The new Jacques Bianchi x Fratello JB200 PoulPro Night Diver satiates destro desires at an approachable price
Zach Blass- Fratello Watches teams up with Jacques Bianchi to present the JB200 PoulPro Night Diver.
- It offers the first-ever black PVD case and full-lume dial for the collection.
- It’s limited to 250 pieces and priced at €1,162.50, powered by a Soprod movement.
In our latest team picks column, the Time+Tide Editorial staff all came together to select which defunct brands they would most want to revitalise. One brand off the table, was Jacques Bianchi. The Marseille-based brand made its return in 2021, renowned for use by French military divers in the 1980s. Jacques Bianchi relaunched with great success, with its original Kickstarter campaign reaching its US$180,000 pledge goal in under nine minutes. These days, there are plentiful affordable options thanks to the rise of microbrands, but few, like the JB200, cater to lefties with a 9 o’clock-positioned crown (a quirk carried over from the original ’80s design). Through its latest collaborative limited edition with our friends over at Fratello Watches, the collection now has its first-ever PVD case and full-lumed dial.
The JB200 PoulPro is a destro-configured skin diver encased in black PVD-coated stainless steel, with a screw-down crown-secured 200-metre depth rating. Its 42mm case, 13.3mm thick, has a rather compact stance across the wrist for its diameter, measuring in at 47mm lug-to-lug. While we associate destro crowns as made for lefties, the reality is the crown’s placement is designed to not dig into a wearer’s left hand while worn. That being said, those who wear their watch on their right hand stand to appreciate simply having a crown on a more conventional side for their wrist.
The JB200 PoulPro Night Diver gets its name not only due to its stealthy black case, but also its ample usage of Super-LumiNova that offers increased legibility. Its dial is fully lumed, with all of the hands, indices, dial text, and octopus motif executed in full black to be legible in contrast regardless of whether or not the dial is actively glowing. Even the aluminium uni-directional timing bezel uses Super-LumiNova across its full scale. It would’ve been cool to see the date window, positioned at the symmetrical 6 o’clock position, use a dial-matching lumed disc. Nevertheless, its white-on-black disc appears to be quite visible even in the dark when the dial is glowing bright.
You can see the Jacques Bianchi x Fratello Night Diver above affixed to its 20mm tropic-style rubber strap befitting of a skin diver. With quick-release tabs, all you need are your fingers to swap it to the bundled black perlon strap. And with its 20mm lug width, the sky’s the limit should you wish to explore aftermarket options. Beneath its solid, engraved, and co-branded caseback ticks the 38-hour automatic Swiss Soprod P024 movement to offer stable timekeeping without increased cost.
Here at Time+Tide, we can certainly get behind such a design. We have often played with a night theme, with two Night Surfers with Zenith and a Night Mode with Baltic – all three of which express a love for lume and darkened cases. What our limited editions, along with this new Fratello one, all have in common, besides “night” in the name, is that all these designs could (and perhaps should) have been introduced to the brands’ catalogues without external intervention. Alas, this is the beauty and benefit of watch media working with brands to create limited editions. And this Jacques Bianchi Marseille x Fratello JB200 PoulPro Night Diver has its uncommon destro-distinction blended with the allure of a full-lumed dial – at just over €1,100. A winning result in my book.
Jacques Bianchi Marseille x Fratello JB200 PoulPro Night Diver pricing and availability
The Jacques Bianchi Marseille × Fratello JB200 PoulPro Night Diver was available as a limited edition of 250 pieces sold exclusively from the Jacques Bianchi Marseille web store, but it has since sold out. Price (ex-VAT): €1,162.50 (~US$1,250)
| Brand | Jacques Bianchi Marseille x Fratello |
| Model | JB200 PoulPro Night Diver |
| Case Dimensions | 42mm (D) x 13.3mm (T) x 47mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | PVD-coated stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 200 metres, screw-down crown |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire |
| Dial | Full-lume |
| Strap | Black Tropic-style strap, quick release Black perlon strap |
| Movement | Soprod P024, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 38 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date |
| Availability | 250 pieces |
| Price | €1,162.50 (ex-VAT) |