Ianos Teams up with Chronopassion for a Limited Edition Version of their Mihanikos Dive Watch

Fans of funky and purely creative dive watches will surely remember Ianos, and specifically their Mihanikos dive watch, reviewed here by our own Ed Jelley. It’s one of the more creative divers from a small independent in the micro-brand sphere we can recall, drawing inspiration from brand founder Jacob Hatzidimitriou’s Greek heritage, and the sponge divers of the Greek island of Kalymnos. The latest release from Ianos is a collaboration with Chronopassion, the Paris based watch retailer specializing in high end independents. It turns out Chronopassion owner Laurent Picciotto is an Ianos fan (Jacob spotted his name on the order list for the original run of the Mihanikos), so the seeds of a collaboration have been growing for quite some time. The new limited edition seeks to give the Mihanikos some additional contemporary design notes, with colors inspired by the City of Light.

Fans of the original Mihanikos will immediately recognize that the new limited edition keeps the original design of the watch, but changes up the color considerably for a very different impression. Instead of a dark blue dial, we get a slate gray combined with jet black lume filled hands. We still get the signature sterile bezel (made from a single piece of steel) with the ultra fine texture that makes this watch so distinctive. One of the fun things about the Mihanikos is how every element of the watch ties back to the long history of Greek diving culture. The visual impression of the case and bezel is meant to evoke the scaphandre diving suits historically worn by Greek sponge divers. The dial is marked with indices shaped like sponges, and the running seconds indicator at 6:00 is inspired by the air pumps that allowed divers to be underwater for hours at a time. Ianos even claims the multi piece construction of the case is a nod to the many components of early dive suits like the scaphandre, although that’s also just good, basic, watch construction. 

On the technical side, the Mihanikos runs on a Sellita SW360 movement with a 42 hour power reserve, and a date at the 12:00 position. The diameter of the watch is 43mm, with a case height of 15.75mm and a lug to lug span of 50.84mm. As you would expect given the somewhat imposing size, the watch is rated to 300 meters of water resistance. More than you’d need as a sponge diver, to be sure, but still welcome.

I’m a fan of the specificity of the Mihanikos. Watches that tell a story are inherently niche, but I think the way Ianos taps into the unique diving history of a particular culture is a lot of fun, and actually fairly meaningful. Diving in a scaphandre is a very different type of diving than what you’d do for recreation today (or anytime in the last 60 or so years), and looking at the watch knowing that connection is a reminder of the danger of the activity. I’ll be honest – I’m not sure how Parisian the new dial color really is, but the monotone nature of the whole package works well.

The Ianos x Chronopassion Mihanikos is a limited run of 30 numbered pieces, with delivery expected to run between now and September. The retail price (without VAT) is €2416, and the watches will be sold exclusively through Chronopassion in Paris. Ianos