To mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Le Forban Sécurité Mer presents the new Omaha. This is an elegant chronograph whose design is influenced by the 1940s.
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Le Forban Sécurité Mer, the quintessentially French watch brand with a knack for retro taste, has recently launched a new model on the market. This time, it is a chronograph called the Omaha. It marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. A brief historical review: on June 6, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy and opened a western front against the Nazis. American soldiers mainly entered Omaha Beach, which is where the name comes from. This was followed by the liberation of France and Belgium. D-Day was featured in numerous films, such as Spielberg’s Saving Private James Ryan.
The Omaha is intended to pay tribute to this historic day. Visually, the watch, which is available with either a black or olive-colored dial, is based on the elegant silhouettes of the 1940s. Retro design paired with military history – if those aren’t the perfect ingredients for a successful watch from Le Forban.
A watch like 80 years ago?
This time, I didn’t receive my model for the watch review in the traditional black, but in the very military-looking color olive green. I find the elegant finish interesting. Le Forban has given the dial of the Le Forban Sécurité Mer Omaha a sunburst finish. This moves the chronograph away from its military austerity and gives it a more solemn, elegant and not overly functional appearance. In view of the D-Day theme, I think this fits perfectly. Golden totalizers and hands underline the occasion. I think the bright luminous material is really strong. The hands and indices are coated with Swiss Super-Luminova luminous material.
As we know from other models such as the Malouineor Brestoise, Le Forban has a passion for compact models. I couldn’t imagine it any other way. The Le Forban Sécurité Mer Omaha measures 39 millimetres in diameter, but appears slightly larger due to its slightly protruding bezel. It measures 46 millimetres from strap lug to strap lug.
All the details of the Le Forban Sécurité Mer Omaha
The case is made of 316L stainless steel, which is alternately brushed and polished. The Le Forban Sécurité Mer Omaha is water-resistant like its predecessors from the 1940s, but only to a depth of 50 meters. This means that it is at least splash-proof. The beautifully curved sapphire crystal results in a case thickness of 13.9 millimetres. I also like the case back. Once again, the D-Day symbolism has been used and a five-pointed star has been engraved into the case back. The characteristic pear-shaped crown with fluting, the silhouette of which is rarely seen today, is also “historically correct”.
The case of the Le Forban Sécurité Mer Omaha houses the NE86 chronograph movement from Seiko. The automatic movement is of the highest quality. Its power reserve is 45 hours.
The weather-tanned leather strap, which is available in a matching color, is extremely comfortable to wear. The width between the strap lugs is 20 millimetres.
The following special features only apply to the olive green color variant. The comparatively delicate watch is delivered in a large green box. The watch comes with a beautiful pendant engraved with the number of the limited edition. I own number 41 of only 44 (due to 1944) examples of the color variant with the olive green dial. That means only one thing: be quick!
You can buy the Le Forban Sécurité Mer Omaha with both dial colors in my store. Please note: the olive green Omaha is more expensive than its black, non-limited sister model (1,690.00 euros) due to its limited edition price of 1,944.00 euros. The price difference is explained by the special gimmicks such as the green case or the beautifully crafted pendant. My favorite is therefore clearly the green Omaha.
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