Favre Leuba Deep Raider Power Reserve Watch Review
Favre Leuba’s recently launched Deep Raider Power Reserve, with its newly integrated indicator layout, displays the mainspring’s autonomy alongside a small seconds counter and a vertical three-figure date display. Together, these elements provide the wearer with an intuitive way to track the passing of time. Nina Scally discusses the importance of energy management.
Power reserve indicators x watches
As the years advance, one becomes acutely aware of personal limitations. In my younger days, the concept of energy was something I took for granted. I could survive on a few hours of sleep, manage a frantic schedule and still bounce into the next day with a spring in my step. Nowadays, I find myself paying far closer attention to my own personal power reserves. There is a rather sobering side to waking up on a Monday morning, glancing at the grey sky and realising your internal fuel tank is already hovering dangerously near ’empty’. We British are notoriously bad at monitoring our energy levels until we hit a complete and sudden standstill. There is, therefore, an immense sense of comfort, knowing how much energy we have in reserve.
While human fatigue is so often masked behind a brave face and an extra shot of espresso, a well-engineered timepiece makes no such pretences. Indeed, the new Favre Leuba Deep Raider Power Reserve eliminates the need for guesswork, displaying how much energy is stored within the spring barrel, thereby helping to ensure the mainspring is kept suitably tensioned. Offered in a choice of dial colours, namely white, black, green, blue or ice blue, this useful complication is packaged within a handsome case.
Favre Leuba depuis 1737
Favre Leuba was founded in Le Locle in 1737 and remains the second-oldest Swiss watchmaking brand in the world. For nearly three centuries, the company has produced dependable mechanical watches suited to ‘Conquering Frontiers’. Having been acquired by Silvercity Brands AG, Favre Leuba was relaunched in 2024. The brand’s product portfolio has been thoughtfully reorganised around five distinct pillars: Chief, Sea Sky, Deep Raider and the recently introduced Harpoon and 1737 collections. The watch industry has taken note of the brand’s revitalisation. Indeed, this year, Favre Leuba took the bold step of exhibiting at Watches and Wonders for the very first time, a significant investment for any company.
The Deep Raider collection was inspired by the Deep Blue, a historic reference from 1964. Back in 2024, Favre Leuba revisited the Deep Blue and released the Deep Raider Revival. This was launched alongside the Deep Raider Renaissance, a sleeker, more contemporary expression of the divers’ watch. After expanding the Renaissance line in 2025 with exotic stone dials crafted from malachite and meteorite, CEO Patrik Hoffmann and his team have turned their attention to offering another complication, releasing the new Deep Raider Power Reserve.
Favre Leuba Deep Raider Power Reserve – case
Executed in stainless steel, the case of the Deep Raider Power Reserve has a diameter of 40 mm and measures 12.59 mm in thickness. Dressed in a combination of alternating brushed and polished surfaces, its profile echoes the angular shape of the 2024 debut models. The tapered lugs are chamfered and polished, catching the light beautifully with their sharply defined contours. Equipped with a screw-in crown, the case is water-resistant to a useful 300 metres. The crown features a knurled grip, facilitating ease of manipulation, even with damp fingers. A curved sapphire crystal glass protects the dial, enhanced with an anti-reflective coating, delivering maximum clarity.
Upholding divers’ watch convention, the Deep Raider Power Reserve is fitted with a unidirectional-rotating bezel. Most references feature a glossy, colour-matching ceramic insert, save for the ice blue and white dials which have contrasting ceramic inserts in deep blue and black shades, respectively. The bezel is also graduated and features a glowing SLN pip at noon that evinces a blue emission in restricted light.
Turning the watch over reveals a closed engraved caseback featuring a medallion bearing Favre Leuba’s historic emblem, set against a wave-inspired motif. Arcing gracefully around the perimeter is the brand’s enduring creed, ‘Conquering Frontiers Since 1737’. The timepiece is presented on a stainless steel bracelet, finished with alternating brushed and polished surfaces, and is secured with a butterfly clasp. The addition of a modern quick-change system allows the owner to swap the steel for any rubber strap from the Deep Raider Renaissance series without the need for tools. The system provides a means of modifying the look of the watch with minimal fuss.
Favre Leuba Deep Raider Power Reserve – dial
Favre Leuba has endowed the main area of each dial with a refined sunray finish that enjoys a dynamic interaction with light, moving in and out of deep shadows and bright highlights as the wrist rotates. A small seconds indication is presented at 9 o’clock, while the power reserve indicator, the headline act, sits at 6 o’clock. Both subdials are tastefully enriched with a snailed finish. A three-figure date aperture is positioned at 3 o’clock, presented in a vertical arc displaying yesterday, today and tomorrow on the calendar disk. All of these indications are neatly delineated with a raised metallic frame.
The applied hour markers are rhodium-plated and presented in polished form. The hour and minute hands are generously proportioned, aiding readability both underwater or on dry land. Both the hands and the applied indexes are lined with SLN, matching the emission of said pip. Cleverly, the dial manages to communicate a wealth of information without feeling cluttered or overwhelming.
Favre Leuba Deep Raider Power Reserve – movement
Favre Leuba has chosen to equip the Deep Raider Power Reserve with its automatic FLP01 calibre, a movement based on the trusty Sellita SW279-1. A benefit of using a Sellita-based calibre is that a trained watchmaker should have no problem servicing or repairing the movement.
A mechanical watch with a power reserve indicator confirms that the mainspring is suitably tensioned, something the oscillating weight should ensure. However, if the wearer is a tad lethargic and, by default, the oscillating weight is seldom rotating, the indicator will inform the wearer to move more or manually wind the watch. Why does it matter? The rate stability of the movement will be better when the mainspring is fully tensioned, thereby conferring superior precision.
Closing Thoughts
The Favre Leuba Deep Raider Power Reserve is a poignant reminder of the beauty of mechanical predictability. While we may stumble through a hectic week, blissfully ignoring our own fading energy levels, a mechanical watch with a power reserve indicator helps ensure the mainspring is kept suitably tensioned by succinctly conveying to the wearer when the barrel needs a top-up. If only our own internal fuel tanks were quite so beautifully managed.
Further information
Technical specification
- Model: Favre Leuba Deep Raider Power Reserve
- Case: stainless steel, diameter 40 mm, height 12.59 mm, sapphire crystal to the front and closed caseback, water resistant to 30 ATM (300 metres)
- Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve display, triple-figure date window
- Movement: FLP01 (based on Sellita SW279-1), self-winding movement, frequency 28,800vph (4 Hz), 26 jewels, 41-hour power reserve
- Strap: integrated brushed and polished steel bracelet with a triple-link construction and butterfly clasp. Easily interchangeable with any rubber strap of the Deep Raider Renaissance series
- Price – £2500 (RRP as of 7.6.2026)