Favre - Leuba Alter von Uhren bestimmen - Bivouac, Memo Depth, Deep Blue, Bathy, Duomatic, Seaking, Rider Harpoon - Sammler-Uhren

Favre - Leuba Age Determination of Watches - Bivouac, Memo Depth, Deep Blue, Bathy, Duomatic, Seaking, Rider Harpoon

Brief profile: Favre-Leuba

  • Founded: 1737 (!), Switzerland

  • Revival under Louis Favre-Leuba: from 1815

  • Known for: robust sports watches, technical innovations

  • Special models:

    • Bivouac (1962): first wristwatch with altimeter & barometer

    • Deep Blue / Bathy 160 (1968): Diving watches with depth gauge

Short story in eras

epoch Period Special features
Early history 1737 – 1900 Pocket watches, handmade, mostly without standardized serial numbers
Early industrialization 1900 – 1930 First serial numbers on movements and cases; calibers from FHF, A. Schild, Cortebert, and others.
Technological heyday 1930 – 1970 In-house movements, automatic, "Bivouac" (altimeter), "Deep Blue" (300m Diver); distinctive movement numbers
Late Period / Modern 1970s – 1980s Quartz models, ETA/PUW movements; re-editions are available again today (from 2015 onwards).

Serial numbers / case numbers – basic principle

Favre-Leuba has used consecutive serial numbers since around 1910; older pieces are not standardized. The number is located on the main plate of the movement (under the balance wheel or near the barrel bridge) and on the inside of the case back.

Important: Often there are two numbers – the serial number and the case number.
The serial number is usually used for dating purposes.

Serial number → Production period (reference ranges)

Serial number (range) Time period (approximately) Typical works / models
< 200,000 before 1910 Pocket watches, FHF movements
200,000 – 400,000 1910 – 1925 Early wristwatches, FHF / AS caliber (hand-wound)
400,000 – 700,000 1925 – 1940 Art Deco watches, 15 – 17 rubies
700,000 – 1,000,000 1940 – 1955 Surf, Seabird, hand-wound, early automatic (AS 970 and 1130)
1,000,000 – 1,500,000 1955 – 1965 Manufactory caliber (Favre‑Leuba 1152, 1162), “Sea King”
1,500,000 – 2,000,000 1965 – 1975 “Bivouac” (barometric), “Deep Blue” diver, “Sea Raider” automatic
> 2,000,000 1975 – 1985 ETA-based automatic/quartz movement, “Sea Sky Chronograph”
Modern 8-digit after 2015 Modern reissues by Titan Company India Ltd.

Example: Serial number 1 342 560 → Year of manufacture approx. 1961–1963 (Eterna / Favre-Leuba Cal. 1162, automatic).

Features for visual dating

feature Temporal assignment
Enamel dial, Roman numerals before 1915
Metal dial, “Swiss Made” from 1915
Imprint “Favre-Leuba Geneve” from 1930
Shock protection (Incabloc) after 1940
"Bivouac" symbol with altimeter scale 1962 – 1968
“Deep Blue” / “Sea Raider” / “Sea Chief” 1964 – 1972
Quartz print or PUW/ETA caliber 1975 – 1985

Caliber families for classification

caliber Art Production time remark
AS 970 / AS 1130 manual winding 1940–1950 early standard works
FL 1152 / 1162 / 1164 Automatic 1955–1965 in-house manufactured calibers with ball bearing rotor
FL 253–255 Series Automatic 1960–1970 Further development, date/day
Valjoux 72 / 7733 Chronograph 1965–1975 “Sea Sky”, “Sea Chief Chronograph”
ETA 2783 / 2836 Automatic 1975–1985 late series ("Raider", "Sea King")
Quartz ESA / ETA 955.xxx quartz from 1977 final phase before legal transfer
FL 1162.00 (Modern Era) Mechanics, Manufactory Re-Edition from 2016 MOD. “Raider Bivou”

 

Dial & Design Features

Style feature Typical decade
Art Deco / Classic, small seconds 1930s–50s
Large luminous indices, dauphine hands 1950s–60s
Favre-Leuba "Duomatic" from 1962 (automatic with rotor)
Bivouac / Bathy (with scales) 1960s
TV casing, bright colors 1970s
Quartz lettering / digital displays late 1970s–80s

Note: Models with "Duomatic" in the name → from 1962 onwards

Analyze logo style

Logo style Timeframe
Serif lettering "Favre-Leuba" 1930s–1950s
Modern block capitals (Duomatic, Sea Chief etc.) 1960s–70s
Logo with double circle / anchor typical 1960s-70s
New lettering (Tata Group) from 2017

 

  • "Incabloc" → shock protection, common from around 1950

  • “Waterproof” → typical 1950s-60s

Milestones

  • 1925 Single-pusher chronograph
  • 1946 Gold Datora wristwatch with manual winding and calendar
  • 1955 Gold chronograph with calendar, moon phase, 30-minute and 12-hour counters
  • 1955 Development of the FL 101 in-house caliber
  • 1956 Launch of the Sea King, Sea Raider and Sea Chief models
  • 1957 Development of the automatic calibers FL103 and FL 104
  • 1957 Launch of the Datic and Daymatic models with the FL 102 caliber and the FL103 and FL104 automatic movements, respectively.
  • 1960 Development of the first Favre-Leuba diver's watch Water Deep
  • 1962 Development of the extra-flat caliber FL251 with two mainspring barrels and a 50-hour power reserve
  • 1962 Development of the Bivouac, the first wristwatch with altimeter / barometer
  • 1963 Launch of the Deep Blue diver's watch, water-resistant to 200 m
  • 1965 Introduction of the Sea King Twin Power with the FL251 caliber
  • 1966 Presentation of diver's chronograph
  • 1968 Development of the Bathy, the first wristwatch with depth/pressure gauge for divers
  • 1968 Automatic winding mechanism for the brand's double mainspring barrel movements
  • 1968 Launch of the Harpoon model
  • 2016 saw the launch of the Raider Harpoon. A diver's watch with a patented time display.
  • In 2017, Favre-Leuba celebrated its 280th brand anniversary at Baselworld with the new Raider Bivouac 9000.
  • In 2018, the Raider Bivouac 9000 won the Watchstars award in the "New Stars" category as the best new release of 2018. It is the only mechanical wristwatch in the world that measures altitude up to 9000 meters above sea level and can also be used as a barometer.
  • 2018: the legendary Bathy diver's watch, released in 1968, is joined by the new Raider Bathy 120 MemoDepth, the only mechanical wristwatch in the world capable of measuring and storing diving depths up to 120 m.

Source: Wikipedia, AI

 

 

 

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