Marseille-based master watchmaker Jacques Bianchi began providing models of the JB 200, a distinctively designed, quartz-powered divers’ watch that he developed for his eponymous brand, to the French Navy in the mid-1980s. Now 80 years old, Bianchi has partnered with a small team of French watch-industry players to resurrect the JB200 for a modern audience, combining period-appropriate details with a new mechanical movement.

The original JB 200 divers’ watch (above) designed by Marseille watchmaker and distributor Jacques Bianchi (below)

The original JB 200, launched in 1982, was very limited in production and distributed under mostly confidential circumstances to mine divers, combat swimmers, helicopter pilots, and other units operating within the French navy. Its stainless steel case contained an uncommonly robust quartz caliber made in France, the FE (France-Ebauche) 7121, and had its winding crown positioned on the left side. Most notably from an aesthetic standpoint was its black dial, emblazoned with the silhouette of a frogman. Bianchi, who began his career repairing Rolex Submariners and other iconic divers’ watches worn by Comex divers in the 1960s and ’70s at his workshop in Marseille’s Vieux Port, wanted to re-issue his 1980s timepiece in as historically accurate a fashion as possible while still taking it “upmarket” for a modern audience. To accomplish this, the veteran watchmaker and underwater enthusiast turn...