Wolbrook Skindiver II Professional Dive Watch
Starting from 549 €The Wolbrook Skindiver II Professional is a vintage-inspired dive watch that reinterprets the skindivers of the 1960s and 1970s with contemporary technical solutions. Hand-assembled in France, it combines a 40 mm steel case, a Hesalite crystal with an internal cyclops, and a left-mounted crown, inherited from the requests of military divers. Its 200-metre water resistance, unidirectional rotating bezel and generous Super-LumiNova clearly place it in the tool-watch category. Available in three black dial versions and offered on Tropic rubber or rice-grain steel bracelet, it is aimed at fans of authentic, rugged and legible divers, without an inflated price tag.
Wolbrook Skindiver II Professional dive watch
Wolbrook was born in the United States in 1949 with a first tool watch that was already water resistant, shockproof and driven by a 17-jewel movement. In 1955 the sister brand Douglas appeared, and by the end of the 1950s both brands had their watches made in France to benefit from local expertise recognised in sport and dive watches. From 1959, Douglas introduced the Roulette date disc and the cyclops integrated into the unbreakable crystal, two signatures that the Skindiver II Professional carries over unchanged. The early 1960s saw the birth of the first Skindivers, references 673B and 674A, then the Skindiver Worldtimer, an example of which, once owned by Neil Armstrong, went under the hammer at auction in 2019.
The quartz crisis interrupted this history for fifty years. Wolbrook was relaunched in 2019 by a team of watchmaking veterans, with hand-assembly in France, near Besançon, and membership of France Horlogerie. The Skindiver II Professional continues this story and presents itself as the most radical reinterpretation of the 1960s and 1970s skindivers. It retains the spirit of the era's military dive watch, with its left-mounted crown and Hesalite crystal, but combines it with a HexapleX shock-resistant architecture developed by the brand. The result is a diver with character, aimed as much at vintage-piece enthusiasts as at users of genuine tool watches.
Technical specifications Wolbrook Skindiver II Professional
- Brand: Wolbrook
- Model: Skindiver II Professional
- Reference: Depending on version
- Indicative price: €549 to €589
- Movement: Automatic (automatic and manual winding)
- Power reserve: 42h
- Calibre: Citizen / Miyota 9015 modified
- Diameter: 40 mm
- Thickness: 13 mm
- Water resistance: 200 m / 20 ATM
- Materials: 316L stainless steel
- Crystal: Hesalite
- Dial: Black, Super-LumiNova®
- Strap: Colour rubber or 316L steel
- Warranty: 3 years
- Box contents: Canvas and green leather pouch
The Wolbrook Skindiver II Professional diver
Designed as a radical reissue of skindivers of old, the Skindiver II Professional adopts a deliberately measured format. Its 316L stainless steel case measures 40 mm in diameter for 48 mm lug-to-lug and 13 mm thick, proportions that remain compatible with most wrists and with wearing under a sleeve. The central case is a monobloc, brushed then hand-finished, and the lugs are drilled to make strap changes easier. Its most visible feature is the position of the crown: screw-down, it is placed on the left, in a destro configuration designed to be worn on the left wrist so as to protect the crown and the back of the hand during a dive or an operation.
Wolbrook links this arrangement to the requests of French Navy divers in the 1970s and points to its current appeal for military personnel, special forces and first responders wearing gloves. Above the dial, the Hesalite crystal features an internal cyclops over the date window, a direct nod to the 1959 Douglas watches. The 120-click unidirectional rotating bezel features a luminescent pearl at 12 o'clock. Night-time legibility relies on Swiss Super-LumiNova® applied in seven layers to the dial and to fully lume-filled skeleton hands.
A modified Japanese calibre and three versions to choose from
Beneath the screw-down caseback, the Skindiver II Professional is powered by the Citizen / Miyota 9015 calibre, a Japanese automatic with 24 jewels renowned for its reliability. It beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour, accepts manual winding, features a hacking seconds function and offers a 42-hour power reserve. Wolbrook does not simply fit it into a case: its watchmakers, based in France near Besançon, replace the date disc with a Roulette disc, black on odd days and red on even days, then check each movement to a stated tolerance of ±15 seconds per day. The calibre also floats on rubber shock absorbers, at the heart of the HexapleX® shock-resistant architecture.
The collection comes in three black dial versions. The first receives bluish-white BGW9 lume and a black PVD-treated steel bezel, the second C3 lume with an orange minute hand, the third green C7 lume. Each can be chosen on a matching Tropic rubber strap, military green, orange or black, or on a rice-grain steel bracelet, which explains the price gap between 549 and 589 euros. Finally, the first 949 pieces, a reference to the brand's founding in 1949, receive a numbered caseback engraved with a narwhal.
Wolbrook Skindiver II Professional dive watch: unashamed ruggedness
A 40 mm steel diver hand-assembled in France, the Skindiver II Professional combines an in-house modified Citizen / Miyota 9015 automatic calibre, a 42-hour power reserve and a Roulette date disc. Its 316L case with HexapleX shock-resistant architecture, its Hesalite crystal with internal cyclops, its 120-click unidirectional bezel and its left-mounted screw-down crown give it the identity of a genuine tool watch. Water resistance reaches 200 metres, legibility relies on Swiss Super-LumiNova, and the first 949 examples receive a numbered caseback engraved with a narwhal. Expect to pay between 549 and 589 euros depending on the strap chosen.
Movement
The Skindiver II Professional relies on the Citizen / Miyota 9015 calibre, a Japanese automatic with 24 jewels that also accepts manual winding. Beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour, it features a hacking seconds function and a 42-hour power reserve. Wolbrook fits it with a Roulette date disc, black on odd days and red on even days, then regulates it in its French workshops to a stated tolerance of ±15 seconds per day and a beat error of 0.6 ms.
Diameter and materials
The case is machined from brushed, hand-finished 316L stainless steel, built around a monobloc case. It measures 40 mm in diameter, 13 mm thick and 48 mm lug-to-lug, with a 20 mm lug width. The Hesalite crystal, fitted with an internal cyclops, withstands impacts without shattering. The three black dials are distinguished by their luminescence, BGW9, C3 or C7, with only the white lume version receiving a black PVD-treated steel bezel.
Water resistance
Wolbrook states a water resistance of 200 m / 20 ATM, tested and guaranteed, well beyond the 100-metre threshold set by the ISO 6425 standard to qualify as a dive watch. This relies on a screw-down crown, placed on the left of the case, and a screw-down caseback. The 120-click unidirectional rotating bezel allows immersion time to be tracked, while the luminescent pearl at 12 o'clock and Swiss Super-LumiNova® ensure legibility in the dark.
Accessories
Two strap options are offered. The NBR Tropic rubber strap, available in military green, orange or black, resists oil and water, closes with a 316L steel buckle and features three keepers. The rice-grain steel bracelet features brushed links, a double-pusher deployant clasp, five micro-adjustment holes and quick-release spring bars, fitting wrists up to 24.5 cm. Both are 20 mm wide. The watch is delivered in a canvas and green leather pouch.
Warranty
Wolbrook backs every watch with a 36-month warranty from the date of receipt, longer than the segment average. It covers manufacturing and material defects, but excludes damage due to misuse, negligence or accident, as well as normal wear, including scratches on the steel or Hesalite, and the natural ageing of leather and nylon. The brand also offers free exchanges and returns within 15 days.
Wolbrook Skindiver II Professional The pros
and cons
- Miyota 9015 calibre modified in France
- Tested 200-metre water resistance
- Hesalite crystal with internal cyclops
- Numbered caseback on 949 pieces
- Three dial versions available
- Hesalite more prone to scratching
- Left crown sometimes disorienting
- Three versions currently out of stock
- Black dial only
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Prices and technical specifications are subject to change. Content and photos are not contractual.
