A Heavenly “Match” — The Olympique De Marseille × Jacques Bianchi Marseille JB200 Chronometer Limited Edition
“Droit au But,” translated roughly as “Straight to the Goal,” has been Olympique de Marseille’s motto since the club’s foundation in 1899 and appears beneath the “OM” crest. OM is one of the most recognizable clubs in French football. Its greatest achievement came on May 26th, 1993, when OM defeated AC Milan 1–0 in Munich to become the first French club to win what is now called the UEFA Champions League. After the match, Marseille was in seventh heaven. Now, we’ll get straight to the goal — sorry, point — and talk about the Olympique de Marseille × Jacques Bianchi Marseille JB200 Chronometer Limited Edition. This watch makes sense from both a geographical and passionate viewpoint. Love for the game and watchmaking come together in a 42mm dive watch with a striking, multilayered heavenly blue enamel dial and a bezel with a 45–60-minute scale that references additional “stoppage time.”
Olympique de Marseille is closely tied to the city itself, where football has long been an important part of local culture. The club’s passionate following and its rivalry with Paris Saint-Germain have made OM one of the most recognizable names in French football. At home, that connection is particularly evident at the 67,000-capacity Stade Vélodrome, where the atmosphere surrounding the club is as much a part of the experience as what happens on the pitch. I’m sure you can’t imagine a watchmaker working in such surroundings, but anything could happen…
© Guillaume Ruoppolo
Go deep with the Olympique de Marseille × Jacques Bianchi Marseille JB200 Chronometer Limited Edition
The name says it all: Jacques Bianchi Marseille is a watch brand that’s proud of its origins. Love for the Phocaean city goes deep. The brand draws much of its identity from Marseille’s Mediterranean setting, maritime history, and culture. And football is an important cultural force in Marseille. Now, putting a football club’s colors on an existing watch is nothing new, but that’s not what the Olympique de Marseille × Jacques Bianchi Marseille JB200 Chronometer is about. The watch brand takes a different approach to its first official collaboration with OM. It reworked its JB200 from the ground up and used the partnership to connect the codes of football with those of a mechanical dive watch. Like the Jacques Bianchi Marseille × Fratello JB200 PoulPro Night Diver, the new deep-blue creation features many thought-through details.
© Guillaume Ruoppolo
The football connection is most obvious on the 60-click bezel, which features a mostly blue insert graduated to 45 minutes. Rather than stopping there, though, the scale continues through the gray 45–60-minute section, representing the additional time played at the end of each half. At the 60-minute marker, a luminescent triangle reinforces the connection with the clock on the pitch. While a small detail, it gives the otherwise conventional timing bezel a specific purpose.
© Guillaume Ruoppolo
Mediterranean blue realized in enamel
The deep, heavenly blue dial takes a considerably more elaborate route. It is made using an enameling process involving 20 successive layers. The OM logo is embossed into the surface, then sunray-brushed and enameled. This dial also features applied indexes and hands filled with Super-LumiNova BGW9, a clear reference to its dive-watch heritage. The seconds hand provides another discreet reference to the sport, with its “lollipop” counterweight shaped like a football.
Inside is another first for Jacques Bianchi Marseille. The watch uses a no-date Swiss Soprod P024 automatic movement, which is nothing new, but it received COSC chronometer certification, and that is. The accuracy of the OM football watch is -4 to +6 seconds per day. The choice of a chronometer is particularly appropriate for a collaboration with a football club. Fans of the beautiful game are well aware that the difference between winning and losing can come down to just a few seconds, resulting in either heartbreak or heaven.
Still a tool watch
The exterior remains faithful to the JB200’s tool-watch character. Made from brushed steel, this 42mm case has a 47mm lug-to-lug and a 13.3mm profile. It features pronounced chamfers that give the otherwise straightforward shape some definition. A sapphire crystal protects the dial, while a 200m depth rating preserves the watch’s diving credentials. The case back carries an engraved OM logo.
Two straps are included. One is fluoroelastomer (FKM), while the second is a blue military-style elastic strap with a central white stripe. You can call the first one the home and the second the away strap if you like. In any case, they give the watch two slightly different personalities, although both remain firmly connected to the club’s colors.
How many watches for 23.5 million OM fans?
Olympique de Marseille is a big club in every respect. Founded in 1899, OM has won 11 French league titles, 10 French Cups, and three League Cups, among other titles. The club claims a digital following of 23.5 million fans, giving the Olympique de Marseille × Jacques Bianchi Marseille JB200 Chronometer a considerably larger audience than the relatively specialist world of independent watchmaking.
Jacques Bianchi Marseille won’t make enough watches for all OM fans —not even enough for the 67,000 who fill the Stade Vélodrome. The exact number is not yet known, but it will be determined once the pre-sale starts on September 3rd, 2026, at 15:00 CEST on the official Jacques Bianchi Marseille website. The pre-order window will remain open for three weeks. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in December 2026. The remaining watches will follow in early 2027, in the order of purchase. The price is €995 (including VAT).
