JB200 Tide Gauge II
A MARSEILLE ICON, REIMAGINED
In 2024, the first JB200 Marégraphe sold out in under four minutes. All 150 units were immediately snatched up, making this limited edition one of Jacques Bianchi Marseille's most coveted creations. More than just a commercial success, this enthusiasm confirmed that a contemporary tool-watch could also tell the story of a region, its heritage, and its history.
Since then, the same question has been coming from all corners of the globe: "Will there ever be another Marégraphe?" Our answer has never been to reproduce the first, but to imagine what it could become today, with everything the house has learned since.
Heritage remains. The watch changes.
Like its predecessor, the Marégraphe II pays homage to the Marseille tide gauge. Erected in 1883 on the Corniche Kennedy, this discreet building is one of France's most important scientific sites.
It is here that the zero point of the national leveling system is defined: the reference for all French altitudes, from the level of the Mediterranean to the summit of Mont Blanc. For over a century, the Marégraphe has also measured the evolution of the average sea level — a privileged witness to the transformations of the Mediterranean coastline. This heritage remains at the heart of the new creation. Tradition endures, the watch evolves.
A new case
The proportions that made the collection a success remain, but the construction has been revamped: tauter lines, more precise transitions, more pronounced bevels, and a slightly beveled bezel.
A "destro" configuration. The goal was to evolve the watch without betraying its diver DNA. The Marégraphe II now displays a "destro" personality: the crown moves to the left side of the case, for wearing on the right wrist. A code inherited from diver and military watches, on which the crown, moved away from the back of the hand, no longer hinders movement.
Change everything, change nothing.
The Marégraphe II watch brings together all the developments Jacques Bianchi Marseille has implemented over the past two years, including a redesigned case.
A new case. The proportions that made the collection a success remain, but the construction has been re-engineered: sharper lines, more precise transitions, more pronounced chamfers, and a slightly beveled bezel. A "destro" configuration. The goal was to evolve the watch without betraying its diver DNA. Thus, the Marégraphe II now boasts a "destro" personality.
The crown moves to the left side of the case, for wear on the right wrist: a feature inherited from diver and military watches, where the crown, away from the back of the hand, no longer obstructs movement. An enameled dial.
The Marégraphe II also features the brand's first enameled dial: twenty successive layers of enamel for a rare depth on a tool watch. Beneath the translucent surface, a wave pattern revealed by a specially developed sunray finish; depending on the angle of the light, sometimes a calm sea, sometimes the Mediterranean catching the sun.
JB200 Tide Gauge II Innovation
Applied indexes. Finally, for the first time at Jacques Bianchi Marseille, the indexes are individually machined and then applied to the dial, creating a true relief, with more light for even more precise readability.
SPECIFICATIONS
HOUSING
GLASS
DIAL
MOVEMENT
BRACELETS
TRIBUTE
WATERPROOFING
Enamel: depth at the heart of the watch
For the first time, Jacques Bianchi Marseille adorns a tool watch with a genuine enamel dial.
Twenty successive layers of enamel create a translucent surface of rare depth. Beneath, a wave pattern revealed by a specially developed sunray finish: depending on the angle of the light, the dial transforms from a calm sea to the Mediterranean catching the sun.
The hour markers, for the first time individually machined and then applied, create a genuine relief. Technique meets aesthetics — in a watch designed to evoke the sea as much as to read it.
300 NUMBERED COPIES
The first Marégraphe was produced in a limited edition of 150 pieces. The Marégraphe II will be limited to 300 numbered pieces — not to make it less exclusive, but because the success of the first one convinced us that this timepiece deserved to be shared with more collectors. Each watch bears its number engraved on the case back. Two years have passed; our community has grown, and so has our demanding nature.