ReviewFavre Leuba Raider Harpoon: Why A One-Hand Watch Equals Smooth Diving

The Raider Harpoon by Swiss watch brand Favre Leuba completely reimagines and revolutionises the way one reads time. Originally designed in 1968, this model was conceptualised as the ultimate diver’s watch with the first-of-its-kind helium valve. Based on the idea of ‘less is more’, the Raider Harpoon innovated the single hand dial for recreational and professional divers to track elapsed time in one quick glance.

Favre Leuba Raider Harpoon Shop The Collection

Revolutionary Design: Raider Harpoon

The Raider Harper dial functions as a three-part harmony. The outer white chapter ring with applied Arabic numerals denotes hours, the inner circle with applied index markers displays the minutes, and the central rotating disc has running seconds. The single hand dial is a patented mechanism, developed entirely at Favre Leuba. To read the time, work your way from the outside (hours) and move inwards (minutes) towards the centre (running seconds). The outer white chapter ring denotes hours while the inner ring shows minutes.

The Raider Harper dial functions as a three-part harmony, where the outer white chapter ring with applied Arabic numerals denotes hours, the inner circle with index markers displays minutes, and the central rotating disc shows running seconds

The brilliance of this mechanism is that the rotational speed of the hour indicator (white chapter ring) works in perfect symmetry with the movement of the single hand on the dial. This interplay between the two elements makes it incredibly easy to check time in one quick glance. The large single hand and the index markers are applied with Super-LumiNova to make reading time in low-light conditions easy, especially when underwater. Even central disc with running seconds has a luminous base.

A Valuable Diving Tool

The 46mm case is made entirely from stainless steel with gunmetal PVD coating. It is created with the same signature elements used in iconic iterations throughout the brand’s 279-year-old history as an established Manufacture d’horlogerie. Sitting atop the case is the tetradecagon, unidirectional rotating bezel made from anodized aluminum. These elements together to create a distinctive look, associated to the Raider Harpoon alone. Moreover, a diver’s watch is basically a tool watch. With the Raider Harpoon single hand mechanism, the diver can keep track of the elapsed time with just one glance at the dial. All one needs to do is concentrate on the luminous marker at the unidirectional bezel and the single hand to check the remaining dive time.

Pop Of Colour

The rotating bezel deserves further mention for its colour composition in the two recent models. In the earlier model, the 15 one-minute calibration on the bezel, along with the arrowhead of the hour hand and central disc showcased slivers of bright orange as a contrasting hue against the grey and black tones. The recent launches slightly vary. One model has a blue central disc and a blue one-minute calibration on the bezel, while a yellow iteration is coloured in the same areas as the orange watch.

The 46mm case of the Raider Harpoon is made entirely from stainless steel with gunmetal PVD coating

₹4,43,000

Check Our Selling Price

All one needs to do is concentrate on the luminous marker at the unidirectional bezel and the single hand to check the remaining dive time

₹4,43,000

Check Our Selling Price

In the earlier model, the 15 one-minute calibration on the bezel, along with the arrowhead of the hour hand and central disc showcased slivers of bright orange as a contrasting hue against the grey and black tones

₹4,72,000

Check Our Selling Price

The blue model has a blue central disc and a one-minute calibration on the bezel

₹4,43,000

Check Our Selling Price

01

While the screw-in crown sits at four o’clock, the automatic helium escape valve is at two o’clock. This valve releases trapped helium atoms that enter the watch during dive expeditions, thus working to maintain the pressure balance in the timepiece. A perfectly aligned screwed-in, closed caseback plus anti-reflective sapphire crystal on both sides ensures the Favre Leuba Raider Harpoon is water resistant upto an impressive 500m/1,640ft.

The yellow iteration is coloured in the same areas as the orange watch, that includes the 15 one-minute calibration on the bezel, along with the arrowhead of the hour hand and central disc

The Raider Harpoon comes with three strap choices. There is a black rubber strap with a stainless steel gunmetal PVD coated pin buckle that guarantees good grip, especially underwater. Other options consists of a stainless steel bracelet or a brown calfskin leather strap with contrast stitching in colours matching the sliver of the brightly hued bezel.