Three Months of the Aquastar Benthos Heritage 1 (H1)

When they announced this in October 2023 - I started reading up on the brand. I had never heard of them.

The H1 is a remake of the original Aquastar Benthos 500 from 1970. It was the world's first dive watch to achieve 500m depth resistance without a monoblock case. It also enjoyed the distinction of being one of the few dive watches approved in the U.S. Navy diving manual throughout the 1970s. 2023 marked the 60th anniversary of Aquastar and this tribute watch was the cornerstone of that.

So they made a limited edition which sold out pretty quickly. 500 in total. Mine was 159.

These are the specs:

Technical SPECIFICATIONS:

– Case: Identical dimensions and aesthetics of the original Benthos 500 from 1970: 42mm 904L Stainless steel (47mm lug-to-lug), crown at 2:00

– Movement: Swiss-made Swiss ETA 2824-2 Elabore grade, hours, minutes, seconds

– Water resistance: 500 meters, 1500 feet

– Crystal: Flat, triple-coated AR sapphire

– Dial: Semi-gloss Black, applied hour markers with high density SuperLuminova filling

– Bezel: Unidirectional 120 click rotating elapsed time ceramic bezel with SuperLuminova filled application

– Straps: Includes genuine 20mm ISOfrane Rubber

The packaging was quite nice. It included a signed novel for the first 250 shipped - ostensibly a dive thriller.

The watch itself is a tank. It's thick with 904L Stainless steel with 500m of WR and vintage looking as hell. This is on my 7 3/4" wrist.

It wears very well for its size. The ISOfrane rubber strap is also large - so I swapped it out for a more modest one - with thick lug pins. The lume is next level in my opinion.

This is a watch that can take a serious beating over many many years, which you can pass on and have them beat on it for another generation. I have a large collection and bonding is obviously a difficult task, but I bonded with this one. Thre's something about a watch like this that makes you feel a bit invincible. Like the zombie apocalypse could happen you'd be happy this was on your wrist. In life or death, you could beat their brains out with the case.

It keeps extraordinary time.

Yes - it's a big watch - and very vintage - which to me is not a bad thing. It wears well, looks cool and it may be impossible to kill. I mention all of this because quite a few did not bond with it and have it for sale on the cheap (~$800). If you dig this aesthetic, its a great value.

Thanks for letting me share. A rare never sell for me.