Daniel Oliver 
This post was initially revealed in the January/February 2022 Situation of the WatchTime print journal.
In 2020, Swiss dive look at professional Aquastar was relaunched with the simultaneous return of a somewhat larger sized version of the Deepstar chronograph from the ‘60s (see February 2021 situation). Given that November 2021, the brand’s very first a few-hand watch is presenting a a great deal much more reasonably priced selection for those people who missed out on the chronograph, or did not want to commit $3,590 on one of the 4 dial choices (which were all offered out somewhat swiftly).
Apparently, Aquastar selected to not relaunch a further of its basic styles (which is undesirable news for all individuals who experienced hoped for a return of the Benthos), but rather opted for a declination of the Deepstar’s style and design. The Deepstar II, like its 40.5-mm chronograph counterpart, arrives with the huge silver subdial, this time at 9 o’clock (in its place of 3 o’clock) for the long lasting 2nd hand (as an alternative of the moment chronograph counter). The satin-finished situation, nevertheless, measures 37 mm (about 47 mm lug to lug) and is dependent on the design and style of the first dive watches from the model, and hence presents a really compact substitute.
Like the Deepstar Chronograph, the Deepstar II arrives with a 200-meter drinking water resistance, but is run by a top rated-quality Swiss-manufactured automated motion from Sellita (SW290-1 with 38-hour power reserve). As a result, the Deepstar II is priced at $1,490 during the brand’s preorder interval. The stainless-steel beads-of-rice bracelet is bought independently, but a Tropic and Horween leather-based strap are integrated. The polished, bidirectional bezel is mounted with ceramic bearings and characteristics the brand’s common decompression engravings for calculating recurring “no decompression” dives. Even though the bezel pip, hour and moment hand as effectively as the hour indexes are lined with high-density “old radium”-model Super-LumiNova, the second hand regrettably stays invisible at night time.
The Aquastar Deepstar II is currently readily available in a few dial choices: “Steel Grey” (pictured in this article), “Vintage Black” and “Blue Ray,” with just about every currently being confined to “an opening series” of 300 individually numbered pieces, which seems like there could possibly be an possibility for the brand name to insert additional parts and colours, in situation demand from customers is bigger than source.
Remarkably, the 37-mm look at wears bigger on the wrist than a single may assume, which is mostly for the reason that of the 47-mm lug-to-lug size. The greatest shock, nonetheless, is that Aquastar has managed to develop a absolutely new product that seems to be like it has been part of the brand’s selection for virtually just 60 years.
Aquastar Deepstar II Specs
Company: Montres Aquastar GmbH, Leugenestrasse 6, 2504 Biel/Bienne, Switzerland
Capabilities: Hrs, minutes and seconds (9 o’clock)
Motion: Sellita SW290-1, automatic winding, 28,800 vph, 31 rubies, 38-hour electric power reserve, diameter = 25.60 mm, peak = 5.60 mm
Scenario: Stainless metal, screw-in crown and caseback, domed sapphire crystal, h2o resistant to 200 m, bidirectional ratcheting bezel (120 clicks) with decompression time calculator
Strap and clasp: Tropic rubber strap with signed buckle
Proportions: Diameter = 37 mm, top = 14.80 mm, lug width = 19 mm
Variants: With blue or black dial (each constrained to 300 items)
Guarantee: 1 year
Value: $1,890
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