March 21, 2012

RALF Tech

By martinpulli — Leave a comment

RALF Tech

RALF Tech Watches, product of Frank Huyghe, a Parisian that has backed himself into the watch industry…almost by accident.
Mr. Huyghe is an accomplished amateur wreck diver. He has dived all over the World examining the wrecks of long forgotten vessels now resting in the great depths of the sea. On a trip to tropics Mr. Huyghe enjoyed the company of fellow divers and over cocktails, the group began to discuss the limitations and prospective improvements for the available wetsuits being marketed to divers. After establishing design parameters for their wetsuits, the group decided to form a company to produce these conceptual wetsuits. The first intial of each of the four divers at the table were R, A, L, F. To that end, the company was named “RALF Tech”. The company quickly capitalized and rapid prototyped wetsuits. Their own experiences in diving instinctively led them to the production of these wetsuits for the sport diving market. RALF Tech wetsuits were a huge hit and became sought after by dive shops and enthusiasts the World over. Mr. Huyghe actively promoted and marketed his young company. Frank Huyghe had the good fortune to meet Mr. Pascal Bernabe. Mr. Bernabe was an active diver and approached Mr.Huyghe to be a sponsor for a World Record attempt to break the existing record of 318 meters, open circuit diving. Mr. Bernabe successfully dove to 330 meters while wearing the prototype WR-1 wristwatch. Flash forward, Mr. Huyghe and his partners sell RALF Tech wetsuits business and Mr. Huyghe retains control of his fledgling watch concepts. Mr. Huyghe continues to develop the concept watches and the watches become the now WRX (World Record Extreme) series.

Commando Hubert, Surfacing..stealth approach

After the intitial success of the WRX series, Mr. Huyghe was fortunate to form a relationship with a special branch of the French Military. The KBH, Commando Hubert.

The Commando Hubert is a branch of the French Special Forces of the « Marine National ».
Heir to the units set up by the Free French Forces during the Second World War in Great Britain, this commando is named after Lieutenant Hubert Augustin, killed on D-Day during the Normandy landing.
A legendary unit, the “Commando d’action sous-marine » (CASM) “Hubert,” is the vanguard of the French Special Forces deployed in the utmost secrecy on all continents at the request of the Special Operations Command (SOC). It includes an operational company and a support company. The operational company is divided into four specific sections: Support, Maritime Counter-Terrorism, Underwater Vehicles and Recon. The Commandos who make up the operational company are all paratroopers and patented military frogmen.

After a joint development with the technical staff and then a year of testing at the heart of some of the most dangerous parts of the world, the men of the Commando Hubert adopted the WRX “A” to accompany them in all their combat missions.

Commando Hubert, WRX A and rebreathers.

Be it in the air, on land, and of course underwater, the WRX « A » go where others do not dare :

The main points that brought on the selection of the WRX Hybrid® :

• A quartz system 12 times more precise than a classical automatic movement.

• Mechanical automatic winding : an autonomy of 60 days with no battery

• Toughness tried and tested in the heart of battle

• Antimagnetic so as to not disrupt other underwater instruments

• Optimal Reading

RT delivered some watches to the Commando Hubert in 2010 for the development of the current model, 200 pieces on the 15th of September 2011. Now, Commando Hubert are using WRX Millenial Hybrid, as per their addtional requests for spec. The WRX Millenial is produced in ultra-rare Grade 1 titanium.
It is interesting to note that these orders are a deliberate choice, as all watches are purchased and that this is not a sponsorship operation.
The commercial version of the WRX “A” Hybrid® is technically similar in all respects to the watches delivered to the men of the Commando Hubert with the exception of the emblem on the dial just above 6 o’clock.

But RALF TECH is not only passionate about what happens under the sea.

So what was more natural for RALF TECH than coming closer to the VENDÉE GLOBE, the extreme offshore sailing par excellence?

The brand perpetuated its engagement in the sea world alongside the bests and set itself a new challenge!

The Vendée Globe journey shows the conceptual purity and simplicity of big events. Sailing around the world, from the West to the East, by the three great Caps: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn. A long sailing down the Atlantic Ocean, the perilous crossing of the Southern seas, starting with the Indian Ocean and its crossed seas, then the Pacific Ocean, the biggest ocean in the world. Finish by sailing up the Atlantic Ocean and the way to the Sables d’Olonne; starting and finishing point of the seas Everest.

WRV (Link) RALF Tech WRV

RALF Tech WRB series, the 40mm model with Seiko automatic calibre. $1,595