Close-Up: Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec


The Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec, the brand’s first professional-grade divers’ watch, made its official debut at WatchTime’s “Inside Basel-Geneva” collectors’ event in 2013 and the line has expanded in the years since. Here’s what you should know about it.

The Patravi ScubaTec, which boasts a water-resistance of 500 meters, has a 44.6-mm-diameter case (the original, pictured here, in stainless steel; a gold version has debuted recently). The notched, unidirectional rotating bezel features a ceramic insert, indicating the first 15 minutes of dive time, in a bright blue color created exclusively for Carl F. Bucherer. The watch is definitely designed with professional divers in mind: the crown, decorated with the brand’s emblem, screws down securely and the sapphire crystal is nearly 4 mm thick. There is also an automatic helium valve in the side of the case, which protects the watch from damage from pressure changes when it is worn by a diver ascending and descending in a diving bell.

The black dial has a honeycomb-like pattern and a date window at 3 o’clock. The large hands and prominent hour markers are all coated with Super-LumiNova that glows light blue in the dark, aiding in underwater (or nighttime) legibility. On the back of the watch is a relief engraving of two rays, representing the undersea world of divers and sea life. The movement is CFB’s automatic Caliber CFB 1950.1, which has been certified by COSC as a chronometer and holds a power reserve of 38 hours. The ScubaTec, which comes on either a stainless steel bracelet with a divers’ extension or on a black rubber strap with blue highlight elements that match the color on the bezel. The rubber strap version retails for $6,400 and the bracelet version, for $6,800.

Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec - strap - front

Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec -bracelet_front

Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec - crown CU
The screw-down crown bears the CFB emblem.
Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec - bezel CU
The first quarter hour of dive time is indicated by a bezel insert made of blue ceramic.
Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec - helium valve - CU
The helium release valve allows built-up gas to escape automatically.

To find out what our dive watch expert Roger Ruegger thought about the ScubaTec, click here to read his hands-on review.

Thia article was originally published on September 19, 2013, and has been updated.

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  1. Neil Kirby

    Looks very smart, and I’m sure professional divers will appreciate it, but why does every watch manufacturer want to replicate the Rolex Submariner?

    Reply
    • Just a thought here Neil, at depth in dark water the large numbers on the face and bezel are easy to read and the design follows the keep it simple theory. I sort of prefer the old Seiko tuna cans myself and would like to see a unique dive watch that wasn’t just another Submariner clone.

      Reply
    • MrTissot

      I can truly appreciate what you guys are saying, but yeah I guess it is hard to design a dive watch that doesn’t in some way shape or form resemble a Submariner. Rolex got the Submariner so right right from the very beginning and it has proven to be the best dive watch design ever. Some may want to dispute this and that’s their right. Though after taking a closer look at it I think the only Submariner trait is the bezel and maybe the crown guard a little. Nice watch either way you look at it.

      Reply
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