Like most of us, I love a comeback story. Aquastar, a purveyor of robust, functional and purpose-built dive watches has a history much of the same. The company made its success during the 1960’s becoming known as one of the best watch brands for professional divers. These watches were so well built they featured on the wrists of Jacques Cousteau and his dive team as well as US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh who wore one to a record-breaking depth of 10,911 metres to Challenger Deep (the deepest known place on Earth).
But as was the case with many watch brands, Aquastar went quiet during the quartz crisis and was later revived in 2020 by Rick Marei, the very same that previously helped re-establish DOXA. Now, Aquastar is home to an impressive selection of underwater instruments, many of which are a tribute to those created in the past. One such reference is the Aquastar Model 60 which is inspired by the brand’s inaugural 1957 dive watch. Before recently, the “collection” was just a single re-edition watch with a classic black dial like the original. Now though, the brand has launched a second with a limited edition green dial.
Aquastar Model 60 - Credit Aquastar
The Dial
The novelty of the new Aquastar Model 60 Greenwich Edition watch is its dial which is presented for the first time in a gorgeous deep emerald green. The surface is sunray-brushed, a finish that allows the colour to change depending on the lighting. In direct light, the green shows up clear and vividly but in lower lighting, the colour becomes so dark it almost looks black. It’s a really beautiful colour and one that suits the look of the vintage-inspired dive watch perfectly.
The hardware on the dial is the same as before. It has a combination of round and baton-shaped indexes and three central hands for the hours, minutes and seconds. The hour hand is very unique with its flat end while the minutes stay classic and sword-shaped and the seconds has a simple lollipop tip. A date window is included at 3 o’clock. All of the hardware incorporates high-density old light Radium Super-LumiNova for a retro beige hue in the day and a green glow at night. The dial is completed by the white printed Aquastar logo at 12 o’clock and lettering to depict its automatic movement and water resistance at 6 o’clock.
Aquastar Model 60 Greenwich Edition - Credit Aquastar
- Regular price
- $2,434.00 AUD
- Regular price
-
- Sale price
- $2,434.00 AUD
- Unit price
- per
- Regular price
- $2,434.00 AUD
- Regular price
-
- Sale price
- $2,434.00 AUD
- Unit price
- per
- Regular price
- $2,434.00 AUD
- Regular price
-
- Sale price
- $2,434.00 AUD
- Unit price
- per
The Case
Most of the specifications for the Aquastar Model 60 Greenwich Edition watch are the same as before and accurately memorialise the original 1958 model. The stainless steel case is relatively compact for a dive watch wearing just 37mm wide and 11mm tall with a lug-to-lug of 47mm. On top, the bezel remains faithful to the original with bi-directional functionality on a ceramic bearing. It’s not often you’ll find modern-day divers watches with non-unidirectional rotating bezels, but I can appreciate Aquastar sticking to their origins with this one.
There are some modern improvements made to the case of the Aquastar Model 60 Greenwich Edition watch, however. For starters, the glass is now highly-domed sapphire crystal glass treated with a triple layer of anti-reflective coating. Its water resistance has also been upgraded from 100 metres to 200 metres. This is helped by both a screw down crown and case back, the latter of which is engraved with the Aquastar logo.
The Movement
Aquastar Model 60 - Credit Aquastar
Under the hood, the Aquastar Model 60 Greenwich Edition watch utilises the elabore grade ETA 2824-2 automatic winding movement. This is a surprising change from the La Joux-Perret G100 used in the black-dialled re-edition. While it was nice to see Aquastar use a less common movement, the ETA 2824-2 is a tried-and-tested workhorse and is likely the deciding factor on this model’s cheaper retail price. It arrives with a standard 38-hour power reserve, 25 rubies and a frequency of 28,800vph.
The Aquastar Model 60 Greenwich Edition watch arrives on a classic beads-of-rice stainless steel bracelet with fitted end links or a more dive-worthy seatbelt nylon strap in green.
Price & Availability
Due to the different movement, the Aquastar Model 60 Greenwich Edition watch is more affordable than the original Mode 60 Re-edition. It retails for a price of £1,390 (compared to £1,590 of the previous model) but if you pre-order it before its release in May, you can secure it for £990. Be aware it is limited to just 100 pieces, so it might not be around for long.
Technical Specifications:
- Brand: Aquastar
- Model: Model 60 Greenwich Edition
- Price: £1,390 or £990 if pre-ordered
- Material: Stainless steel
- Movement: Elabore ETA 2824-2 automatic winding
- Power Reserve: 38 hours
- Complications: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Dial: Green sunray with old light Radium Super-LumiNova hands and markers
- Size: 37mm wide, 11mm tall
- Water Resistance: 200 metres
- Strap: Stainless steel beads-of-rice bracelet and seatbelt nylon strap
