Embrace The Calm With The New Laurent Ferrier Classic Traveller “Série Atelier” Magnetic Green

Google the significance of the color green and you’ll find this definition from the website Bourncreative: “The color green affects us physically and mentally in several different ways. Green is soothing, relaxing, and youthful. It is a color that helps alleviate anxiety, depression, and nervousness. Green also brings with it a sense of hope, health, adventure, and renewal, as well as self-control, compassion, and harmony.” This sets the bar pretty high for the appreciation of the new Laurent Ferrier Classic Traveller “Série Atelier” Magnetic Green.

This refreshing color riffs on the trend we saw emerge in 2021 for more green dials, though understatedly so. This is simply (well, for a Ferrier) a delightfully fresh dial, but green is believed to help create balance, promote change or growth, and even increase feelings of hopefulness. For me at least, any watch from Laurent Ferrier has these powers no matter the color, that’s for sure. But will the new Classic Traveller be the self-boosting timepiece you need to lift your spirits? Perhaps, and as an exemplary GMT traveling companion, it might even soothe your stress through the airport chaos of June and July.

First impressions

While these are press shots, I have seen enough Laurent Ferrier pieces in the metal to realize that you can’t nitpick either finissage or tolerances. This is even slightly frustrating in a twisted way. A smooth Ferrier case is close to annoying in its persuasive optimization of watchmaking skills. And if like mine, your eyes well up at the first sign of a hairline scratch, you’re in trouble. Nevertheless, it’s a first-world dilemma of the grandest kind and still rather hypothetical in my case. No matter how much I manage to consolidate my collection, €30K-60K is a la-la-land budget dream.

The Classic Traveller is not a new watch, but this time, the family atelier has come up with a green evolution of its first practical complication. And for this model, there is also an absence of weight in the polished 41mm Grade 5 titanium case.

That dial…

The forefather of this green wonder, the Galet Traveller made its debut in 2013, and this is a sleek update with a green, polished twist. There have been a few versions of the Traveller, and while the first version was a formal, monochrome, Art-Deco-inspired piece with white lacquered hands, this is vibrant. With a hazy light green tinge, the central sunburst lacquered dial matches the formality of the smooth Galet (pebble) case. Unlike busier previous Traveller incarnations, this is minimalist perfection. The 18K white gold drop-shaped markers are slender and smooth, matching the familiar Assegai hands. By the cut-out windows at 6 and 9 o’clock are small white gold studs in lieu of hour markers. A Ferrier is about the small details, like the discreet way in which the soft circular brushing of the small-seconds register plays against the glossier dial surface.

An intuitive traveler’s watch like no other

It’s no typo. The American English spelling is “traveler”, whereas the model name and British spelling have two Ls. But let’s face it, Laurent could have called this anything, and it would still deeply appeal to green-dial-a-holics out there. It will also please members of the #watchfam who are frustrated by overly complex GMT functionality. I actually dare you to name another GMT watch with a creeping-hour feature. The reason for the larger hour window at 9 o’clock is that the disc rotates slowly rather than instantaneously clicking over on the hour. Even with the two cutouts, the pristine dial is kept clean, very clean for a GMT. The 9 o’clock window balances out the oft-discussed rhomboid date window. The larger 9 o’clock window is the single visible yet brilliantly executed hint of a GMT function on the dial.

Complex, yet with enviable ease of adjustment

The larger window at 9 o’clock represents home time. This can show time in parallel with the hands when you’re at home, as it doesn’t detract from the crisp Haute Lisibilité (did I coin a new term?) of the dial. When traveling, you will notice the notched pushers at 8 and 10 o’clock on the smooth case. They do disturb the beautifully smooth surface of the case side but are very, very discreet compared to, say, the Patek ref. 7234G-001. The two pushers will simply make the hour hand jump either forwards or backward, a simple yet effective solution. I’d say you can set your travel time as the wheels touch down at your destination before the fasten seatbelt sign switches off. The date, unlike a few other similar references from Lange and others, is sensibly linked to the travel time, not the home time.

A traveling conclusion

The micro-rotor movement is a piece of art in itself, and to not overly complicate the beautiful simplicity of the time-traveling action, I’ll redirect you to my previous story here for more insight into Ferrier’s construction. Turn it around and the picture is vastly more complex than the airy green dial. I will mention that the caliber LF230.02 is an in-house movement specific to the GMT function. This means that because of no added modules to increase the thickness, the case is a mere 10mm tall. Coupled with the 80-hour power reserve, this is mighty impressive. Only 15 of these Classic Traveller pieces will be produced for CHF 62,000. They will be available exclusively from Laurent Ferrier direct.

Fratelli, what do you think? Is this the ultimate understated way of utilizing the GMT function in a watch? Or do you want to flaunt it with a “Pepsi” bezel and a lot of twiddling? I think this is quietly spoken genius yet again from Laurent Ferrier. Let me know your opinion in the comments.

Find me and follow me at @thorsvaboe