Most of you probably might not have heard of the Mitchell Skin Diver. If you are wondering if this watch has any associations with the fishing reel company, Mitchell Garcia, you are absolutely correct. Early advertisements have indicated that this elusive watch was first launched in the early 1960s. Just a few models were featured in popular French diving magazines in those days.

The Mitchell brand was advertised alongside the Enicar, Submariner, ZRC and many other notable watch brands. Over a few short years, I guess it lost its popularity and slowly faded away, contrary to the Garcia reels, which can still be found in the hands of many fishermen.

In its push to gain entry into the American watch arena, the Mitchell Skin Diver was specially targeted at customers of the Garcia reel. Officially advertised as “Mitchell Outdoorsman’s Watch” in a Garcia pamphlet that I have, it is stated that the watch could be purchased at a special price with the purchase of each reel and branded as a rugged diving watch. Once again, I believe that this effort did not take off and sunk in its early years. Within a decade from its launch, there were hardly any advertisements found and I believe the company decided to concentrate on their core business – fishing reels.

Although the Mitchell Diver was short-lived, it remains in my collection as one of my favourites. Take a look at its design! Simply balanced, bold lumed markers and broad hands that simply complement each other entirely. There are two foundational designs; one that comes with a hard rubber bezel while the other is without a bezel but features a smooth, broad, shiny edge. Both models are shown here. Although I have different variations of this watch, I prefer the non-date version because of the balance I mentioned earlier. This 37mm French Diver wears extremely well and will certainly be a keeper.