Just in time for summer, Clément Gaud presents us with the lightest and smallest Laventure Watch ever. Available in either a black or Furrme white dial, the Marine Type 3 features a case made from grade 23 titanium. Like all Clément watches, the Marine Type 3 design draws inspiration from vintage watches. This time we found design clues from marine chronometers from the 1980s by Omega and Patek Philippe. However, the design is well thought out, and the new Laventia Marine Type 3 is also a highly capable sports watch with a depth rating of 300m and a 300m.
Patek Philippe Naviquartz – Image: Collector Square
Omega Megaquartz – Image: Royal Museum Greenwich
Ocean chronometers are clocks used in ships and are used in combination with celestial navigation to determine their position. Educated as an industrial designer, Clément describes them as “a technical precision instrument with a graduation from dials, numbers, pure graphic design, exemplary readability.” If you look at examples such as Patek Philippe Naviquartz and Omega’s Megaquartz, you’ll see that it’s similar to the Laventure Marine Type 3. Let’s take a closer look at what Clement has created.
Grade 23 Titanium Laventure Marine Type 3
The new Laventure Marine Type 3 design may take inspiration from the watch, but the 38mm case still seems familiar. It feels angular and streamlined, yet muscular, just like the brand’s previous watches. It has the same wings on the sides, and of course there is an oversized 8mm under-screw crown at 3am.
The case itself has an 8.9mm profile and has a 46.2mm span from lug to lug. In a good way to lavent, the crystal on the relatively small dial is Swiss-made plexiglass, with a 2.3mm dome proudly protruding above the retaining bezel. Its bezel features 60 markers of seconds and engravings that engrave the model’s name. The black lacquer inside the sculpture improves readability and narrows the bezel.
It has the most important feature of the marine type 3 carved on the back of the rug. You can also see that the case is made of grade 23 titanium. Blancpain also uses this titanium alloy for air commands, for example. It is purer than Grade 5 and has lower oxygen, nitrogen and iron content. This has excellent corrosion resistance, fatigue strength and hardness. The Laventure Marine Type 3 features a stone-washed finish and gives it a sturdy gray look.
Another approach to dialing
If you scroll through previous models of Laventure, you will notice that almost all have the same Maxi-Layout Sandwich dial. The new Marine Type 3 bravely destroys that tradition. The dial still has a multi-layer structure, but it’s a little different from what you’d expect. The visible dial is not two pieces. Instead, it has an embedded center, padded prints of hours and minutes, markers and logos at two levels. The actual second layer is an invisible soft iron bottom plate that protects movement from magnetic fields. You can select black and white dials. In the former, all printing is a white superluminova, just like the tips of three white hands. However, the white version comes with a full room dial with black printing and black hands with unshiny sandblasted.
In our office, most Fratello team members strongly preferred either the black or white version. In either case, you can customize the look of your marine type 3 using rubber or elastic textile straps of your choice. We already know these rubber straps in black, dark, light green, white and yellow from previous Laventic launches. However, because the Marine Type 3 is very light, you can feel it completely at home with one-piece elastic straps in either yellow, white, khaki green, black or khaki sand. When ordering a watch, Clement includes two straps of your choice.
Unfortunately, there is no bracelet option for the Marine Type 3. Clément explained that creating titanium bracelets for limited watches like these is difficult and expensive.
Inner gold plated cellar
The inside of the Laventure Marine Type 3 ticks on the Caliber 4, a highly customized Sellita SW300-1 automatic movement. Operating at a frequency of 28,800VPH, it features 25 gems and holds an increase in power reserve of 56 hours thanks to an optimized barrel. Movement plates, bridges and skeletonized rotors received layers of 3N gold and displayed a mixture of Geneva stripes, parages and soleil finishes. As mentioned before, this movement is located in a soft iron cage and helps to maintain resistance to magnetic fields of up to 4,800 A/m. For example, that’s all you need to do to avoid being troubled by everyday encounters with your smartphone.
The movement is also a COSC certified chronometer, making it accurate at +6/-4 seconds per day. As for the case, the sculpture into the prototype we had for review still mentions a 200m depth rating. However, in the meantime, the watch has been officially tested according to ISO 6425 standards and in fact is resistant to water pressure equal to 300 meters. All these properties make Lavenz Amarine Type 3 a very capable everyday wearer and you don’t have to worry at all.
On the wrist
When I first saw the press shot of the new Laventure Marine Type 3, I was amazed at how it differed from the brand’s previous models. A wide, fixed bezel, relatively small dial diameter, and titanium case give a very clear appearance. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure about how it felt directly and on the wrist. But once again, Clément created another very attractive watch. The 38mm case sits very comfortably on a 17cm wrist.
I was a bit afraid of the wide 38mm bezel and a small 25mm dial that would make me feel awkward together. Thankfully, this combination turns out to be very attractive, with chimney-like acrylic crystals being the cherry blossoms in the cake. The Grade 23 titanium case is much darker than steel. However, its uneven stone-washed finish and soft angle make it feel organic and easy. Despite the small dial, both models provided very high contrast, so there was no problem reading the time.
My absolute favorite is the version with a completely bright dial paired with a sage green rubber strap. The full room dial is lit during the day and pairs well with the light green shade of the strap. It’s so much fun to see the surroundings shine when they get dark. Regarding the black dial version, Clement is unhappy with the bright printing of the prototype, saying it will be improved in the production model.
Limited to 100 each
The cost of the Laventure Marine Type 3 costs 4,200 chf before tax, with only 100 for each version. It brings us to a point worth money, as always, like Laventure. Many people feel that they are asking the price Clement is very steep for his watch. He defends it by saying that his production numbers are limited and that he uses 100% Swiss production. In that case, it is impossible to compete with industry giants like Tudor, for example.
Of course, it’s very personal whether you feel the new Laventure Marine Type 3 is worth the price. However, if you appreciate the impressive specifications and thoughtful design with finesse up to the final details, this watch is completely simple. The Laventure Watch is like cellvage jeans. Many people don’t notice the difference between them and regular, inexpensive jeans. But if you enjoy special attention to detail and it makes you happy every time you wear them, why not spend the extra money?
What do you think about the new Laventure Marine Type 3? Please let me know in the comments below.
