Chic Deep Down: Hands-On With Two Bicolor Favre Leuba Deep Raider Day Date Models
If you’re looking to express your chic side but don’t want to give up your sportiness, these dive watches might be for you. The two-tone Favre Leuba Deep Raider Day Date, featuring gold-colored elements, comes in three dial colors — black, blue, and green. The black and green versions made it to Fratello HQ. I went hands-on with both.
Favre Leuba recently added the 300m-water-resistant Deep Raider Day Date to its modern dive-watch collection, which also features the Deep Raider Revival and Renaissance. The Deep Raider is based on Favre Leuba’s most popular vintage model, the Deep Blue from 1964. The bicolor versions of the Deep Raider Day Date combine vintage looks with modern-day reliability. Now, the presence of a day-date indicator on a dial adds a certain gravitas to a watch, I think. Having just a date window is functional and handy, but a date and a day indication is a classic horological luxury. Combining that slightly elevated functionality with a touch of gold makes sense in my book and, apparently, also in Favre Leuba’s catalog.
Hands-on with the Favre Leuba Deep Raider Day Date in two-tone
The new watches each have a 40mm 316L stainless steel case and feature a mix of brushed and polished surfaces. The crown and bezel received a treatment of yellow gold PVD, just like the center links of the three-row bracelet. For affordability reasons, these parts are not solid gold. Still, the contrast between the steel and the gold-colored elements does give the watch a noticeably different presence on the wrist. It’s a lavish look that won’t break the bank.
While the elevated look is new, the functionality remains the same. The unidirectional bezel has a ceramic insert with a 60-minute dive-time scale featuring gold-colored markings. The 300m depth rating remains, so despite the additional sparkle, this is still a very practical all-arounder. You can still see its dive-watch origins despite the added glitter. I don’t know who would want to do this, because going bicolor means you go all the way, all the time, but you can easily swap the bracelet for a strap without tools.
Three dials in total, two at Fratello HQ
The two-tone Deep Raider Day Date is available with three dial options — blue, green, and black. The blue and green versions feel retro yet contemporary and trendy thanks to their standout sunburst and fumé finishes. In black, however, these finishes are much subtler, making the dial look more traditional and functional. The yellow-gold-colored details of the Deep Raider Day Date Two-Tone stand out most notably on the dials. The hour, minute, and second hands are in the precious hue, as is Favre Leuba’s hourglass emblem at 6 o’clock. The elongated hour markers and the day-date display at 3 o’clock carry over from the earlier Day Date models.
Interestingly, the dials use a sandwich construction, with a layer of luminous material underneath the upper surface. It’s a touch of horological refinement that adds a little bit extra. The construction shows that Favre Leuba didn’t cut corners in the Deep Raider’s design and execution. It’s proof of a genuine love for watches. In low-light conditions, the lume provides the familiar glow you expect from a dive watch. And it will also help keep the indications legible when you’re working late at the office and the light turns off automatically.
No revolution necessary
Inside the Deep Raider Day Date, behind an all-steel case back adorned with a chemical engraving, beats the self-winding FLD05 caliber. This Sellita SW220-1-based movement beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour. The movement provides the already-mentioned and clearly visible combination of hours, minutes, seconds, day, and date.
After unscrewing the crown and pulling it out to the first position, you turn it clockwise to adjust the date and counterclockwise to change the day. You can also choose between English and German. And the movement remembers your choice as the calendar advances; you don’t want to start the last weekend on Sonntag when you are still glowing from an excellent Saturday, now would you? It’s hardly a revolutionary concept, but it’s still a nice, thoughtful touch, and the system is foolproof.
Final thoughts
The large, white-outlined day/date window with the indications on a white background not only provides good readability but also looks nicely integrated, as it matches the elongated hour markers at 12, 6, and 9 o’clock. My favorite of the two watches that made their way to HQ is the black-dial version. Adding gold to what is, in essence, a dive watch is one thing; smoky dials are another. Gold and a popping dégradé dial push the concept a step too far for me. Still, if you want to flash a sporty-chic look, the combination does the trick. And if you have to choose between the green and blue dials, I’d advise picking the blue-dial model. I know, it’s not in our pictures, but the combination of steel, yellow gold, and blue is a crowned combination.
There’s nothing revolutionary about the two-tone Deep Raider Day Date, but Favre Leuba also doesn’t want to start a revolution. The brand simply wants to offer a watch with a very recognizable look that people aspire to but, when executed in real gold, may be out of reach. When you look at the Deep Raider Day Date with that in mind, it doesn’t disappoint. The look and feel are on the level you’d expect from an “affordable luxury” watch.
At €2,450 / US$2,700 / £2,100 / CHF 2,100, the new two-tone Favre Leuba Deep Raider Day Date is swimming in competitive waters, with many other watches vying for wrists. But if you are chic deep down and want a less mainstream name with a bit of history on the dial, one of these bicolor Favre Leuba Deep Raider Day Dates might be the watch for you.
