Maurice de Mauriac L2 RED SEA

Don’t adjust your screens, folks and don’t worry, you didn’t have one too many glasses of the red stuff last night; and no, that isn’t Batwoman – 

it’s Maurice de Mauriac brand ambassador and Swiss National Free-diving Champion, Zoe Moore the face of the brand’s L2 dive watch collection since 2019, of which this new bloodshot-looking edition is part of.

Designed by Fabian Schwaerzler and Limited to a mere 42 pieces this is the new L2 Red Sea diver’s watch from Maurice de Mauriac and it features a red-colored Sapphire crystal -

which is an interesting design choice for a dive watch when you consider that red is in fact the first color to disappear when descending into the depths; 

however it serves more as a statement piece than anything plus there’s another reason that I’ll explain later.

Still, even at a mere depth of 1.5m there is a noticeable loss of red. And here’ another fun fact - red is followed by yellow and orange – 

this btw is the same order in which they appear on the spectrum which is why blue the last color to be absorbed underwater is so often touted as being the perfect choice for a dive watch.

Meanwhile the other reason for this watch’s name along with its red crystal is more to do with a conservation effort in the Red Sea with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society that is (for want of a better word) fishing old fishing nets out of the World’s oceans. Zoe was recently accompanied by her new L2 diver’s watch on a free-dive in the Red Sea along with another Maurice de Mauriac ambassador and underwater photographer, Nanna Kreutzmann who shot these amazing photos. And here’s yet another fun fact, the Red Sea typically contains 42 grams of salt per liter of water which is why Maurice de Mauriac choose 42 as the number of this limited series of watches. The Swiss brand is supporting Zoe’s conservation drive by donating 10% of every purchase of the L2 Red Sea to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

This allows each L2 Red Sea edition to pull well over 100 meters of old fishing nets from the oceans which is possible with the approx. 500 CHF donation per watch that goes directly to Sea Shepherd for this purpose. 

Once all 42 watches are sold, they will have pulled over 5 kilometers of old nets from the ocean.

The L2 Red Sea watch’s 42mm in diameter, 300m water-resistant case is made from 316L Stainless steel with a DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating. 

The DLC treatment adds a layer of carbon which is applied via a state-of-the-art vacuum process. It is also highly abrasion and scratch resistant as well as be hypoallergenic.

The design by Fabian Schwaerzler is said to be in a Bauhaus style. 

Its unique red Sapphire crystal btw is with anti-reflective treatment on both sides while its case-back has an engraving of Zoe free-diving in a pose taken from her Red Sea photo shoot.

Powering the L2 Red Sea is a Swiss ETA automatic caliber 28.24-2 movement in a TOP grade execution. MSRP is 5’200 CHF (steel) 4'670CHF (strap).

Thoughts? I'm not sure that the red crystal was the best choice in terms of looks and function. It makes the watch look a little cheap plus it won't offer very good legibility either. 

But what do you think?