The two French houses combine their know-how to create the SM300 Port-Louis: a 300m waterproof diver’s watch, a reflection of the Auricoste brand’s military past and equipped with a bracelet designed by Avel & Men from plastic waste. oceans.
Auricoste is known for its horological performances made available to the largest army divisions in France and throughout the world. During nearly a century and a half of watchmaking tradition, the brand has notably provided its services to the French Navy fleet, the Air Force, the observatory of the bureau des longitudes and geographical services, thanks to its knowledge of measuring instruments, but has also equipped divers, pilots and deminers with chronographs and diving watches.
Avel & Men (wind and rock in Breton) is a young family brand specializing in watch accessories, inspired by the world of sailing. Its founders, Agnès and Xavier, are passionate about the open sea and timepieces. Time is a decisive factor at sea, and even more so in regattas .Precision, technicality and transmission, the elements closely linking time to sailing are numerous. Avel & Men tastefully combines them, offering a whole collection of straps in sailcloth, cordura canvas and seaqual canvas as well as leather straps, a palette of marmots and watch cases.
Worthy heir to the famous diver of combat swimmers and clearance divers of the French Navy, the new Auricoste SM300 operates at a depth of 300 meters. The endowment watch of 1982 (Spirotechnique) has equipped French Navy combat swimmers as well as deminers for more than twenty years. A tribute to the sea, it now comes with a canvas strap Eco-responsible Seaqual®.
“Dome” sapphire crystal and Super Luminova luminescent sapphire bezel
To equip this top-of-the-range diver, Auricoste has specifically developed a domed sapphire crystal 3mm thick, the shape of which has been recut to be an exact replica of plexiglass. collectible watches. A work requiring precise and quality manufacturing which contributes to giving the watch – designed by Fabrice Guéroux, expert in vintage and collectible watches – its air vintage. The SM300 is also fitted with a domed bezel, also in sapphire crystal, whose rounded shape is reminiscent of the bakelite bezels fitted to female divers in the 1970s. Note that each graduation of the bezel is luminescent (Superluminova).
Case with crown protection at 4 o’clock
Like the diver developed by Auricoste in collaboration with Spirotechnique for combat swimmers of the French Navy, the SM300 retains maximum crown protection. revisiting its thick shoulder at 4 o’clock. On this new model, the chamfers have been worked and a perfect mirror polish appears on the sides of the case, brushed on the front only.
Super Luminova index dial
Precise and robust, the SM300 is powered by a Swiss movement (Sellita SW200). Echoing its history, the matte dial takes up the original logo of the house while the beige indexes, circled with white, are loaded with Super Luminova for optimal and long-lasting readability in all circumstances.
Port-Louis bracelet in recycled canvas
In Seaqual® canvas, the new Port-Louis watch strap developed by Avel & Men echoes a “well thought out” fashion. This eco-designed fiber comes from the upcycling of plastic waste lying at the bottom of the oceans. Immersed in this world of boating, Agnès and Xavier are particularly sensitive to environmental issues. The sea is a magnificent playground and plastic pollution represents a threat to the marine world. Avel & Men has chosen to join the Seaqual collective in order to fight against the scourge of marine waste: collected, sorted, cleaned, they are then transformed into textile fiber. Avel & Men has selected this responsible fabric in order to make its new collection of bracelets in France. The “Port-Louis” is offered in a deep black colour. In matt-looking canvas, with an edged finish, topstitching and tone-on-tone loops, it will be upholstered with a discreet blue-white-red stitching to elegantly dress the Auricoste diver.
