The Jacques Bianchi JB300 Marks the Return of a Neo-Vintage French Military Diver

Jacques Bianchi is a French watchmaker based in Marseille. He’s been in the business for over five decades, working with the French military and names like Jacques Cousteau. A notable piece was the JB300 diver from the 1990s, produced in a total run of 1,000 for the French Army’s combat divers. The new JB300 isn’t an exact replica, but it does capture the ethos of the original and follows the JB200 from 2021. It’s a no-nonsense tool watch that does exactly what a pro diver needs without fancy or superfluous features. A military dive watch for civilians, just the way we like it (and an accessible one, too).

The brushed stainless steel case of the Jacques Bianchi JB300 has an elongated tonneau shape and is 42mm in diameter (based on the bezel) and 12.7mm in height. It’s not a small watch and a bit heavy on the wrist, but the lug-to-lug is only 45mm with a “barely there” 20mm lug width, so it feels somewhat compact. And by “barely there,” I mean you won’t be able to fit many NATO straps between the spring bars and case – it’s that tight. A slim one should fit, though, and a single-layer Perlon strap is included in the box. 

The 60-click rotating bezel is faithful to the original, with very prominent teeth for a secure grip with gloves and a black aluminium insert. It has a detailed 60-minute scale and a lumed pearl at 12 o’clock. Rotating action lacks the refinement of more expensive examples, but it certainly gets the job (well) done for the price, and the highly audible click has its own instrument-like charm. 

The right case side of the JB300 flows into an integrated crown guard and there’s enough style to prevent a generic vibe. The screw-down crown is a bit finicky and can be tricky to find the threads and position to set the date/time. Our review unit is a prototype, however, so this could be rectified on retail watches. There’s a flat sapphire crystal and solid caseback, and water resistance (as the name suggests) is 300 metres. More than sufficient!

The matte black Maxi Dial has oversized Super-LumiNova indices with tan lume resembling tritium from early JB300 military dials. Red Arabic numerals sit just inside the indices for military time, while the hour and arrowhead minute hands have matching lume inserts. The seconds hand has a rectangular lume aperture as well. A white date window sits at 3 o’clock, which is true to the original model, although I personally could’ve done without it. It breaks up the symmetry a little and removes the 3 o’clock index. Also, the crystal is a bit reflective at times, but the unit is again a prototype. It’s a very purposeful dial, and the maxi indexes add a cool vibe.

Powering the new Jacques Bianchi JB300 is the Soprod P024 automatic, which is a direct alternative to the ETA 2824 seen in the 1990s models. It has 25 jewels, beats at 28,800vph (4Hz) and comes with a 38-hour power reserve. Functions include central hours, minutes, hacking seconds and date. Everything you need, nothing you don’t – that’s the theme of this piece. 

The Jacques Bianchi JB300 Military Diver Re-Edition comes with two straps – black tropic rubber and period-correct black Perlon, as seen on the originals. A steel bracelet is also available for an extra EUR 100. You get all of this for only EUR 741 (excl. VAT) or EUR 890 (incl. VAT), which is a great price for a storied, pro-level diver with military roots and a Swiss automatic. It’s limited to the total number ordered during the pre-order period, which started on November 20^th and runs for 15 days. Deliveries are scheduled for February 2025.

For more information, please visit JacquesBianchi.com.