
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Favre Leuba Deep Blue, 1960s
- Maker / attribution
- Favre-Leuba (maker)
- Date
- 1960s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 39 mm
- Stock no.
- Product 1385869410391
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 1385869410391)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Favre Leuba Deep Blue (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 1385869410391), this is a wristwatch by Favre-Leuba, made in Switzerland, dated 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 39 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — S.Song Watches
When it comes to divers, I must say that there is no watch that is disproportionately under the radar than the Favre Leuba Deep Blue First Execution. With this piece, it all comes down to just how high quality the watch is and how uniquely designed it is. Let’s begin with the stainless steel case. Sized at a perfect 39mm, it features straight lugs with thick bevels and a unidirectional black acrylic bezel graduated to 60 minutes with a luminous triangle at 12 o’clock. This is a proper divers watch too, demonstrated by the screw-down crown, which incidentally most divers of its era did not have. In fact, the Favre Leuba Deep Blue was one of the first watches to be certified waterproof up to 200m! Just from the case construction and the little details, you can tell that this piece is pure quality! Moving on to the dial, the design is totally unique with a silver grey sunburst dial with elongated lume filled hour markers. To aide legibility, at 12,3,6 & 9 the hour markers are extended even more to create a crosshair effect. Couple this with broad arrow hands, that is a lot of lume for a watch! Furthermore, the asymmetric design is a nice touch with the applied Favre Leuba logo between 10 and 11 o’clock complimenting the date window between 4 and 5 o’clock. Lastly, rarity. This is not a common watch and I can't imagine they made too many back in the day. Alongside this, the example you see here today is in absolutely pristine condition with an unpolished case and near flawless dial. With its muscular straight bevelled lugs and heavy presence, it is a great rugged and casual watch on the wrist. This is as collectable and underrated as it gets!
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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