Despite its obscurity relative to other major Swiss watch manufacturers, Favre-Leuba has the incredible distinction of being one of the oldest Swiss watch marques in existence -- with roots dating back to 1737. Favre-Leuba introduced many innovations to watchmaking and its Bathy models -- which were first introduced in 1968 -- were the world’s first mechanical wristwatches to display both dive time and a diver’s current depth. These exceptionally rare diving watches are almost never seen available on the open market, and it is believed less than 1000 pieces of the ref. 53243 were ever produced.

The Bathy was initially made in two versions: One which measured depth in meters and one which displayed it in feet, with this lovely example being the feet model. These watches also featured high visibility red accents used on their dials and highly luminous hands for easy legibility in situations with poor visibility.

CASE & BRACELET

The unique case is in exceptional condition and believed to remain unpolished, showing only light signs of use. The original bakelite bezel is remarkably well preserved, showing no cracks or major damage, the tritium lume within the bezel all remains fully intact and matches the dial nicely. The case retains its original Favre-Leuba signed screw-down crown. The case back retains all of its original factory markings in excellent condition, the case back is signed Bathy 50, however, we believe this to be correct since the Bathy 160 and 50 retain the same reference and were produced at the same time in extremely low quantities. The original Favre-Leuba NSA bracelet is both rare and in great condition, showing minimal stretch from use.

DIAL & HANDS

The matte black "160-feet" dial with white and red accents is in near flawless condition, showing no signs of age or damage. The tritium lume plots have aged to a charming creamy yellow patina and exhibit no degradation under U.V. light inspection. The original tritium hands have aged a few shades darker than the dial and show no degradation when inspected under U.V. light.

ACCESSORIES 

None. The watch was recently serviced and is keeping perfect time. Backed by a 1-year warranty on accurate timekeeping.