about its design and construction. Just like any watch with a relatively thin case that runs on a Miyota 9xxx series movement, the rotor can be slightly loud due to its unidirectional winding design, and adding some type of signature to the secondary crown for the bezel would have been a welcome touch; however, these are the smallest of nitpicks and the Rochelaise ultimately represents a very compelling overall package. With an official retail price of €616.67 EUR (approximately $645 USD) when purchased on a rubber strap or €658.33 EUR (approximately $690 USD) should buyers opt for the stainless steel bracelet, the Le Forban Sécurité Mer Rochelaise is undeniably a rather appealing offering, considering that this same movement can be found inside significantly more expensive watches that don’t offer nearly as much attention to detail or aesthetic charm. For more information on the Le Forban Sécurité Mer Rochelaise dive watch, please visit the brand’s website.