Five dials on a skin diver that finally takes depth seriously
by https://www.facebook.com/vincentnguyen · The GadgeteerIf you buy something from a link in this article, we may earn a commission. Learn more
Vulcain’s Skindiver Mark II keeps the slim 39mm shape of a skin diver and rates it to 300 meters. A COSC-certified Soprod M300 runs inside, with 60 hours of reserve.
Five dial colors and three strap choices carry the launch, and every version runs the same certified movement and the same 300-meter case. Ordering opens through an early access list a day before the official date.
The combination is the appeal: modern tool-watch numbers in a case that wears small.
Certina DS Action Diver 38mm (alternative)
38mm stainless steel case · Swiss automatic movement · Certina DS Action dive line
Price: $900
Where to buy: Buy on Amazon
A 39mm case with a working diver’s rating
The case is vertically brushed 316L stainless steel, 39mm across and 13.2mm thick, with a domed sapphire crystal up front and a sapphire caseback behind it.
Vulcain rates the watch to 30 ATM, which is 300 meters or 1,000 feet of water resistance. That’s a working depth rating, not a splash guard. A black ceramic bezel turns through 120 clicks in one direction, the way a dive bezel should.
Vulcain shoots the launch in winter water, with a freediver working under an ice shelf and the blue dial riding on a black rubber strap. The pictures sell cold water as the watch’s home water.
The Soprod M300 runs for 60 hours and carries a chronometer certificate
Inside sits the Soprod M300, an automatic movement running at 28,800 vibrations per hour with a 60-hour power reserve that carries the watch through a long weekend off the wrist. COSC certification means the movement’s timekeeping accuracy passed independent testing by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute.
The sapphire caseback puts the movement on display, and Vulcain decorates the rotor with its own name and mark. Flip the watch over and the caseback ring carries the rating in plain type: 300 meters, water resistant, Swiss made.
A 60-hour reserve means the watch can sit from Friday night to Monday morning and still be running when it goes back on the wrist.
That certificate separates it from the pack.
| Skindiver Mark II | |
|---|---|
| Case | 316L stainless steel, vertically brushed |
| Diameter | 39mm |
| Thickness | 13.2mm |
| Movement | Soprod M300 automatic, COSC-certified |
| Frequency | 28,800 vibrations per hour |
| Power reserve | 60 hours |
| Water resistance | 30 ATM (300m / 1,000ft) |
| Crystal | Domed sapphire |
| Caseback | Sapphire, Vulcain-decorated rotor |
| Bezel | Black ceramic, 120-click unidirectional |
| Dial | Two-level, white Swiss Super-LumiNova; Black, Green, Blue, Salmon and Grey |
| Straps | Black rubber, beads-of-rice steel, vintage steel |
| Price | CHF 1,950 on rubber · CHF 2,070 on beads-of-rice · CHF 2,210 on vintage steel |
| Launch | Early access November 23, official launch November 24 |
Five dials, three straps and a short price ladder
The dials come in Black, Green, Blue, Salmon and Grey, each built in two levels with white Swiss Super-LumiNova filling the recessed markers. The dial signs itself Nautique over a printed Chronometer line.
The Nautique signature already runs in Vulcain’s store, where the Skindiver chronographs wear the same dial name over a different movement and a shallower 50-meter rating.
Straps set the price ladder: black rubber starts the range, beads-of-rice steel sits in the middle, and vintage steel tops it, with each step adding CHF 120 or CHF 140 to the version below. Vulcain shows the Blue and Salmon dials on rubber, the Green and Grey on beads-of-rice, and the Black on vintage steel.
The numbers land at CHF 1,950 on rubber, CHF 2,070 on beads-of-rice steel and CHF 2,210 on vintage steel. Vulcain sells the watch from its own store in Swiss francs, so the franc figure is the price, full stop.
Up close, the two-level build shows in the markers themselves, which sit recessed in cutouts with the luminous fill glowing through from the layer beneath. It’s the detail that separates the dial from a printed flat sheet.
Grey is the quiet pick of the five.
Early access opens November 23, one day ahead of the launch
Vulcain opens an early access list on November 23, a full day before the official November 24 launch, and signups run through an email form on the maker’s page. The form asks for an email address and an optional preferred dial, nothing more.
Vulcain states the terms plainly: early access doesn’t reserve a watch and doesn’t guarantee availability. The list buys a head start, not a hold.
The buying window is narrow: one signup list, one early day, then open sale on November 24.
That hardware cuts both ways. The 39mm case, the certified movement and the 300-meter rating make it a diver that wears daily and still dives on weekends. The same hardware pushes the price to CHF 2,210 on vintage steel, though, for a watch styled to look modest.
Vulcain Skindiver Mark II
39mm steel case · Soprod M300, COSC-certified · 300 meters · five dial colors
Price: CHF 1,950 on black rubber
Where to buy: Buy at Vulcain
Buy the Skindiver Mark II if you want a certified chronometer diver that wears at 39mm and backs the look with a real 300-meter rating; it’s CHF 1,950 on black rubber when ordering opens on November 24. Skip it if you want a big modern tool diver, or a checkout in dollars, because this one sells direct from Vulcain in francs.
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