Manufacturer
Favre-Leuba
Also recorded as: Favre Leuba · Favre-Leuba & Co.
Old Le Locle house, known in the twentieth century for the Bivouac altimeter watch and the Bathy depth-gauge watch.
Favre-Leuba traces its origins to Abraham Favre, recorded as a watchmaker in Le Locle in 1737, which makes it one of the oldest Swiss watch names; the Leuba name was added through a later partnership. In the twentieth century the firm was strong in export markets, India in particular.
Its best-known designs are instrument watches of the 1960s: the Bivouac of 1962, with a mechanical aneroid altimeter and barometer, and the Bathy of 1968, with a depth gauge for divers.
The firm's long history is that of a family business in Le Locle, with the Leuba name joining through a partnership in the nineteenth century, and a large export trade that made Favre-Leuba a familiar name in India for generations.
The Bivouac of 1962 used an aneroid capsule, like a barometer, to measure air pressure and show altitude up to about 3,000 metres; the Bathy of 1968 used the same principle under water to show depth for divers, together with a bezel to time the dive. Both are now collected as instrument watches of the mechanical era's last years.
- Country
- Switzerland
- City / centre
- Le Locle
- Founded
- 1737
- Status
- Active
- Key people
- Abraham Favre
Innovations & specialities
- Bivouac wristwatch with aneroid altimeter/barometer (1962)
- Bathy wristwatch with depth gauge (1968)
Works by Favre-Leuba in the catalogue
All 16 records →
Wristwatches · 1960s
Favre Leuba Deep Blue, 1960s
S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle
Wristwatches · c. 1960s
Favre Leuba wristwatch, ref. 33033, Sea Sky, circa 1960's
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1960
Favre Leuba wristwatch, ref. 53103, Sea Bird Alarm, circa 1960
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · 1960s
Favre-Leuba Bathy 160 (Ref. 53243), 1960s
Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles
Wristwatches · 1960s
Favre-Leuba Bivouac (Ref. 53203) Blue Dial, 1960s
Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles
Wristwatches · 1960s
Favre-Leuba Bivouac (Ref. 53213) "Barometer & Altimeter", 1960s
Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles
Wristwatches · c. 1964
Favre Leuba Bivouac, ref. 53203, c. 1964
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1964
Favre Leuba wristwatch, ref. 53203, Bivouac, circa 1964
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · 1968
Favre Leuba wristwatch, ref. 53243, Bathy 50, 1968
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1970s
Favre Leuba Geneve Memo Raider Alarm Watch, Silver Dial, circa 1970s
Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom
Wristwatches · c. 1970s
Favre Leuba Geneve Memo Raider Alarm, ref. 53153, circa 1970s
Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom
Wristwatches · Sold in August 1975
Favre Leuba wristwatch, ref. 33053, Sea Sky GMT Original Box and Warranty, Sold in August 1975
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Linked through the Atlas maker authority list, which reconciles the spellings used by different institutions. Attributions are as stated by each holding institution or auction house.
