Laurent Ferrier’s Sport Traveller is a meaningful addition to its collection of sport watches. While the brand’s convenient push-button dual-time complication is not new, it has never been available in the go-anywhere, do-anything format of the Sport line — where it arguably makes the most sense.

It’s also the first time this travel complication has been paired with one of the brand’s lever escapement movements, a change that should provide the resilience against shocks that one expects from a sport watch.

Initial thoughts

The sport has proven to be one of Laurent Ferrier’s most popular watches, introducing the brand to a wider audience by combining sports watch ruggedness with the high-horology independent watchmaking that the brand has become famous for. In this sense, the Sport Traveller is similar in philosophy to other luxury sport watches.

That said, few manage to elevate the concept quite as high as Laurent Ferrier. The A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus and F.P. Journe Octa Sport Titanium are natural peers, as is the Patek Philippe 5164, but only the latter offers a travel time complication.

The Sport Traveller is made from grade 5 titanium for a featherweight wrist presence, and debuts in what is likely to be a popular grey-on-grey colourway. Even the Sport Traveller dial text is grey, blending in with the dial to help keep the clutter to a minimum. The cal. LF275.01 continues the monochromatic look with grey-coated bridges and a solid platinum oscillating weight.

Travelling in luxury

The signature complication of the Sport Traveller is simple and intuitive — more so than traditional GMT complications. The left side of the case features two pushers: the upper pusher jumps the hour hand forward in hourly increments, while the lower pusher adjusts it backward. This allows the user to update the watch to local time quickly without using the crown.

This functional simplicity — similar to that of the Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5164 — should appeal to any bleary-eyed jet-setter.

Unlike the Aquanaut, the Sport Traveller uses a 24-hour disc and a nine o’clock aperture to display the home time zone. This format keeps the central hand stack clean and legible, while eliminating the need for an auxiliary day/night indication for home time.

Like the date window on the opposite side of the dial, the home time aperture features the brand’s distinctive sloped opening, intended to allow more light to reach the disc, thereby improving legibility. Even if the effect is minimal, the symmetrical ramps bring some interest to what would otherwise be plain cut-outs.

Grey anatomy

The case and integrated bracelet are made of grade 5 titanium, as is the folding clasp. It’s a lightweight and reasonably hard-wearing material, being more scratch resistant than grade 2 titanium.

The 42 mm case is 13.3 mm thick, and is rated to a reassuring 100 m. These dimensions are nearly identical to those of the time-only Sport, growing just 0.5 mm in diameter and 0.6 mm in thickness. While not a large watch, it is chunkier than some peers in a category that emphasises elegance.

The design of the anthracite grey dial breaks no new ground and is immediately recognisable as a Laurent Ferrier Sport. Befitting its stature, the hands and dial markers are solid 18k white gold, with a high palladium content to head-off oxidation. Those assagi-shaped hands and dagger indices are filled with green-tinged Super-LumiNova, as seen on the time-only Sport.

Expensive dial furniture aside, the highlight of the dial might be the ‘Sport Traveller’ text, which is printed tone-on-tone for maximum discretion.

The three-link integrated bracelet draws some inspiration from popular 1970s designs. On paper, the bracelet seems well-built with strong attention to detail evident in its construction. The fully brushed look suits the restrained nature of the watch, and the screwed links are welcome.

That said, bracelet making is as much an art as a science, and few independent brands have truly mastered the craft, so many smaller brands rely on third-party suppliers — with mixed results. In this case, the Sport’s titanium bracelet feels less refined than the rest of the watch, with links that tend to feel somewhat loose.

Robust and elegant

Laurent Ferrier’s Traveller complication has always been paired with its LF229 micro-rotor platform (taking the name LF230), which features a 3 Hz balance and the brand’s unique take on the natural escapement. Until now, that is.

While intended to reduce or even eliminate the need for lubricated pallets, Laurent Ferrier’s approach to the natural escapement relies on extremely precise tolerances for reliable function. This sensitivity means the escapement is not ideally suited to life in a sports watch.

As a result, the Sport collection relies on the LF27x platform, which features a more robust — if more ordinary — lever escapement. It also ticks at a higher frequency of 4 Hz, which improves rate stability during rough wear.

The Sport Traveller’s LF275.01 movement features an all-grey look, right down to the solid platinum micro-rotor, which, unusually, is secured between the mainplate and its own bridge for improved stability.

The winding mass has some interesting details of its own. The rotor’s rim is engraved with arrows pointing in the winding direction — unlike earlier Laurent Ferrier automatics, the LF275.01 winds in just one direction — and the hub is engraved with Mr Ferrier’s exploits as a racing driver, including his 1979 podium at Le Mans.

Laurent Ferrier can usually be counted upon to deliver expert finishing, and that is the case here. Unfortunately, the dark colour and simple texture palette — the large bridge forms feature a simple straight-grained treatment — make it harder to appreciate the quality of the work.

The steelwork is richly black polished and the anglage and countersinks gleam, but this effort is obvious under a narrower range of lighting conditions than is typical for the brand’s more traditional calibres.

On a technical level, the movement holds up to scrutiny, with a convenient 72-hour power reserve and a free-sprung balance that oscillates on an overcoil hairspring.

Key facts and price

Laurent Ferrier Sport Traveller
Ref. LCF045.T1.NG1C7

Case diameter: 42 mm
Height: 13.3 mm
Material: Titanium
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: LF275.01
Features: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, second time zone
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 72 hours

Strap: Titanium bracelet

Limited edition: No
Availability: From Laurent Ferrier authorised retailers
Price: CHF61,000 excluding taxes

For more, visit laurentferrier.ch..