Hands-On: Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph Watch
When most people think of Vulcain, it is typically the brand’s Cricket mechanical alarm watch that first comes to mind. However, Vulcain’s archives offer a diverse assortment of different models, and for the last several years, the Swiss brand has been bringing back some of its cult-favorite designs. Following the 2023 revival of its Skindiver Nautique, Vulcain has been expanding the series with additional complications, and among the brand’s recent releases for 2025 is the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph, which adds a stopwatch and multiple different dial/bezel scales to the brand’s vintage-inspired diver.
Just like the Skindiver Nautique, the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph was originally born in the 1960s, and it very much has an appearance that is characteristic of sport watches from that era, with a versatile balance of both refined and utilitarian design elements. The modern Skindiver Chrono closely adheres to the blueprint of its vintage predecessor, although it is crafted from contemporary materials, and it uses an automatic movement instead of a manual-wind caliber like what would been found inside vintage examples (self-winding chronographs didn’t arrive until the very end of the 1960s). While the modern updates require a slight increase in dimensions, the Skindiver Chronograph is still a decidedly compact timepiece, even for someone like myself with wrists that measure about 6.5 inches in circumference.
Crafted from 316L stainless steel with brushed surfaces and thin high-polished bevels, the case of the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph measures 39.7mm diameter by 13mm thick; however, the total height of the watch increases to approximately 14.8mm when measured from the apex of its box-shaped sapphire crystal that extends above the rim of its bezel. The downward curvature of the lugs combined with the convex profile of the solid screw-down caseback help to mitigate the perceived thickness of the Skindiver Chrono’s case, while the lugs themselves are set a standard 20mm apart and extend to create an overall lug-to-lug profile of 47mm. Automatic chronographs aren’t known to be particularly thin watches, but the Skindiver Chrono does an admirable job of hiding its height, with the polished bevels on the underside edges of its middle case further decreasing the visual perception of its size.
Fitted to the 3 o’clock side of the case on the Vulcain Skindiver Chrono is a signed crown flanked by a pair of chronograph pushers, and while the pushers follow a standard pump-style design, the crown screws down to help guarantee 200 meters of water resistance. That said, Vulcain makes no mention about whether or not the pushers can be operated at depth, which means that they more than likely feature a conventional gasket setup, rather than a specialized system that has been specifically engineered for underwater operation, such as what can be found on certain Breitling and Omega models (among others). Whenever watch brands go through the trouble of integrating some type of additional technology, there is a fairly good chance that they will tell you about it in their marketing materials, so my personal recommendation is to avoid using the chronograph when submerged, unless Vulcain explicitly states otherwise.
The bezel fitted to the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph aims to provide maximum functionality with a black ceramic insert that is engraved with both 60-minute and 12-hour scales. Smoothly rotating bidirectionally without any type of ratcheting action whatsoever, the bezel is capable of measuring elapsed time or tracking a secondary timezone. However, cramming two separate scales onto such a thin insert results in the 60-minute scale being quite small and the 12-hour scale being even more diminutive, with a general lack of contrast for the markings further hindering their legibility. That being said, the smooth action of the bezel makes for an excellent horological fidget spinner, and its dual scales allow it to be used for a variety of different applications, provided that you don’t mind looking extra close to read its extremely small markings.
Similar to the bezel, the dial of the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph also aims to provide a diverse range of functionality, with both tachymeter and decimal scales appearing along the outer periphery of its applied hour markers. That said, just like the bezel, the size of these additional scales is quite small, and the outermost tachymeter markings are located directly under the curved edge of the sapphire crystal, which means that you need to slightly angle to watch in order to properly read them. Since these same two scales appeared on the original vintage examples of the Skindiver Chronograph, including them on on the modern revival piece simply makes sense, and due to their small size and placement, the dial doesn’t feel all that busy or cluttered, despite having quite a lot of markings along its perimeter.
Given that most people will never actually use the tachymeter or decimal scales on the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph, the dial instead places its emphasis on the details that will be frequently referenced, with wide polished frames for its hands and hour makers providing a clear display of the time. Similarly, the minute counter for the chronograph features a brightly-colored contrasting section for the first three minutes, with the subsequent three-minute interval divided by lines of different lengths to further improve at-a-glance readings. Additionally, the Super-LumiNova that appears on the hands and hour markers (plus the inverted triangle on the bezel) emits a bright green-colored glow, although the chronograph hands are not luminous at all, which means that owners will need to rely on the Skindiver Chrono’s rotating bezel to measure elapsed time in the dark.
At the time of writing, there are currently four different versions of the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph, with the differences between them being the color of their dials and luminous material. Alongside a duo of limited editions with either salmon or meteorite dials are two standard-production models that embrace more traditional black and white colorways. The black version leans even further into its vintage inspiration with tan-colored lume, while the “white” model featured here actually has a silver sunburst dial with contrasting black registers that create somewhat of a “panda dial” aesthetic. Among the quartet of variations, the “white” model arguably offers the greatest amount of aesthetic versatility, with the small splash of red on its minute counter punctuating an otherwise entirely black and silver color palette.
Vulcain states that the Skindiver Chrono is powered by the ETA Cal. 7753 automatic chronograph movement, which is a popular variation of the ETA 7750 that features a more traditional 3-6-9 layout for its registers. The Skindiver Chrono omits both the hour counter and date display of the ETA 7753 in favor of a simplified two-register design, although it still features the same core specs with an operating frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) and a power reserve of 42 hours. In its standard configuration, the ETA 7753 uses a separate push piece to adjust its date display, rather than relying on additional crown position like the ETA 7750. Rather curiously, the crown on the Skindiver Chrono exhibits a vestigial “ghost” position, so it’s possible that Vulcain’s two-register, no-date version is actually a combination of both movements, due to the significant cross-compatibility that exists among their components.
The core-collection Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph models are available with the option of either a black leather strap or a stainless steel bracelet that offers a rather unusual (and decidedly vintage) flat single-link design. Tapering from 20mm at the case to 16mm on the underside of the wrist, the bracelet consists of completely solid components with single-sided screws securing its removable links, and the clasp is also a rather decent affair that includes a lever-operated incremental extension system built into its structure. The bracelet arguably offers a more distinct design than the watch itself, and it provides the Skindiver Chrono with a decidedly retro flare that helps to visually separate it from other vintage sports chronographs. That said, I do have some nitpicks with certain aspects of the bracelet’s ergonomics, and a few small updates could substantially improve its on-wrist experience.
Due to the large size of its links and their single-piece design, the bracelet for the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph doesn’t offer quite the same degree of flexibility as other bracelet styles, simply due to the fact that it has fewer points of articulation. Additionally, most people will not be able to achieve a perfect fit by just adding/removing links, which means that the extension system will likely need to play an integral role in the sizing process, and centering the clasp is fundamentally going to be more challenging than on a bracelet with smaller links. A couple of half-links would be an easy solution to help owners center the clasp, but this particular style of bracelet was always destined to be a bit less comfortable than a multi-link design, simply because it isn’t able to articulate at that many points around the wrist.
Just like the bracelet, the clasp for the Vulcain Skindiver Chrono consists of completely solid machined components, and it checks all of the major enthusiast-driven boxes. However, the recessed polished strips that run down the sides of the two edges result in corners that are extremely sharp, and I would actually consider lightly filing down the corners if I owned the Skindiver Chrono and wore it as my everyday watch. Due to the quirks of the bracelet, integrated quick-release springbars would have been a welcome addition that would have allow owners to easily swap it out for a strap. However, the end-links are secured to the lugs with standard springbars, and the bracelet therefore requires a tool in order to be disconnected from the case.
From a purely functional perspective, the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph is hardly the most practical expression of a diver’s chronograph, but this was more-or-less decided over half a century ago when the Skindiver Chrono was originally created. Any time that a brand faithfully revives a design from its archives, many of the same quirks and shortcomings will also exist within the new rendition of the model. However, no one is buying a vintage-inspired mechanical timepiece purely for functional reasons, and less-than-optimized designs are part of the charm behind many vintage timepieces. It’s also important to note that the Vulcain Skindiver Chrono was never intended to be a dedicated diver’s chronograph, and it should instead be seen as a versatile water-resistant sports watch that also offers the expanded functionality of a chronograph and multiple different dial/bezel scales.
Despite my nitpicks about its dial/bezel scales being too small and its bracelet links being too large, I actually found myself enjoying the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph far more than I initially expected, and the “white” colorway of the model offers a surprising amount of versatility. While vintage-inspired chronographs are available from a variety of different brands, the Skindiver Chrono offers several distinct design elements that help to separate it from other “panda dial” chronographs, while still maintaining a fairly traditional overall appearance. Prices for the Vulcain Skindiver Chronograph start at $2,750 USD on a leather strap or $3,040 USD when buyers opt for the stainless steel bracelet, and certain dial options accompanied by additional premiums. For more information, please visit the Vulcain watches website.
