Pequignet Montre Extrême 300 Dive Watch
Starting from 5.600 €The Pequignet Extrême 300 is a dive watch entirely designed and assembled in France, in Morteau, by a house that presents itself as the only French haute horlogerie manufacture. Powered by the Calibre Royal®, the brand’s first in-house movement, it combines the robustness expected of an underwater instrument with a level of finishing more often seen on dress pieces. A 43mm steel case, a unidirectional rotating bezel moulded in rubber, 300 metres of water resistance and a multi-level sport dial make up a diver with a strong character. Offered in four bezel versions at the same price, it is aimed at technical watch enthusiasts looking for a French alternative to the usual Swiss references.
Pequignet Extrême 300 dive watch
Founded in 1973 in Morteau by Émile Péquignet, Pequignet belongs to the small handful of houses that have maintained high-level watchmaking activity on the French side of the Jura. The brand today claims the status of the only French haute horlogerie manufacture and designs, develops and assembles its creations in its historic workshops in Franche-Comté. This expertise earned it the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant label, awarded by the Ministry of Economy in 2014 and renewed in 2019 and 2025.
After fifty years in existence, the house cultivates a self-proclaimed identity: an uninhibited haute horlogerie, aimed at enthusiasts seeking something other than the big Swiss names. The decisive turning point came in 2011 with the presentation of the Calibre Royal®, the first in-house manufacture movement developed internally. Four years later came the house’s diver, initially named Royale 300 before taking the name Extrême 300.
It introduced the use of the in-house calibre in a dive watch and immediately imposed its own solutions: a bezel moulded in patented Vulcamix vulcanised rubber, a patented quarter-turn crown indexed with the Lys Royal, and a multi-level sport dial. In 2023, a limited series of thirty pieces produced with Bijouterie Clouzeau, named L’Extrême 300 by Stef’, featured a sunray blue dial, a blue Cordura strap with orange stitching and a sapphire crystal caseback, an exception confirming that the series models otherwise keep a solid caseback decorated with a Fleur-de-Lys.
Technical specifications Pequignet Montre Extrême 300
- Brand: Pequignet
- Model: Montre Extrême 300
- Reference: Depending on version
- Indicative price: 5.600 €
- Movement: Pequignet in-house automatic
- Calibre: Calibre Royal®
- Power reserve: 88 h
- Diameter: 43 mm
- Thickness: 15.1 mm
- Water resistance: 30 ATM / 300 m
- Materials: Polished and satin-finished steel
- Crystal: Sapphire
- Dial: Black
- Bezel: orange, blue or black
- Strap: Black Cordura or black rubber
- Warranty: 5 years
The Pequignet Extrême 300 dive watch
First appearing in 2015 under the name Royale 300, the Extrême 300 remains the emblematic diver of the Morteau manufacture. Its polished and satin-finished steel case, 43mm in diameter, makes a bold statement on the wrist, reinforced by a thickness of 15.1 mm and a lug-to-lug of 52.30 mm. This generous footprint follows the logic of an instrument: the construction must withstand pressure and house a movement of considerable size. The unidirectional rotating bezel moulded in Vulcamix® rubber is the model’s visual and technical signature.
Patented by the house, it offers an immediate grip, even with wet gloves, and carries a bilight Luminova capsule at 12 o’clock marking the start of the dive. The patented quarter-turn crown, indexed with the Lys Royal, simplifies screwing down without compromising water-tightness. The black dial, described as a multi-level sport dial, plays with relief to organise information hierarchically: hour markers and broad hands are treated with Luminova BGW9, the small seconds sit at 3 o’clock while the power reserve indicator occupies the area at 8 o’clock. An anti-reflective sapphire crystal protects the whole and limits glare both underwater and in bright light. The Extrême 300 thus takes on its status as a tool watch without sacrificing finishing.
Calibre Royal and available versions
Beneath the solid Fleur-de-Lys-decorated caseback beats the Calibre Royal®, the house’s first in-house manufacture movement, unveiled in 2011. Its design involved 279 industrial drawings and it brings together 318 components, of which 316 were designed specifically by the manufacture, protected by eight international patents. This automatic movement runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour, holds 39 jewels and delivers 88 hours of power reserve, a rare autonomy that allows the watch to rest all weekend without winding. The large balance wheel with compensating screws and the sunray-finished, rhodium-plated oscillating weight, stamped with a black fleur-de-lys, speak a haute horlogerie vocabulary uncommon on a diver rated to 300 metres.
The range consists of four versions, all offered at the same price. The blue bezel brings a marine contrast to the black dial, the black bezel signs the most understated version, the orange bezel, which the brand describes as iconic, echoes the codes of sport diving, and the last one takes the idea further with a matching orange crown. The first three can be worn on either black Cordura or black rubber, the fourth only on orange rubber with a deployant buckle. Three strap lengths and a complimentary personalised engraving round out the customisation options.
Pequignet Extrême 300 dive watch: French haute horlogerie
A diver from a French manufacture, the Extrême 300 combines a 43mm polished and satin-finished steel case, a unidirectional rotating bezel moulded in Vulcamix rubber, a patented quarter-turn crown and 300 metres of water resistance. Its black multi-level sport dial, fitted with Luminova BGW9, displays small seconds at 3 o’clock and the power reserve at 8 o’clock. The automatic Calibre Royal, assembled in Morteau, offers 88 hours of autonomy at 21,600 vibrations per hour. Four bezel versions, two strap materials and a five-year warranty round out the proposition, priced at 5,600 euros.
Movement
The Extrême 300 is powered by the Calibre Royal®, the first in-house manufacture movement assembled by Pequignet in Morteau. This automatic calibre brings together 318 components, 316 of which were designed by the house, and relies on eight international patents. It runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour, holds 39 jewels and offers 88 hours of power reserve, readable on an indicator placed at 8 o’clock. Its large balance wheel with compensating screws and its sunray-finished, rhodium-plated oscillating weight, stamped with a black fleur-de-lys, reflect a haute horlogerie approach applied to a dive watch.
Diameter and materials
The case measures 43mm in diameter, with a thickness of 15.1 mm and a lug-to-lug of 52.30 mm, a size that requires a sufficiently wide wrist. It is machined from polished and satin-finished steel, topped by a rubber-moulded Vulcamix® bezel and closed by a solid caseback decorated with a Fleur-de-Lys. The black dial, a multi-level sport design, features hour markers and hands treated with Luminova BGW9. The four versions differ only in bezel colour: blue, black, orange, or orange with a matching crown.
Water resistance
The watch withstands 30 ATM, or 300 metres, a rating that places it among genuine dive watches. This resistance relies on a patented quarter-turn crown, indexed with the Lys Royal for simplified screwing, and on a solid screwed caseback decorated with a Fleur-de-Lys. The unidirectional rotating bezel allows the wearer to track immersion time, its bilight Luminova capsule at 12 o’clock remaining visible in the dark, along with the hour markers and luminescent hands on the black dial.
Accessories
Depending on the version chosen, the Extrême 300 is worn on a black Cordura strap or a black rubber strap, fitted to 22mm lugs and closed by a steel pin buckle decorated with a raised Lys Royal. The orange bezel and crown version is the exception: it comes on orange rubber with a deployant buckle. Three strap lengths are available on order, and the manufacture offers a complimentary twenty-character personalised engraving, though an engraved piece can no longer be returned.
Warranty
Pequignet grants a five-year warranty to models fitted with an in-house movement, which includes the Extrême 300, compared with three years for the rest of the catalogue. It covers any manufacturing defect under normal conditions of use and only takes effect with a dated, signed certificate bearing the stamp of an authorised retailer. Every returned watch undergoes a diagnosis carried out by the manufacture’s master watchmaker in Morteau, with repairs handled free of charge during the covered period.
Pequignet Montre Extreme 300 The pros
and cons
- French manufacture Calibre Royal
- 88 hours of power reserve
- 300 metres of water resistance
- Patented Vulcamix rubber bezel
- Five-year warranty
- Imposing 43mm case
- Noticeable 15.1mm thickness
- No steel bracelet option
- Pin buckle on most versions
Prices and technical specifications are subject to change. Content and photos are not contractual.
