Favre Leuba has announced its revival with an ambitious launch plan as part of Geneva Watch Days 2024. The brand has undergone numerous changes since its founding in 1737, but has been quiet in recent years. It is now simultaneously debuting three new collections: Chief, Deep Blue, and Sea Sky, with 22 new references and a lofty goal of “reinventing the brand.”
The first of three new families is the Chief collection, consisting of a chronograph and a three-hand date model. Both use a cushion case shape and bracelet resembling that of the Bremont Terra Nova (albeit with more intricate polished grooves on the case flanks), and each variant is available in three colors. You’ll find black and dark blue for both, with light blue available for the chronograph and green for the date version. Chronograph models feature a tachymeter scale and sunburst dials, while the date models use a repeating stamped Favre Leuba hourglass logo across their dials.
Favre Leuba says the original piece that inspired this collection is its 1970 Chrono Valjoux 23 chronograph, which explains the 70s aesthetic. The new chronographs are 41mm wide and 14mm thick. Meanwhile, the date models are slightly smaller in diameter at an even 40mm, and much slimmer at just under 11mm thick. Both are powered by movements from La Joux-Perret, the L113 in the chronograph, and the G100 in the three-hander, offering 60 and 68 hours of power reserve, respectively. Both offer 100 meters of water resistance.
The brand’s new dive watch family also includes two sub-models. The Deep Blue Revival at 39mm has a distinctly vintage look modeled after the brand’s 1960s diver, while the 40mm Deep Blue Renaissance gives it a modern twist. Both models are slim for a dive watch at under 13mm thick, and use a traditional skin diver-style case shape with polished chamfers on the flanks. As well, both offer 300 meters of water resistance. Deep Blue models are again powered by the LJP G100 caliber. They feature arrow-shaped hour hands, and the ever-controversial 4:30 date display (which is not rotated to be horizontal). Their dials feature hour markers at the quarters that extend almost to the center of the dial with offset logos and model names, not unlike those of a Doxa SUB.
The Revival uses aged radium-esque Super-LumiNova, and has a sapphire bezel insert intended to mimic the bakelite bezel of the original (but with greatly increased durability). One reference is available. It sports a gray dial and a steel bracelet true to the original five-link design with triangular links.
Renaissance variants of the Deep Blue offer more options. Black, blue, and green dials with a fumé pattern are available, each with a stainless steel bracelet or a rubber strap with a pin buckle. Bezel inserts are in ceramic on these models. Because a sapphire caseback is used on Renaissance models, the movement is upgraded to a soigné-grade finish. BGW9 Super-LimiNova is white during the day and glows blue at night on the Renaissance models. Like with the Deep Blue Revival, the hour markers at the quarter extend almost to the center of the dial.
The third and final family is the 40mm Sea Sky Chronograph. As the name implies, it combines styling elements of pilot and dive watches. A rotating countdown bezel allows for less precise time measurement, while the chronograph takes care of finer intervals (with or without the use of the tachymeter and telemeter scales). Three colors are available, each with “reverse panda” subdial motifs. Traditional black gives the most vintage appearance, with aged radium lume and a tropical treatment to its subdials. Blue and brown variants feature white lume, while the blue model also has pure white subdials.
The LJP L112 movement powers the Sea Sky. Visible through a sapphire caseback, the automatic chronograph caliber is finished with circular graining, Côtes de Genève stripes, and sunburst patterns. A gold-plated 4N oscillating weight ensures that it stays wound while on the wrist (or it can run for up to 60 hours when stationary). This movement also makes it the thickest watch in the collection, at 15.23mm.
A few years ago Favre Leubra was releasing watches that were funky and unconventional, but likely with limited appeal. Its 2024 releases pay homage to the brand’s history in a more traditional way. While less original, these models will appeal to a wider crowd. The styles will look familiar to fans of vintage sports watches, but still incorporate the brand’s distinctive touches. Watch collectors will likely also appreciate the upgrade to La Joux-Perret calibers over the ETA or Sellita movements you’d typically find in watches like these.
The new 2024 Favre Leuba watches are priced at $2,450 to $2,550 for Deep Blue models, $2,650 to $4,800 for the Chief collection, and $4,350 for the Sea Sky and the Revival. For more information, please visit the Favre Leuba website.
