Sunday Morning Showdown: Straum Expedition Vs. Laventure Marine Type 3
Welcome, one and all, to the weekly spectacle that is Sunday Morning Showdown. This week, we’re giving Daan a break and bringing our illustrious head of content, Nacho, into the ring. In the red corner, defending his six-win streak, is Jorg. More importantly, the watches going head-to-head today are two angular, adventure-ready titanium timepieces from small independent brands — the Straum Expedition and the Laventure Marine Type 3.
Earlier this week, Straum introduced the Expedition, which follows the Jan Mayen as a more utilitarian successor. As soon as we saw the watch, it got us thinking of other comparable options. And none seemed quite as appropriate as Laventure’s latest release, the Marine Type 3. So what better way to test these timepieces’ mettle than to sign them up for our weekly contest? Our two picks are very similar, with lightweight titanium cases and full-lume dials. The big difference is their prices. The Straum Expedition costs €2,100 (ex. VAT) on the rubber strap, whereas the Laventure Marine Type 3 was CHF 4,200, which roughly translates to €4,500 (ex. VAT). We say “was” because the Laventure has sold out. That won’t stop us from choosing it for this hypothetical comparison, though.
Previously, on Sunday Morning Showdown…
Before we roll up our sleeves and get this rumble started, let’s recap last week’s results. It was a battle of divers, featuring the new Blancpain Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary and last year’s 38mm Fifty Fathoms. The first pays tribute to a 1960s skin diver, with a classic 37.4mm case, long lugs, and an 18mm strap. The latter is a modern evolution of the original Fifty Fathoms diver in a reduced 38mm size. After the dust settled, the 38mm Blancpain Fifty Fathoms came out on top.
Nacho: Straum Expedition
First of all, let me say that it’s good to be back on the Sunday Morning Showdown battlefield. It’s also great to battle it out for a watch I genuinely enjoy. And that’s the case today, with the fresh-off-the-press Straum Expedition. The next in line after the Opphav, Rastarkalv, and Jan Mayen, it takes on a more rugged, angular, adventure-ready persona. Over the past year, the Jan Mayen has been on a journey towards what the Expedition unleashes. We were thrilled about the shift to a matte-blasted titanium case and the introduction of a new rubber strap and quick-release system. We even collaborated on a Fratello × Straum LE to bring back the signature lava-red dial. Little did we know that this was just a taste of things to come.
Earlier this week, Straum lifted the veil on its latest creation, a trio of slim, matte-blasted, stepped-bezel tool watches. Though much of what made the Jan Mayen great is still present, the changes made to the dial and bezel give the Expedition a new look that, as a fan of function-forward tool watches, I love.
A great first impression
When it landed at Fratello HQ, I felt like a kid on Christmas. It was straight out of the box and onto my wrist for some pictures. How could this day get any better? Well, as it turns out, it did when I realized the white dial’s surface was fully luminous. At that moment, I found myself thinking back to another watch I had seen not long ago. It also had a lume dial, rubber strap, and slim, angular titanium case. It was the Laventure Marine Type 3. Could it be that this Straum offered much of what that watch did at a more attainable price point and with a look requiring less of an acquired taste? In my opinion, that’s exactly right.
Time for an adventure, not a “Laventure”
Let’s get right into it, and I’ll tell you why your vote this Sunday should go to the Straum. I’ve already given you the thesis behind what I’ll argue here today. In essence, the issue I have with the Laventure Marine Type 3 is that it’s a little too weird for my taste. Sure, there’s design and charm to its weirdness; I understand that. But in practice, as a watch I’d like to pick up from my nightstand day after day and strap to my wrist, I feel I’d quickly get tired of it. And while some may consider the Straum Expedition “less original” (something I’m sure Jorg will mention), its simplicity and familiarity make it more wearable in the long run.
What causes something to feel not entirely new and original? Typically, it’s because individual components feel familiar, recalling the tried-and-tested designs of the past. However, it’s a bit of a fallacy that the sum of these parts isn’t original. Jorg mentioned some of these in his intro article. And sure, if you isolate those elements, there are similarities, but the sum definitely becomes its own thing. And it is a good thing. The proportions work, the dial markings make sense, and the purpose — being a legible, capable, lightweight sports watch — is fully achieved.
By contrast, the Laventure Marine Type 3 feels just a bit too awkward to me. Its hands are short, its dial is small, the bezel is incredibly wide, and its markings and text are distracting. Also, though the acrylic crystal is charming on paper, in practice, it becomes an Achilles’ heel.
A true daily driver
Let’s quickly talk specs. The Straum Expedition has a hardened, bead-blasted Grade 5 titanium case with a 38.2mm diameter, a 42.5mm lug-to-lug, and an 11mm profile. The dial sits under a double-domed, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal featuring an internal antireflective coating. On the rear is a solid screw-in Grade 5 titanium case back that, paired with the chunky screw-down crown, provides 100m water resistance. Powering the Straum Expedition is the automatic La Joux-Perret G100 caliber. It features 24 jewels, manual-winding capability, hacking seconds, and a 68-hour power reserve. The movement is also adjusted to four positions for accuracy. Plus, the Straum Expedition is available in three colorways (one more than the Laventure) — the lume-dial variant you see here, a blue model, and a titanium-dial reference.
We experienced the watch on an FKM rubber strap with a quick-release system and a Grade 5 titanium buckle. Straum offers this strap in eight distinct colors. And though the Laventure also presented us with several strap choices, one thing notably lacking was a bracelet (and quick-release). The Straum, however, is also available with a brilliant Grade 5 titanium bracelet with polished accents and a push-button micro-adjustable butterfly clasp. It’s a tried-and-tested design that debuted earlier this year, and it makes the Expedition a much more complete package. That’s especially true considering the price difference — €2,360 for the Straum on the bracelet and CHF 4,200 for the Laventure. Not that this matters much, as the Laventure’s initial 200 pieces sold out long ago. Even the additional pieces made available later are long gone.
A final case for the Straum Expedition
My final case for the Straum Expedition is simple. But let’s first recap the ones I’ve made so far. First, the watch offers a lot for half the price, including a great bracelet with a quick-release system. Second, with a date and a 13–24-hour scale, its less quirky design is more suitable for everyday use. Third, you have more colorways to choose from. And finally, there’s the coup de grâce for the Laventure, which I hinted at before: whereas the Laventure Marine Type 3 is a sold-out chapter of the brand’s history (with the only hope of ownership being pre-owned examples at a premium), the Straum Expedition is current, readily available, and a model that will be in the brand’s catalog for some time.
With that, I leave it to you, dear Fratelli. Be sure to vote for the right choice, which, this week, happens to be the Straum Expedition. Good luck and over to you, Jorg!
Jorg: Laventure Marine Type 3
Thanks, Nacho! I enjoyed reading how much you love the new Straum Expedition. I remember seeing your excitement when the watch first landed in the office. It reminded me of when the Laventure Marine Type 3 landed in the Fratello office. Among the team, Daan and I are, without a doubt, the biggest Laventure fans. My adoration for the brand dates back to the release of the Transatlantique GMT in 2020. I liked the Marine and Sous-Marine that came before, but when the duo of Transatlantique GMTs landed, I was sold. As I have explained here on Fratello, I don’t have many watch regrets. But if I had to pick one, it’s not having jumped on the opportunity to buy that wonderful GMT when it first came out.
The watch cemented my love for Laventure’s design style, which is hard to put into words. Of course, I can rationalize it by saying that Laventure’s releases always offer a wonderful mix of retro charm, remarkable details, and great colors. But the love for the brand’s design is more than just the sum of its parts. It’s a feeling that is simply there, rooted in a connection to the style. Sometimes, new releases will test that feeling, but even if I love a certain design style, not every watch has to be for me. Still, there is always a common thread that connects Laventure’s releases and why I appreciate them, strengthening my love for the brand.
The love for Laventure runs deep
After the release of the Transatlantique GMT, the Marine II with its gold dial was another stunner. Those two drops were my indisputable favorites among the watches Laventure founder Clement Gaud created. But when the Marine Type 3 came out, there it was again — that overwhelming pull of wanting a watch, caused by the same surprise I felt with the first Transatlantique GMT and the gold-dial Marine II.
I am writing this lengthy explanation about my love for the brand because it will, for the most part, explain why I will always choose the Laventure Marine Type 3 over the Straum Expedition. If you love a brand as much as I love Laventure, budget will never be the deciding factor in choosing it over a watch from another brand. It may be the limiting factor in getting one, but it will never change the actual pick. Consequently, the Straum Expedition will never replace the Laventure Marine Type 3 in my mind.
And I say that with the greatest respect because I really do like Straum’s latest watch. After wearing the Expedition for a few days, I was genuinely impressed with it. The build quality, comfort, and little details show how much thought went into its creation. Maybe even more importantly, the design started growing on me as well. In my hands-on review, I drew comparisons to the style of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Polaris line and the Rolex Explorer. Those were mostly first impressions, and once I started wearing the watch, they quickly faded, allowing me to see the design as its own thing. That said, I never felt the same excitement I felt with the Laventure Marine Type 3.
The inspiration for the Marine Type 3
As Daan explained in his hands-on review, the Lavanture Marine Type 3’s design was inspired by 1980s marine chronometers. These technical precision instruments featured dials, numerals, and graduations in a pure design style focused on exemplary legibility. While it was surprising to see after everything that came before, I loved that Gaud went in this direction. It helps that I adore the classic marine chronometers, but the way he executed the design once more showed what makes Laventure special to me.
The Marine Type 3 has a super-slim Grade 23 titanium case with a 38mm diameter and a 46.2mm lug-to-lug. The watch also has an 11.2mm profile. While that might not seem slim, it includes the 2.3mm-thick curved acrylic crystal. The low weight and the slimness make wearing the watch an absolute dream. The wide bezel featues features a full seconds track and accompanying text. They are functional, as they connect to the numerals on the periphery of the dial for every five seconds. They are also wonderfully decorative.
The dial design seems strange at first, with those numerals placed outside the minute track and the hour numerals inside it. On an already small dial, this design might take some getting used to functionally. But from the start, I loved the watch’s graphic style. Add the fun white lume dial, the sandblasted black hands, and the brand’s logo, and you get a quirky yet wonderfully stylish dial.
The specs merely back up my preference
The dial is placed on a non-visible soft-iron lower layer for magnetism resistance. The Laventure Caliber 4 that powers the watch also sits inside a soft-iron cage for the same reason. It is a modified version of the Sellita SW300-1 and offers a 56-hour power reserve. The SW300-1 is based on the ETA 2892-2, a step up from the ETA 2824, which served as the base of the La Joux-Perret G100. On top of that, the Laventure movement’s plates, bridges, and skeletonized rotor received a layer of 3N gold and display a mix of Geneva stripes, perlage, and soleil finishing. Lastly, it is a COSC-certified chronometer, which is another reason the Laventure’s movement is a definite step up from the Straum’s.
On the wrist with the light green rubber strap, the Marine Type 3 looks absolutely stunning. Once I put the watch on my wrist, I noticed how light it was and how meticulously the case was designed. But most of all, I was once again mesmerized because of that special feeling I explained earlier. While there are rational reasons to pick the Laventure, such as the slimmer case and the more premium caliber, it’s the feeling the watch gave me that makes it easy to choose it, despite it costing twice as much as the Straum Expedition. As mentioned, if you have a deep love for a watch, the price tag won’t make you pick a different one. It will merely make it an obstacle you have to overcome to buy one. That’s why I will pick the Laventure Marine Type 3 every day of the week, especially this Sunday.
Time to vote
There you have it — another Sunday Morning Showdown. Which of these titanium adventurer’s watches would you choose? Would you go for the brand-new Straum Expedition or last year’s Laventure Marine Type 3? It’s time to cast your vote below. Also, don’t forget to tell us why you voted the way you did in the comments below!
