The Galet Traveller Boréal by Laurent Ferrier is an interesting example of how a watch can develop new characteristics on the basis of customer demands. In this case, a client asked the brand for a Traveller timepiece, but with lots of SuperLuminova. The design of the hour indications was inspired by car dashboard instruments and by 1930s watches. Laurent Ferrier had to redesign the hands to provide space for some SuperLuminova there as well. The result is a watch that looks very modern even though it has a distinctive period feel created by the dial design with small seconds at 6 o’clock and the oval fluted crown.
The watch is very functional for frequent travellers. When you cross time zones, you can use the two pushers on the left-hand side of the case to correct the hour hand. Pressing the upper pusher advances the hour hand by one hour, pressing the lower pusher moves it back an hour. If, in the process, the hour hand passes midnight, the date, shown in the window at 3 o’clock, also changes. The window at 9 o’clock shows the home time, with numerals up to 24 so that it includes a day/night indication. So if you’re on the other side of the world, you know whether or not you can call home without waking anybody up in the heart of the night.
The watch has a stainless steel case, 41 mm in diameter, 12.64 mm thick, with the standard 30 metres water resistance. Inside, the self-winding Calibre LF 230.01 is a genuine in-house movement, with some features that appear only in Laurent Ferrier watches, such as the natural escapement (two impulses, instead of the usual one, are imparted to the balance with each oscillation) and an original treatment of the dual time-zone function. The balance runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour, 3 Hertz, and the watch has an excellent power reserve of 80 hours. This is achieved in part by the silicon pallet-lever that reduces friction.
The movement can be viewed through the sapphire caseback, revealing the fine finish that includes Côtes de Genève on the bridges, circular graining on the mainplate, manually-chamfered bevels and polished screw heads. The watch has a leather strap which varies according to the version. The watch with green SuperLuminova has a leather and composite strap with green stitching; the piece with beige SuperLuminova has a light brown calfskin strap with Alcantara lining. The strap has a pin buckle or a double-blade folding clasp in stainless steel.
Price and reference
The Laurent Ferrier Galet Traveller Boréal is reference LCF007-AC, and it costs 54,000 Swiss francs. Read more on the brand’s website.