Hands-On: The Laurent Ferrier Sport Traveller

There were three watches I was disappointed to have missed at Watches & Wonders. To be fair, I missed all the releases at Watches & Wonders this year, but in my mind, the three most interesting watches from the show were the Vacheron Constantin Overseas “Cardinal Points,” the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronograph Mystérieux, and this watch from Laurent Ferrier: the Sport Traveller.

I like the Laurent Ferrier brand a lot. But I’ve been wondering whether, in hindsight, I was a bit harsh on their entry-level Sport Auto when it was released in 2023. I liked the watch in theory, but in practice I had a few minor issues with the bracelet fit and tolerance, the thickness, and the price. I know a few people who own the watch, and my feelings have softened over time. But reading that old review, I wonder if I was right or just picking nits. This year’s release of the Sport Traveller combined one of my two favorite complications—travel time/GMT—with lightweight titanium, which seems to be le matériel du jour.  It also gave me a chance to reevaluate my take on the watch, especially in a market that’s become even more crowded and an audience that’s more price-sensitive.

Let’s tackle the specs first and then move on to the feelings. Measuring 42mm by 13.3mm thick in grade 5 titanium, with 100m of water resistance, the watch is only 0.5mm wider and 0.6mm thicker than the original Sport Auto, which shows the strength of the movement design in being able to pack an extra complication into a similar case. The bracelet is titanium too, with a butterfly deployant clasp. The price is CHF 61,000, or about $75,000 at the time of writing—a subject we’ll tackle later.

The dial is done in an opaline (grained) “Slate grey,” which immediately works better for me than the blue of the Sport Auto. There’s a sector-style crosshair to the dial, with a printed minute track and drop-shaped hour markers in 18k white gold with a teal-colored and green-emission Super-LumiNova. The Assegai-shaped hands are a signature of Laurent Ferrier and are also lumed, and the watch keeps its quirky small seconds (an oddity on a sports watch). 

Ask any enthusiast about the Sport series, and the most divisive design element will certainly be the date window design. Some people love it; some people hate it. Well, now you’ve got two windows to argue about. The sloping shape of the date window on the original Sport Auto was inspired by the hood scoop on the Porsche 935T that Laurent Ferrier himself (along with François Trisconi and LF brand co-founder François Servanin) piloted to a 3rd overall result at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans. No matter what side of the fence you land on, you can’t say it’s not intentional. I actually do like it.

Similarly, some people find the 24-hour disc window on Laurent Ferrier’s travel time watches distracting. I always think of them as iconic. Well before my time, but obviously Hodinkee liked it enough to do an early LE with the brand, but with a different movement variety. The function, however, is the same. For whatever reason (likely to differentiate from a date window), LF decided to widen the window showing that disc, and you can see what hour your home time zone is rolling into. 

I guess I skipped the functionality, which is pretty simple: set your home time zone (with 24-hour disc) and date using the crown, then use the pushers to advance (10 o’clock) the main hour hand or reverse it (8 o’clock) without interrupting timekeeping. As I mentioned, Laurent Ferrier has been using this functionality for a while, but it’s also been a functional icon of Patek Philippe. First patented in 1959 and used the same year in the ref. 2597, the Heures Sautante system applied a design first prototyped by Louis Cottier in 1953. It wasn’t until 2013 that Laurent Ferrier introduced its version.

Functionally, it’s a pretty slick feature—my favorite execution of a travel watch, in fact—but the movement in the new Sport Traveller is different than the 2013 release in some pretty substantial ways. The LF230 family used in the Classic Traveller series runs at 3 Hz but, more importantly, has a natural escapement. One could make the argument (and I have before) that it’s a shame to buy a Laurent Ferrier without a natural escapement (a hallmark of the brand), and the LF275.01 in the Sport Traveller, unfortunately, uses a lever escapement. It does make sense, however, to use a robust escapement for a sports watch.

The automatic movement, with a platinum microrotor, has an upgraded beat rate of 4Hz (which leans into the sportiness) and a solid 72-hour power reserve. That’s complemented by a sportier horizontal satin finish with a ruthenium treatment. I like this non-traditional approach, which has nice anglage (despite the lack of interior angles, which have become an overly easy measuring stick, disabusing people of the need to critically evaluate the finishing any deeper). This, like Romain Gauthier’s Continuum, proves that something can look nice without being traditional.

The thickness isn’t consistently noticeable, but you can see from a side profile why I did feel it on occasion. I think that it’s more about how the case sits. You can see from the pictures that the grade 5 titanium case has a great and well-executed mix of brushing and polishing, but the mid case is thin, and the dial side and rear are somewhat domed. The lugs are also not too downturned, so it can sit a bit high.

I’m not sure, but it seems like LF tweaked the bracelet a bit. I mentioned in my first review that I thought that the tolerances felt like they could have been a bit tighter. It’s possible they are now. Maybe I was tricked by the bracelet itself. It’s incredibly comfortable, but visually, there are a lot more sloping edges between the links. It’s less “architectural” than a Royal Oak or Czapek Antarctique, and reminds me a bit of a more angular play on a Jubilee bracelet, but only three links.

The Sport Traveler is, overall, a really comfortable watch to wear. The brand let me keep the watch for over a week, and it became basically my daily wear. It flies under the radar, so much so that even I sometimes forgot I was wearing such an expensive watch—though that’s because of the material.

From the side profile, you can see the watch sits a bit proud on the wrist, but it’s not a door knocker by any means. And at just over 100 grams, it’s not going to weigh you down. The price, however, might. With a $75,000 price tag, I think the Sport Traveller might give people some pause. I also think that if you’re shopping for a Laurent Ferrier, you’re aware of the competition. 

You can probably tell I’m still a bit conflicted. I’ve lived on a pendulum swing from extreme price insensitivity (specifically, glibly enjoying things I can’t afford) to extreme price sensitivity after reading market trends and our audience’s feelings. There’s a lot to love about the watch—the quirks of the dial design, the quality of the movement finishing, the history of the brand, and the fact that they created an integrated bracelet watch that feels very them, with a complication that they’ve made their own—but it’s still a hefty price tag for a watch that exists against some frustratingly good competition. And we’d be remiss not to mention that. You may love the design and function here more than any other watch, but let’s look at the rest of the market, for kicks.

The Competition

There are a lot of great GMTs and titanium watches on the market. There are fewer that overlap both metrics and sit at the upper end of the high horology price range. But when I was wearing the watch, I noticed I had both a travel time watch and a titanium watch on hand. I pulled out the scale, did some comparisons, and then decided to take it further.

No one is cross shopping a $75,000 independent brand with a Tudor Pelagos to scratch the same itch. But, the comparison here highlights the strengths of the LF Sport Traveller in a few metrics, despite being one of the highest-priced watches in its class. However, we do have to start with the closest direct competitor.

Vacheron Constantin Overseas “Cardinal Points” Dual Time

The obvious competitor here is the Vacheron Constantin Overseas “Cardinal Points,” announced this year. Unfortunate timing for LF, but a good chance for comparison. People have been asking for another version of the Vacheron “Everest” basically since its launch in 2021, so five years later, the brand answered a lot of prayers. And at $41,000, it’s a sizeable amount below the Laurent Ferrier as well.

The watch has a titanium case that measures at least a millimeter smaller in each direction (41mm by 12.2mm), 150m water resistance, and comes with both a titanium bracelet and two quick-changeable rubber straps in blue and orange. The movement also runs at 4 Hz, but it only has a 60-hour power reserve. Another difference is the second time zone: here, a second hour hand (home time) rotates once every 12 hours, with an AM/PM indicator for the home time as well. The crown sets all these functions, and aside from being a 12-hour hand, it functions like a “flyer” GMT. You can set the date with the pusher on the side.

I’d argue that this feels a bit clunkier than both my GMT-Master II and the Laurent Ferrier, but with a titanium case, an interchangeable bracelet, and a significantly more affordable price than the Sport Traveller, it’s hard not to argue that this is tough to beat. It may be one of the best releases this year, in fact. 

Patek Philippe Aquanaut Travel Time ref. 5164G and Nautilus ref. 5990/1A

I’m guessing that the Vacheron will be hard to get for a while, but not as impossible as these two watches. Patek’s leadership is on record that they’re trying to get people to look outside watches like these, the two travel-time sports watches that are in highest demand from the brand. But after the discontinuation of the Aquanaut Travel Time in steel, these are the two travel watches in Laurent Ferrier’s price range that my mind immediately goes to.

The baby blue Aquanaut Travel Time ref. 5164G replaced the steel model. With that came a change in how Patek reported its water resistance; previously it was listed as 120m, now it’s 30m (or more). I’d peg this at 120m and the Nautilus at 30m. Both watches use the same pusher system for their travel time indication as the Laurent Ferrier, but use a second, hidden hour hand to show the home time zone. The Aquanaut measures 40.8mm by 10.2mm, and while it retails for $71,643, it doesn’t come with a bracelet. Instead, it’s in white gold. Which way would I go on the trade-off between precious metal and bracelet? Hard to say. The movement, however, has a pretty anemic 45-hour power reserve, which is a mark against it.

The Nautilus ref. 5990/1A adds a flyback chronograph and a steel case and bracelet for only slightly more than the Laurent Ferrier: $76,895. The case measures 40.5mm by 12.53 mm and offers a slightly better 55-hour power reserve. Both are essentially unobtanium, but they’re (in theory) competition. However, they’re also movements that are quite long in the tooth, if that matters to you.

The Affordable Range and Other Options

The other options that came to mind are significantly more affordable (though not all are easy to get). The dual-time watch that probably comes to mind first is something like the Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 126710BLNR (now that the Pepsi is discontinued). For $12,000, if you’re shopping for a Laurent Ferrier, you probably have a spend history somewhere that can get you a Rolex GMT-Master II. 

It’s much easier to walk in and get watches like the Longines Spirit Zulu Time Titanium for $4,850 or the Pelagos FXD GMT for $5,475. Both are titanium, unlike the Rolex, which makes the analogy better. But comparisons like this miss a lot. It’s like seeing “Sellita” in the movement listing, dismissing case finishing, dial work, or even the grade and quality of the Sellita movement, and saying it isn’t worth the money. But no one would be so foolish as to do that, right?

I also included these because I think people are more likely to have handled these watches. The fit and finish don’t compare on the Longines and Pelagos (though the GMT-Master is basically perfect); the Laurent Ferrier is very obviously a less industrial product than either, and the movement finishing alone doesn’t come close. But if you’re curious about the experience on the wrist, I wanted to close with a comparison. I mentioned I started weighing some of the watches I had on hand. Then I went further, getting the weights of a LOT of watches, including things like the Pelagos 39.

You can see that (after tossing out the Tudor FXD GMT for not having a bracelet), the only watches that come in lighter than the Laurent Ferrier Sport Traveller are the Sport Auto and Longines. That speaks to the strong effort Laurent Ferrier has made in making a spec-filled and wearable watch that has a movement finishing unlike any of the competition. Whether that is worth the price increase over the competition is a personal decision. I still think that the Sport Auto feels a bit overpriced compared to the specifications, but I have heard from a lot of owners who absolutely love to wear it. Who am I to argue? If I were shopping in that price range, it’s possible I’d be more than happy to wear one as well.

For more on the Laurent Ferrier Sport Traveller, visit the brand’s website.