A Monday Morning With The Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec Verde Watch Raises Some Questions

In August of this year, the news broke that Rolex had bought Bucherer, a multi-brand retail store with over 100 locations worldwide. In 53 of those, Bucherer sells Rolex…as well as its own watch brand Carl F. Bucherer. And when I say “own,” I actually mean “previously owned by the retailer and now owned by The Crown.” Therefore, I should refer to CFB as the “Bucherer house brand.” Anyway, the Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec Verde came to Fratello HQ, and as soon as I saw the watch, it started to raise all kinds of questions. Would Rolex buyers ever buy one of these watches? And, more practically, what would the Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec Verde be like on the wrist? Here are some answers, theories, and reflections.

The Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec Verde (00.10632.23.93.0) is a lot to take in. First, there’s the abundance of green. The most natural-looking color of all is on the dial, the bezel, and the strap, and there’s even a little touch of it on the crown. Second, there’s the size. The steel case of this ScubaTec iteration measures 44.6mm in diameter, 13.45mm thick, and 52mm from lug to lug. Yes, that length is quite modest for a watch with a 44mm+ diameter. It allows it to sit better on my 18cm wrist than expected. Still, the Patravi is a chunky fella, and that’s not just due to the case. The steel folding diver’s clasp with fine adjustment and diving extension is also large and robust, and the rubber strap with an inlay made of recycled PET is a super sturdy piece of kit. There’s no doubt about it: €6,250 buys you a lot of hardware. Let’s take a closer look at the details.

A closer inspection of the Carl F. Bucherer ScubaTec Verde

It’s the green lacquered dial with a wave pattern that immediately catches the eye. If you’re a watch lover, it also activates the brain — more specifically, the part where comparisons between models are made — but more about that later. Underneath the thick sapphire crystal with an antireflective coating on both sides, large hands and indexes filled with Super-LumiNova ensure readability in the darkest places. And the presence of luminescent material on the unidirectional rotating bezel keeps things safe during dark dives.

A screw-down crown and a helium valve are to be expected because the Patravi ScubaTec Verde is water resistant to 500 meters. That keeps the automatic caliber CFB 1950.1 (ETA 2824-2) safe and dry. This 25-jewel 4Hz movement is a COSC-certified chronometer with a 38-hour power reserve.

A do-good diver

For my wrist and taste, the Patravi ScubaTec Verde is a bit too much of a good thing. It’s a little too loud and large. But what isn’t too much of a good thing is the fact that when you buy this watch, you do good — for the manta ray, that is. CFB stands firm in its belief that the health of the oceans and the biodiversity of their ecosystems are crucial to the health of the planet. The brand puts its money where its mouth is too because when you buy a Patravi ScubaTec with the engraving of two manta rays on the case back, you financially support the Manta Trust.

The brand has been supporting the Manta Trust since 2013. And by buying a Patravi ScubaTec Verde you, via the brand, contribute to the trust’s latest research expedition in Ecuador, home to the world’s largest known population of manta rays. That’s good for storytelling, both for you and the brand, but it’s also good for the planet.

Could CFB be Tudor 2.0?

When I started thinking and writing about the Patravi ScubaTec Verde, I asked myself if a Rolex buyer would ever buy one. That is a very difficult question to answer. I can see a Bucherer salesperson offering a CFB to a returning customer, a proven watch enthusiast who already has (almost) everything from the brand with the crown and appears willing to “take a walk on the wild side.” Generally speaking, though, I suspect Rolex wearers won’t be too keen on buying a CFB.

But maybe, just maybe, after a lot of time has passed, CFB could turn out to be Tudor 2.0, another brand with strong ties to the world’s strongest luxury watchmaker. It’s in Rolex’s interest to develop a watch brand it fully owns. Rolex did so with Tudor, and it might do the same with CFB. The company has time and money, and that’s a powerful combination.

The elephant in the watch store

Let me now address the elephant in the room — no, the elephant in the Bucherer boutique. The elephant is not a green-bezel Rolex Sub but the green-dial Omega Seamaster Diver 300M (210.32.42.20.10.001) on a color-matching rubber strap. At 42mm, it’s smaller than the Patravi ScubaTec Verde. It can “only” dive 300 meters deep instead of 500, but that’s plenty for almost anyone. The Omega’s price of €6,200 is on par with the CFB — I’m quite convinced that you can get the Patravi ScubaTec Verde with a €50 discount. When I first saw the CFB, my mind immediately painted a mental picture of the green Omega. Of course, the slightly different, more angular shapes and details of the case and bezel differ from a traditional (read: Submariner-like) dive watch. But it was mainly because of the dial pattern. The wave-like lines just can’t let me wipe the Seamaster 300M from my mind.

The Patravi ScubaTec Verde vs. other green divers

It would be interesting to see what happens when a customer steps into a Bucherer boutique and asks for a green dive watch. What will the multi-brand store’s salesperson do — direct the client in a straight line to the CFB section and stay there, never leaving the customer’s side, or sit the client down with a cup of coffee, take a watch tray, go past all the relevant vitrines, and come back with a selection of green dive watches to choose from? If the salesperson does the latter, there will probably be a green Seamaster 300M on the tray. And I dare say there should be.

But there are other green divers out there as well. Next to the Seamaster, there could be a TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 (WBP208B.BF0631) on the tray. It’s the 43mm titanium version with a green dial and bezel. The titanium not only makes it the lightweight alternative, but the €4,250 price also makes it the “budget” choice. And what about a green 44mm Breitling SuperOcean (A17376A31L1S1) with a price of €4,950? And if you want to spend more, there’s the green-dial Panerai Luminor PAM01356 in its 44mm eSteel case with a price of €9,600. Even without Omega present at Bucherer, there’s always a reputable watch brand that CFB has to beat. And that can’t be easy, even if Carl F. Bucherer is always playing home games.

For more information about the Patravi ScubaTec Verde, please visit the official Carl F. Bucherer website.