News · Favre Leuba

Favre Leuba and Jean Rousseau remake the Deep Raider strap

Three 33-piece Deep Raider Revival editions coordinate their straps, dial accents and casebacks.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 3 min read · 12 September 2026

• Three 39mm steel divers pair black leather, Seaqual textile or beige rubber with matching dial accents.
• Each material is limited to 33 watches and receives its own engraved caseback emblem.
• Pricing starts at CHF 2,250, with delivery indicated for October 2026.

Favre Leuba and Paris strapmaker Jean Rousseau announced three Deep Raider Revival editions on 11 September 2026. Each uses the same grey-dialled 39mm dive watch, then coordinates its seconds hand, logo, strap and engraved caseback around one of three materials: black calf leather, Seaqual recycled textile in a sand-brown tone, or beige rubber. Production is limited to 33 of each version, for 99 watches in total.

A collaboration built around the strap

Watch collaborations often stop at a dial signature. This one starts with the part Jean Rousseau actually makes. The leather edition uses black calf with beige topstitching and a wave motif, while its caseback carries a hide-shaped emblem. The textile version uses water- and scratch-resistant Seaqual recycled material, with a planet engraved on the back. The rubber version receives a wheel motif. Each strap is signed “JR for Favre Leuba 1737” underneath and is designed to be interchangeable.

Those choices are carried onto the dial. The vintage Favre Leuba logo at 10:30 and the central seconds hand match the strap colour on each version. The underlying dial remains a finely textured grey sunray finish, with applied rhodium-plated quarter-hour markers and elongated baton indexes. A small date aperture sits at the lower edge of the dial.

The result is easiest to read on the sand-toned textile model. Its warm seconds hand and logo pull the strap colour across the otherwise grey display, but they do not alter the original instrument layout. The black leather version is more restrained, and the beige rubber version makes the strongest contrast. Buyers are choosing a material treatment and caseback detail rather than a different mechanical specification.

The 1964 proportions survive

Favre Leuba revived the Deep Raider design in 2024, 60 years after the original Deep Blue. The present steel case measures 39mm across, 12.75mm thick and 48mm from lug to lug, with a 19mm strap width. Polished surfaces define the rounded case and long tapered lugs, while the unidirectional black bezel carries a fully marked diving scale.

A boxed sapphire crystal gives the watch a raised profile, with anti-reflective treatment to help the recessed grey dial remain readable. Old Radium Super-LumiNova X1 appears on the hands, hour markers and bezel triangle. Its warm daylight colour suits the 1960s design, while its green emission provides the low-light function expected of a contemporary diver.

Water resistance is rated to 300 metres. That is a serious specification for a watch offered on leather or textile, although anyone taking it into the water will find the rubber version the obvious fit. The crown is conventionally placed at three, and the date remains tucked close to six so it does not disturb the broad symmetry of the main markers.

A 68-hour automatic movement

All three editions use the automatic FLD01 calibre. It runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, or 4Hz, uses 24 jewels and provides approximately 68 hours of power reserve. Its functions are hours, minutes, central seconds and date. Favre Leuba does not use an open back here, leaving the solid caseback available for the material-specific emblems and the edition engraving.

The movement specification puts the watch comfortably beyond a two-day reserve without making the case excessively large. It can be set aside on Friday evening and still have a reasonable chance of running on Monday morning. More importantly for this release, keeping the mechanical package common across all three editions means the distinction sits where the collaboration has genuine input: colour, material, hand finishing and strap construction.

Pricing spans four currencies

Favre Leuba lists each Jean Rousseau edition at CHF 2,250, £2,250, €2,600 or US$2,900. The brand's product page indicates delivery in October 2026 and accepts pre-bookings in supported markets. No Australian retail price is published, so the Swiss-franc figure is the most stable reference for local buyers rather than a temporary currency conversion.

The production split is simple: 33 black leather watches, 33 Seaqual textile watches and 33 beige rubber watches. That makes strap choice inseparable from allocation. There is no suggestion that an extra strap converts one edition into another, because the matching seconds hand, logo and engraved caseback remain fixed.

This collaboration works because it leaves the Deep Raider's useful characteristics alone. The 39mm case, 300-metre rating, boxed sapphire crystal and long-reserve automatic movement are unchanged. Jean Rousseau's contribution is visible in the material and construction that meet the wrist, with enough dial and caseback detail to make each version coherent without turning the watch into an advertisement.