Last week, Jacques Bianchi released what is probably their most boring watch in recent memory, and the results speak for themselves. Compared to many of the brand’s recent releases, the new Jacques Bianchi JB300 is inarguably their most conventional, forfeiting many of the details that helped set the many iterations of the JB200 apart. But in that simplicity there’s magic, and this latest entry in the Jacques Bianchi catalog is a strong new addition to the military-inspired dive watch category, offering collectors a rock-solid option at a fantastic value.
Put simply, the JB300 is a classic military diver in the truest sense, while still managing to hold onto a little bit of the dramatic flair we’ve come to expect from a brand that typically decorates their dials with divers and cephalopods. The JB300 draws the bulk of its inspiration from the original JB300, an early ‘90s dive watch issued by the French Army to combat divers. While not an exact 1-to-1 reproduction of that watch, which seems to have been produced in extremely limited quantities (less than 1000 by most counts), the new JB300 is a very close facsimile.
Jacques Bianchi has done a good job updating the original JB300 for a modern audience though, toying with the specifics of both dial and case to bring them more comfortably into the 21st century. Part of this was likely dictated by necessity. A cursory search will find that most vintage examples of the JB300 feature the symbol for l’Armée de Terre (the French Army). That has been omitted here, presumably due to the lack of direct connection between the modern JB300 and their previous patron.
Otherwise, the “Maxi Dial” design hews quite closely to the original JB300, with large geometric lume plots, a red 24-hour scale, and dial text that almost looks to have been typed out on an early word processor. Paired with the large, arrow-shaped hour hand and an abundance of lume — including the second hand, which carries a large, rectangular lume plot — the Maxi Dial, with its utilitarian layout, has a distinct ‘90s charm that’s hard not to enjoy. The lume has a slight tint to it that is more clear in some situations than others, but I don’t find myself minding the choice.
A date window replaces the 3 o’clock marker, so the JB300 doesn’t technically conform to the latest ISO standards for dive watches, but the date aperture is accurate to the original, and if French military divers didn’t need lume at every hour marker, neither do you. A similar execution of this dial will also be available in the JB200, in both right-handed and destro configurations.
As I mentioned, the case architecture was also changed, with updated lines, and slightly reworked ergonomics. The changes here remind me of the updates Seiko has made to the Willard or Turtle over the years — the essence of the case remains, just refined. Still, despite the updates, that case remains a defining characteristic of the new watch; and it serves as the clearest distinction between the JB300 and the JB200.
Notably, the JB300 swaps the Monnin-esque architecture for something a little more distinct. While the JB300 maintains the peaked crown guards of the JB200, the case is both more compact, and thinner — all while offering an extra 100m of stated water resistance. The tonneau shaped case, with its partially hooded lugs, measures just 45mm lug-to-lug and (by my measure) 12.68mm thick, while sticking to 42mm across.
One place where the team at Jacques Bianchi knew to leave well enough alone is the watch’s shark tooth bezel, which is as close to a direct reproduction as we find on this watch. The 60-click bezel is easy to grip, with a robust click, and a nice spring back into alignment after each adjustment. The bezel takes some force to turn, but the positive action inspires confidence, and the lack of play in the bezel is a rare treat, even among some of our favorite divers.
On the other hand, where the tactile experience of the bezel stands apart, my experience of the Soprod P024 that powers the watch was less positive. Now, to be very clear, the test sample I got to try was a prototype piece, but the interaction with the watch’s movement was a real low point in my experience of the watch. The JB300 uses a Soprod clone of the ETA 2824 used in the original watch and was accurate enough over my time with the watch, but the setting positions were hard to find and felt a little crunchy. Setting the date, in particular, felt like I was fighting the movement, when I could find the date position, which was slightly hard to do. Lastly, getting the screw-down crown to catch wasn’t as easy as it often is on watches at a similar price range.
The JB300 comes packaged with two straps. The first of these is a well-executed black Tropic-style rubber strap. The 20mm strap is comfortable, with quick change spring bars and just a little bit of stretch. The watch also comes packaged with a black Perlon strap which is… fine (I’m not a big fan of Perlon), and a nice historical nod. The military JB300s were issued on black Perlons, and including them here is a nice move.
Still, true to form, I found myself swapping both these straps out in favor of an olive-drab NATO. The JB300 will, thanks to its utilitarian design and fairly neutral colorway, look great on any number of straps but be warned, the spring bars sit very close to the case, so finding straps that fit will be made slightly harder. My preferred Crown & Buckle Matte Supreme NATO-style straps, for example, didn’t fit, and I had to opt for a thinner option. Not a bad thing by any stretch, but something to be aware of. Also, Jacques Bianchi has a jubilee-style bracelet available, but I didn’t get to try it out so won’t speak to it.
When all is said and done, Jacques Bianchi has made a great option for anyone looking for a military-style diver at a reasonable price. The JB300 is available for pre-order now for €890, including VAT (about $935 as of writing). That’s about $600 less than an automatic CWC diver and makes it a real value proposition for anyone looking for an automatic diver with real military history. Jacques Bianchi
