Diving With The Mk II Fulcrum 39

At Watches of Espionage, we don’t generally do watch reviews. The fact is that other platforms are better suited for this type of content. We will never become yet another outlet copying and pasting watch specifications and marketing language, but certain brands and models feel closer to our community than others and deserve a closer look. We’re big fans of the Tornek-Rayville/Mk II, so we wanted to shed some light on Mk II’s newest release, the Fulcrum 39. As always, nothing you see here is sponsored.

(Photo Credit: Brock Stevens)

We strongly believe in the Use Your Tools ethos, meaning that if we’re going to discuss a particular watch, we’ll be using it for its intended purpose. With that in mind, Ben, our resident expert in the maritime environment who previously put the Marathon GSAR collection to the test, is back with another diving review of Mk II’s latest release. We see this becoming a series and welcome your feedback.

Is A $1,000 Watch From An American Microbrand A Worthy Successor To The Legendary Rolex Mil-Sub?

By Benjamin Lowry 

At around 70 feet deep somewhere off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, the colors of the coral reef are muted, presenting a blue-grey seascape that feels like a dated photograph. With modern diving equipment, a decent wetsuit, and a fancy diving computer on my right wrist, I am at ease in the 75-degree water. To quote Kincade (and Moneypenny) in Skyfall, “Sometimes the old ways are the best”, and I have elected to wear a leaky old-school oval mask and an analog dive watch for the occasion.

(Photo Credit: Geoff Gerrits)

Peering down at the new Fulcrum 39 from Mk II on my left wrist, I am reminded of the delta between the grizzled Royal Navy Clearance Divers of old—whose issued Rolex Mil-Subs served as the inspiration for the modern Fulcrum 39—and myself, a washed-up commercial diver turned watch writer currently puttering around a tropical reef. That important distinction aside, the best way to get to know a dive watch is to let it do its thing.

In this Dispatch, I dive with the Fulcrum 39 in an attempt to unpack what it means to honor the legacy of a legend with a compelling modern watch capable of standing alone.

The Rolex Mil-Sub

Mo Crang, a Royal Navy Clearance Diver, wearing a Rolex Mil-Sub on its issued NATO strap. (Photo Credit: Tony Groom)

To understand the Fulcrum 39, we’ll need at least a basic grasp of the watch that inspired its creation, the Rolex Military Submariner or Mil-Sub. While the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and Tudor “Snowflake” Submariners used by the Marine Nationale and Omega’s British military-issued Seamaster 300 are all important players in the arena of military dive watches, many would argue that the Mil-Sub takes the undersea cake. Issued in as few as 1,200 examples, the British Military’s special version of the Rolex Submariner provides an almost perfect combination of enduring design, provenance, and utility.

In November 2024, a Rolex Mil-Sub hammered for $240k at Christie’s, well beyond the means of most tool watch users. (Photo Credit: Christie’s)

As is often the case with cool old things, collectors are well aware. The few surviving Mil-Subs are among the most valuable military watches today, with at least one example from 1974 hammering for $240k at Christie’s as recently as November of last year. Even if you have the money, it would be hard to argue that a vintage Mil-Sub is a great candidate for a modern Use Your Tools lifestyle. Sure, you could get a new Rolex Submariner, but you’re still talking about ten grand, and the watch today feels miles apart from its military-specific predecessor.

So, if you appreciate the core design elements and utilitarian ethos of the Mil-Sub but want something reliable, modern, and (a lot) more attainable, what else is out there? Enter Mk II.

What Is Mk II?

There is a lot more to the Fulcrum 39 than an homage. (Photo Credit: Brock Stevens)

Watch microbrands these days are a dime a dozen. To be clear, there are great microbrands I would argue are at the beating heart of the enthusiast community. But for every one of those, there are a thousand Kickstarter campaigns out there spewing $500 to $1500 watches that, for one reason or another, simply don’t have the sauce. Mk II, which was founded by Bill Yao back in 2002, is one of the OG microbrands and is replete with sauce. Though its beginnings were humble, mostly selling aftermarket parts for modifying Seikos, Mk II’s ethos quickly came together.

It’s all in the name. “Mk” in military parlance means something like model, edition, or variant. So Mk II—which is pronounced “Mark Two”—denotes the second version or a reimagining of an existing piece of equipment. Are Mk II’s watches homages? By definition, yes, but there is more to the story here than a cheap San Martin Rolex knockoff on Amazon. The goal with a Mk II is never to fool your buddies into thinking you picked up a $250k auction piece, but rather to take some of history’s great tool watches—which are typically well out of reach anyway—and reimagine them with updated materials, manufacturing standards, and subtle aesthetic changes to create something new, aware of its past yet distinct.

(Photo Credit: Geoff Gerrits)

For the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Mk II has the Stingray. For the Benrus Type I, the Paradive. For the Omega Seamaster 300, the Project 300. And, for the Mil-Sub, Mk II unveiled the original 42mm Fulcrum back in 2013. Over the past couple of years, Yao’s spin-off brand, Tornek-Rayville, has captured much of the limelight with its TR-660, but recently, Mk II has circled back to the Fulcrum with a new 39mm variant aptly named the Fulcrum 39. The watch is intended as a modern American Mil-Sub, but how does it stack up?

The Fulcrum 39 - A Modern American Mil-Sub?

Put simply, for just under $1,000, the Fulcrum offers a lot to like. Measuring 39mm across and 14.1mm tall, including the domed sapphire crystal, the Fulcrum wears more or less like an old Tudor or Rolex Submariner, which is a good thing. The watch is also available on either rubber or nylon straps as well as the option of a stainless steel bracelet with screwed links and a NodeX clasp with a slick integrated micro-adjustment system. The clasp is cool but, unfortunately, doesn’t offer enough length to get over most diving suits. It’s probably not an issue for most, but I ain’t most.

(Photo Credit: Brock Stevens)

The matte black dial has printed indices coated with Super-LumiNova BGW9 that glows blue and relatively well. The overall format combines elements from a couple of different vintage Rolex Submariner dials, as well as the Mil-Sub’s signature sword hands, and is available with or without a date that falls into the 4:30 position if you go that route. The bezel is generally shaped like that of a vintage Rolex, rotating with solid action throughout its 120 clicks with edges that are so grippy they’re almost sharp.

The crown is large at 7mm, signed, and screws down far enough to provide a lot of peace of mind, providing control of the non-date Miyota 90S5 on the inside. Both the case and bracelet are bead blasted, an effect that fits the utilitarian aesthetic this watch is after but won’t garner positive comments at your local watch meetup about the finishing. With the basics out of the way, let’s go diving.

Diving With The Fulcrum 39

Despite the heavily domed crystal, underwater legibility with the Fulcrum was not an issue. (Photo Credit: Geoff Gerrits)

Tumbling off the swim platform of our Florida Keys scuba boat, I kept half an eye on the Fulcrum as a watch nerd does. Before descending, I set the bezel to serve as an almost certainly unnecessary backup to my Garmin Mk3i diving computer.

Though I was digging the bracelet, I had to swap over to a nylon strap to fit the watch over my 4/3mm wetsuit, opting for a Five Eye paired with a Submersible Wrist Compass. In the water, the contrast between the dial, indices, and handset made for impressive legibility, a factor aided by the use of anti-reflective material on the underside of the crystal that appears blue, a polarizing feature for some but not something I mind. The bezel was also easy to rotate, and I used it to time my three-minute safety stop at the tail end of the dive.

Testing a dive watch in South Florida is not a rough life. (Photo Credit: Geoff Gerrits)

As great dive watch designs often do, the Fulcrum faded into the background of my subconscious mind in the water. Everything worked as intended, and my dive time was determined at a glance without giving the watch itself a second thought. As I am sure someone will correctly point out in the comments, most modern divers don’t use analog dive watches. However, despite all of my modern equipment, the Mk II watch on my wrist was still a tool, as capable in 2025 as it would have been decades ago.

Awkwardly climbing the ladder, I pondered the idea that most of the key elements of the Fulcrum’s design come from Rolex, not Mk II. But it is Mk II that has packaged the whole thing in a modern way that many can afford and appreciate, providing a legitimate inroad to an important design format without feeling like a copy. It’s a difficult balance but also an important conversation to have.

Final Thoughts

After dealing with the leaky old-school mask for one dive, it was time for something more modern. The Fulcrum didn’t seem to care what was thrown at it. (Photo Credit: Geoff Gerrits)

This shouldn’t come as a shock, but despite its visual similarities, the Fulcrum 39 from Mk II is not a Rolex Mil-Sub. I would argue that it isn’t trying to be. The Fulcrum is instead a modern take on the codes established by the Mil-Sub, updated and upgraded to suit the needs of modern divers and military members. At least for me, the line between homage and copy is nuanced but has a lot to do with the level of respect and thought going into any new design meant to reference another existing watch.
Rather than the end of the story, the OG Mil-Sub was the starting point in the Fulcrum 39’s design, before going through Bill Yao’s famously exacting process, with each element and aspect carefully weighed, measured, and distilled for maximum utility and an overall look that’s cleaner than your grandma’s kitchen. Still, the Fulcrum 39 isn’t perfect. The clasp doesn’t extend enough for many wetsuits, the finishing is just ok, the lume’s performance is good but not great, and some will take issue with the price point compared to the Japanese movement on the inside. Though, that last point is probably moot, as the initial run sold out in minutes.

(Photo Credit: Brock Stevens)

It’s not for everyone, but as I said, the Fulcrum 39 still offers a lot to like, truly feeling like what an “American Mil-Sub” might be if there were such a thing, with great strap and bracelet options, a near perfect fit for most, excellent attention to detail with things like alignment, and an ethos I can get behind. It’s not the thing, and it was never intended to be. It’s a second coming of the thing: a riff on an existing idea, carefully juxtaposed against what works and what people want today.

In a sea of 1:1 “heritage-inspired” watches, the Fulcrum 39 balances old and new in a way I can get behind while also honoring the W.O.E. community in the process.

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