The New, Retro-Cool Eska Amphibian 250 White Shark

Although Eska is a “newcomer” today, it’s actually a historic Swiss brand that goes back over a century. In early 2024, the first watch from the revived brand (now based in France) emerged as the Amphibian 250 (ref. 1094), a close remake of the 1959 Eska Amphibian 600. That watch was inspired by the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms from 1953 and is so rare today that some speculate it was only produced as a handful of prototypes for the French Navy. The latest release is a white dial variant of the Amphibian 250 (ref. 1095) dive watch, nicknamed the White Shark. 

Eska was originally founded in 1918 in Granges, Switzerland, and the name is a play on the founder’s initials, Silvan Kocher – S.K. The brand was a global success with robust markets in North and South America, Australia and Asia. Like too many watchmakers, however, it couldn’t overcome the Quartz Crisis of the 1970s and closed for good in the late 1980s. Fortunately, two enthusiasts and collectors, Sinicha Knezevic and Christophe Chevreton, recently brought the brand back and chose the elusive Amphibian 600 as inspiration for the 2024 watches. The black dial Amphibian 250 was a success, so the White Shark is a logical follow-up. 

The stainless steel case is 40mm in diameter and 13.5mm in height, which is quite versatile for a modern diver. Lug-to-lug is 46mm, once again guaranteeing great comfort. The wide unidirectional rotating bezel has classic “coin edge” knurling and box sapphire over the black bezel insert. Old radium lume is used for the reverse setup of Arabic numerals and you can clearly see the Fifty Fathoms inspiration. However, it’s again based on Eska’s own mid-century diver. The double-domed AR sapphire crystal has that old acrylic vibe and water resistance is rated at 250m (it’s right in the name). A screw-down crown and solid case back reinforce its diving chops and two strap options are available – black two-piece NATO and “Sand” canvas. The latter matches the dial elements well.

The white dial has a sandwich design with the indices being cutouts over an Old Radium lume blank underneath. Each has a printed red tip. Oversized Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock are printed in Old Radium and the hour and arrowhead minute hands have matching lume inserts. Although White Shark makes you think of the menace from the movie Jaws, the name actually comes from the white sails of Requin class sailboats.

Powering the White Shark is the always reliable Sellita SW200 automatic with 26 jewels, a beat rate of 28,800vph (4Hz) and a 38-hour power reserve. Functions include central hours, minutes, hacking seconds and date (which isn’t utilized here). This is a big and welcomed upgrade from the earlier model that used a Seiko NH38 automatic.

The new Eska Amphibian 250 White Shark retails for EUR 908 (excl. tax) and is available to order directly from Eska’s website. Deliveries are expected by the end of October.