Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The New Titanium Jacques Bianchi JB300 Profonde x Deepsea.edc
A classic of French diving history, reimagined as a great instrument for modern-day underwater exploration.
Every brand from Apple to Zenith touts at least one watch that is “built for adventure”, “to stand the test of time”, or to “take a licking and keep on ticking” (okay, maybe that last one is less current). One look at the watch marketing out there today, and you will be inundated with images of mountaineers or free divers or BASE jumpers or firefighters; you name it, and there is likely a watch for it. The thing is, 99% of that is just marketing fluff. They know that we want it, so they will keep feeding it to us. But it can all get a little overwhelming. That’s why it’s a breath of fresh air when a watch comes along that can back up its claims with some real-world, adventure-y chops. Enter the new Jacques Bianchi JB300 Profonde x Deepsea.edc, a strong evolution of a classic of French diving history we reviewed here.
For those who don’t know, Deepsea.edc is the Instagram page, brand and brainchild of Brock Stevens, a diver in the U.S. Navy with over seven years of active-duty experience. He is also a wellspring of knowledge and contagious enthusiasm for all things watches and EDC. Basically, the embodiment of the guy you would want designing your tool watch. When I heard that Stevens was teaming up with Jacques Bianchi to develop a watch, I didn’t know what to expect, but I had a feeling it would be something special.
The collaboration with Jacques Bianchi feels like a no-brainer. The brand was originally started by the namesake French watchmaker, creating an oddball dive watch in his shop down on the rough-and-tumble Marseille docks back in the 1980s. It would go on to supply watches to the French military in the 1990s, such as the JB300, the modern recreation of which is the foundation of the new Profonde. The brand was, like so many great and quirky dive watch brands, forgotten and defunct before being relaunched in 2021 by Simo Tber and Fabric Pougez with a Kickstarter recreation of that first 1980s dive watch. And the rest is histoire.
The new JB300 Profonde x Deepsea.edc
The JB300 Profonde is the vanguard of a planned new generation of high-performance JB300s. This first iteration starts with the already-solid bones and distinctive case shape of the standard JB300 and reimagines it in stonewashed, grade-5 titanium. It is slightly smaller than its predecessor at 41.5mm in diameter, vs 42mm of the previous JB300. The case shape is hard to describe and very much its own thing. It’s kind of Monin-adjacent with a sprinkling of 1990s TAG, maybe? However you want to describe it, it’s very cool. The subtle curves, thin profile and very short lugs give it a distinct, almost Brutalist look. There is a flat sapphire crystal protecting a matte black dial with very slight texturisation. The indices and hands are fully lumed to help with legibility in low-light conditions. In a nice touch, there are two different colours of lume at play: a blue hue for all the indices and a green hue for the minute hand and the pip at 12 o’clock. Since the minute hand and the pip are the most important bits when timing a dive, being able to quickly pick them out by colour is a nice addition.
There are a few design tweaks made here in conjunction with Stevens that crank up the “mission watch” vibes to 11. The first one you’ll likely notice is the crown on the left side of the watch in a “destro” configuration. This is a preference for some divers (myself included) as it keeps the crown well out of the way of the spot where your glove meets the wrist. It can get a little hung up and uncomfortable, so putting the crown all the way on the other side of the watch is an easy fix. It also looks super cool and feels like a bit of counter-culture rebelliousness, but maybe that’s just me. In this case, it also works as a nod and tribute to the original JB200 from the 1980s, which also had a destro crown.
Another Deepsea.edc-inspired design element is the inclusion of the specific yellow colour on the dial, a reference to the KM-37 diving helmets manufactured by Kirby Morgan that Stevens and other Navy divers rely on in certain diving situations. Those helmets, or hats as they are called by the folks who use them, have a cult following all their own if you are keen to go down another rabbit hole. Stevens also wanted this watch to be the first Jacques Bianchi in titanium, as the lightweight, corrosion-resistant metal is excellent for underwater applications across the board. The stonewashed finish serves the dual purpose of significantly reducing reflections for all your stealth mission-based needs, and hiding little scuffs and dings from your desk-diving keyboard kerfuffles.
The 60-click bezel is full titanium with a matching titanium insert and has a very aggressive knurling, perfect for easy manipulation when wearing thick, annoying neoprene gloves. The bezel action is quite heavy, making it feel almost heavy machinery-like, in a good way. It lends a feeling of confidence that it’s going to stay exactly where you set it, for any number of essential timing utilities.
The heartbeat of the Profond is provided by a Swiss-made Soprod P024 automatic movement. It’s a movement based on the ETA 2824 architecture, beating at 28,800vph and offering a power reserve of 38 hours. There are certainly higher-performance movements out there, but considering that the original JB300 from the 1990s ran the ETA 2824, it’s a fitting choice here.
The crown screws down and the caseback screws on, and all that screwing means the whole package is waterproof down to 300 metres – plenty deep for most practical human purposes. The watch will be delivered with a black, Tropic-style rubber strap and an olive drab with yellow stripe, Marine Nationale-style fabric strap.
Thoughts, availability & price
On the wrist, the Jacques Bianchi JB300 Profonde x Deepsea.edc wears just about perfectly, in my very humble opinion (Editor’s note: Derek’s opinion isn’t that humble, given his background as a seasoned diver). While it’s visually aggressive and certainly has that dive watch wrist presence, the modest 13mm thickness and very short lug-to-lug make it wear like a svelte field watch. It doesn’t feel at all like a tuna can on the wrist, like some chunky divers do, and it philosophically fits right in with the idea that a perfect tool watch is one that you don’t really notice until you need it. Mission accomplished.
From the quirky yet legitimate diving provenance of Jacques Bianchi to the modern-day expertise in all things diving and watches, and gear from Stevens and Deepsea.edc, this collaboration really does have it all – the perfect partnership to create a fantastic diving watch. Here’s hoping other brands take a cue and start bringing in some real-deal blokes to help out with their watch design. It is limited to 150 pieces and available on preorder for January 2026 delivery from Jacques Bianchi. And the best is the price… USD 1,350. Not bad for a full titanium, storied automatic dive watch.
