Abraham Favre registered as a watchmaker in Le Locle in 1737, making Favre (later Favre-Leuba and Favre Leuba) the second-oldest Swiss watch brand name in continuous recognised lineage. Only Blancpain (1735) is older. Through the 18th and 19th centuries the Favre family and their descendants operated as watchmakers in Le Locle, eventually partnering with the Leuba family in 1815 to form Favre-Leuba.
The firm's significant 20th-century contributions were two altimeter and depth-gauge complications. The Bivouac (1962) was the first wristwatch with a mechanical altimeter, rated to 3,000m elevation; it became the watch of choice for mountaineering expeditions to the Himalayas. The Bathy (1968) was the first mechanical wristwatch dive computer with a depth gauge (0-50m via mechanical pressure diaphragm), four years before the first comparable electronic device.
Through the quartz crisis Favre-Leuba contracted and passed through several ownership changes. In 2011 the brand was acquired by Titan Company Limited (the Indian conglomerate which is the world's fifth-largest watch company by volume and owns brands including Tata Timex and Fastrack). Titan's acquisition repositioned Favre Leuba as a modern Swiss Made brand targeting both Indian and European markets.
The modern collection includes the Bivouac 9000 (altimeter revival, rated to 9,000m), the Raider Bathy (depth-gauge dive watch revival), the Chief Sea Sky (classical dive-watch dress), and the Memoire (heritage commemoratives). Retail runs from approximately CHF 2,500 (Sea Sky basic) to CHF 10,000 (Bivouac 9000 titanium) and CHF 50,000+ for limited-edition commemorative references. Production is small (low thousands per year); distribution is focused on India, the Middle East, and European specialist retailers.
