BALL Watch Company is proud to announce its partnership with Gilles Gambini – elite freediver, scientific diver and explorer – as the brand’s new ambassador and newest member of the BALL Explorers Club.

Born in 1995 and originally from Nice, on the French Côte d’Azur, Gilles Gambini grew up between the mountains of the Mercantour National Park and the Mediterranean Sea. Fascinated by the world of underwater exploration from an early age, he gradually made the sea his field of exploration and research. After studying environmental sciences and marine biology, as well as completing professional diving training, he turned to deep freediving competition and the scientific exploration of marine environments.

Scientific Diver, Naturalist, Deep-Sea Diver, Marine Ecology Engineer, …

Gilles takes part in and organizes expeditions dedicated to the study, documentation and preservation of underwater environments. His missions have taken him from the Mediterranean to Arctic regions, sometimes under extreme conditions and involving dives to depths of more than 130 meters. His work is based on a dual expertise: mastery of scientific diving techniques and the ability to operate in complex, extreme or isolated environments. His scientific commitment has even extended beyond the oceans through his participation in the VIVALDI III study conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA) and dedicated to human physiology and performance under simulated microgravity conditions.

… and Elite Athlete!

Alongside his scientific and exploration activities, Gilles is pursuing a career as a competitive freediver. He practices constant-weight freediving, a demanding, extreme and remarkably aesthetic discipline that consists of descending as deep as possible in a natural environment using only the power of one’s muscles. It is arguably the purest ex-pression of the sport. His performances have earned him several podium finishes and victories at the French Championships as well as international competitions. Selected for the French Freediving Team, he has consistently ranked among the top 10 at the World Championships in his successive appearances. His current personal records stand at 95 meters in constant weight with fins and 62 meters in constant weight without fins. Gilles’ next sporting challenge will be the next World Apnea Depth Championships, taking place from September 27 to October 10, 2026, in Limas-sol Bay, Cyprus.

Explore. Perform. Understand.

This threefold dimension – exploration, performance and science – forms the foundation of the partnership be-tween Gilles Gambini and BALL Watch Company. For Gilles, exploration is not limited to pushing physical bounda-ries. It also means gaining a better understanding of the environments in which humans operate and contributing to their preservation.

“My goal, beyond the sporting and scientific aspects, is to raise awareness of the need to preserve the marine envi-ronment.” – Gilles Gambini

Through his expeditions, competitions, scientific work and awareness initiatives, Gilles aims to use the visibility gained throughout his career to contribute to a better understanding and protection of the marine world. This ap-proach echoes the heritage of BALL Watch Company, a watch brand whose timepieces have historically been devel-oped around the principles of precision, reliability and performance under demanding and adverse conditions.

“We are particularly pleased to welcome Gilles Gambini to the BALL Explorers Club. His career brings together several dimensions that deeply reflect our philosophy: exploration, the pursuit of performance, mastery of extreme environ-ments, and a constant desire to push his own limits. But beyond his sporting achievements, it is also his commitment to knowledge and the preservation of the marine environment that convinced us.” – Kevin Kouch, Executive Director of BALL Watch Company

As part of this partnership, BALL Watch Company will support Gilles in his sporting activities, expeditions and vari-ous projects related to exploration and raising awareness of the marine world. Among his upcoming projects are new missions with Under The Pole, including underwater habitat operations and dives reaching depths of up to 200 meters. BALL Watch Company and Gilles Gambini will also work closely together on the development of new BALL timepieces, drawing on the expertise of its new ambassador in the fields of deep diving and exploration in extreme environments.
Today, more than ever, BALL Watch Company and Gilles Gambini are continuing their journeys and asserting their roles as key protagonists in the exploration of modern time.

About BALL Watch Company

BALL Watch Company is a timekeeping pioneer and celebrated manufacturer of quality, precise and reliable timepieces since 1891. The company was literally founded by accident. Following a tragic 1891 Kipton, Ohio head-on train collision, American railroad companies appointed Webster Clay Ball "Chief Time Inspector" to supervise newly synchronized timing protocols. This standardized "railroad time" efficiency originated the popular "Be on the Ball" proverb and inspired the future Swiss Society of Chronometry (COSC) which governs the highest watch timing certification standards to-day.

About Gilles Gambini

Gilles Gambini is an elite freediver, scientific diver, naturalist, deep-sea diver and marine ecology engineer. Born in 1995 and originally from Nice, he shares his time between competitive sport, scientific expeditions, underwater exploration and projects dedicated to raising awareness of marine con-servation. His career has taken him through a wide range of marine environments, from the Mediterranean to Arctic regions, while developing ex-pertise at the intersection of deep diving, marine biology and human physiology in extreme environments. An elite athlete, Gilles Gambini pursues a competitive freediving career both individually and as a member of the French Freediving Team. Since 2026, he has been an official ambassador for BALL watches.

Engineer M Skindiver III: Gilles Gambini’s Timepiece

On Gilles Gambini's wrist is proudly worn the Engineer M Skindiver III, a timepiece designed to meet the demands of deep-sea exploration. Combining robustness, precision and functionality, this model is powered by the BALL RRM7309-C manufacture movement, COSC Chronometer-certified and offering an 80-hour power reserve at a high frequency of 28,800 vph. To ensure perfect readability in darkness, the Skindiver III is equipped with 40 H₃ self-powered micro gas tubes. Applied to the dial and hands, as well as beneath the domed sapphire crystal bezel, these micro tubes emit a constant combination of green and yellow light without requiring any external energy source, making them particularly well suited to diving conditions.

The 41.5 mm diameter and 13.8 mm thick stainless steel case combines comfort and durability, while the bezel and domed sapphire crystal further enhance the timepiece’s resilience. With a thickness of 5 mm, the crystal is designed to withstand high underwater pressure, ensuring water resistance to 300 meters. Limited to 1,000 pieces, the Engi-neer M Skindiver III is available with either a black or dark blue dial and is fitted with a stainless steel bracelet.