Aquastar unveils its most prestigious dive watch to date, built around a newly developed center-mounted 60-minute chronograph calibre exclusive to Aquastar

For over fifty years, the Aquastar Benthos chronograph has remained the paragon of capability and dive watch collectability — a rarity in watchmaking both for its unique design and functionality, and its actual rarity as surviving examples remain scarce and highly collectable. However, since the brand’s triumphant re-launch in 2020, the modern Aquastar catalog has been without this revered, and sought-after vintage icon, but it’s not without good reason: there have been no modern center-mounted chronograph movements commercially available for watchmakers to utilize. So in collaboration with La Joux-Perret, Aquastar rebuilt this key functionality, exclusively for its debut in the Benthos 500 Founder’s Edition.

“Like many of the innovations pioneered by Aquastar founder Frederic Robert, the Benthos chronograph from 1970 was light years ahead of its time,” says Rick Marei, Aquastar’s current helmsman. “Its utility was unique in that it was built around a central-mounted chronograph which could present dive time information in a clear and highly legible way. Sadly, the most commonly used modern automatic chronograph movements have not kept up with the ability to present information in such a way, which is why we are so proud to work with our partners at La Joux-Perret to not only revive the Benthos 500, but preserve its unique and incredible chronograph functionality with a new movement that is exclusive to Aquastar,” he continues.

BENTHOS 500 CHRONOGRAPH ENHANCED ERGONOMICS

UNMISTAKABLY A BENTHOS 500

The chronograph pusher has been relocated to 2:00 — a more natural position for easy actuation (start/stop/reset) by the index finger when the watch is worn over the left wrist, even with neoprene diving gloves on. Of course, true to Aquastar’s form and function, this pusher may be activated even underwater — a signature utility of Aquastar’s modern dive chronographs