“You hear that? Laurent Ferrier is asking us to crank the volume up for-“
C’mon, guys. It’s a watch that’s anchored around the colour blue. Do you really expect anything else? In any case, we’re looking at the new Laurent Ferrier Classic Origin Blue. LF has chosen to reveal it at the Watches & Wonders showcase in Geneva because well, every major release over the past several weeks has effectively taken place there.
Now, as someone who loves dress watches, this is probably right at the top of my list as far as favourite releases go. Let’s crack on, then.
“Look! Look at the dial of the Laurent Ferrier Classic Origin Blue!”
Why blue when the trending colours right now are green or even that shade of Tiffany, right? Well, the founder, Laurent Ferrier’s favourite colour is blue. It’s as simple as that. So much so that, according to Mr. Ferrier, every collection should have at least one blue watch.
You know what? He’s right.
So, what’s up with the dial here? For starters, it features a gradated shade of blue that starts out light in the middle of the opaline dial and slowly darkens towards the periphery. A “powdery-grey” hour track sits at the outer rim with sky blue numerals. Additionally, the same shade of grey makes up the crosshair in the middle while four LF trademark “drop-shaped” indices are found. Two markers at the 3 and 9 o’clock are found respectively while the remaining pair sit together at 12 o’clock.
At the 6 o’clock mark lies a “snailed” small seconds hand within the subdial with the same sky blue markers. Last but not least, we have LF’s ‘Assegai’ hour and minute hands. All three hands are fashioned out of 18k white gold.
“What about tech specs?”
Laurent Ferrier’s manual-wound (yes!) Calibre LF116.01 is responsible for powering this timepiece. The 21-jeweled movement beats at 3 Hz and has a power reserve of 80 hours. Visible through the exhibition caseback, the movement also features microbeaded bridges with a black rhodium finish and “hand-polished edges.”
The Classic Origin Blue has a water resistance of 30 m.
“Case measurements and whatnot?
All the goodies get cased up inside a 40 mm Grade 5 titanium case that stands at 11.1 mm. With this being a dress watch, we get a polished finish all round. The ball-shaped crown is also made out of titanium and can we just take a moment to appreciate how good it looks?
With a manual-winding timepiece, the crown is one of the most important components from both an aesthetic and ergonomic standpoint. At least, that’s what I think. From photos alone, I can imagine just how nice it’ll feel to wind this one up every odd day or two. Plus, the Calibre LF116.01 also features the brand’s trademark long-blade ratchet system that is said to produce “an inimitable sound during winding.”
Call me a sucker but I live for these little bits of intimacy and detail when it comes to interacting with a watch.
The Laurent Ferrier Classic Origin Blue is paired to “a midnight blue Nubuck strap with tone-on-tone Alcantara lining.” Its accompanying pin buckle is also made out of Grade 5 titanium. Finally, the watch carries a price tag of CHF31,000 (RM140,570).
