LAVENTURE Sous Marine

I think I might have developed a bit of crush on this one (insert blushing face).



Following on from the success of their debut sports model, the MARINE, Swiss brand, Laventure has introduced its first dedicated dive watch.



They have taken the Marine, fitted it with a diver’s bezel and cleverly named it Sous Marine, et voila.



Being based on its elder brother, the Sous Marine has the same 41mm in diameter Stainless case as the Marine.



It has the same handsome face as its sibling, a sandwich dial with vintage hours and markings offered in three colors of which two are graduated.



Powering the Sous Marine is a Swiss made automatic movement, the ETA 2824-2; an obvious yet ultimately perfect choice for a high-quality mechanical diver.



Diver’s features include: a unidirectional rotational diver’s bezel, a Sapphire crystal with AR-treatment and a screw-down case-back and crown. Water-resistance as the Marine, is 200M.



The case-back boasts a playful depiction of a deep-sea submersible descending into the depths with its mother ship waiting at the surface while sunrays illuminate the water.



The Sous Marine comes in collection of 6 models: three in Stainless steel and three in Bronze. Dial colors include: galvanic black or graduated blue and green.



The Steel models have an MSRP of 3200CHF while the Bronze models are priced at 3600CHF. A total of 300 pieces, divided into 50 of each variant, are available.



Like the Marine, the Sous Marine is delivered in a special presentation box inspired by the old books of Jules Verne: The Extraordinary Voyages / Hetzel Edition late nineteenth century.



Thoughts? Aspiring dive watch designers, take note, this is a good as example of a great dive watch design as I've seen.



Many a successful brand has been built around a great logo; the Laventure logo is in the style of vintage Heuer or even Angeleus while the watch name; Sous Marine is simple and to the point.



Then there’s the harmonious balance of contemporary case and components with a retro sandwich-dial offering a choice tasteful colors.



Finally the whimsical case-back design is the icing on the cake. Imho, they’ve nailed it. What do you think – like it???



My only misgiving is the use integrated lug strap setup ruling out the possibility of using third-party bands and of course the relatively high price-tag, it’s kinda’ dear, isn’t it, especially for a 2824-2?