Iterations are the secret. When a watch model stumbles upon a profitable design for a timepiece, it might be fiscally silly to not attempt to construct upon it. What which means within the tiny world of watches is normally tiny little upgrades, or most of the time, not even upgrades however extra lateral strikes. One millimetre thicker or thinner, barely completely different handset, completely different colored date wheel, any little factor to make what’s previous new once more and to please (or normally enrage) the lots. And when stated profitable design is an older, traditionally essential watch, they’ve a a lot more durable time iterating upon it. Change it too little, and you’re simply releasing the identical factor time and again; change it an excessive amount of, and you’ve got dedicated inventive blasphemy and must be despatched to the guillotine.
That is the predicament Aquastar discovered itself in when approaching a re-release of its vaunted Benthos line. The model determined to take a form of “spirit of Benthos” method to the primary fashionable iteration, the Benthos H1, again in December of 2023. This hotly anticipated watch had the essence of the Benthos with out having the complete coronary heart, which is the unique and distinctive central 60-minute chronograph operate. The end result was a wonderful and absolutely specced fashionable dive watch that appeared the half with out all of the options, a draw back that was closely made up for by its value-heavy value of entry. Subsequent up was the Benthos 500 Founder’s Version, a way more trustworthy reissue of the unique Benthos 500 from the Seventies, proper right down to the beloved central chronograph hand. That little addition required a complete new motion that took three years of carefully working with La Joux-Perret to create, making the five hundred really feel just like the Benthos of yore.
The brand new Benthos Heritage II
Right now, Aquastar is releasing the subsequent iteration within the Benthos line, with the Benthos Heritage II. Barely altering tack, the method this time round is one among an alternate historical past, a sort of “what if”? Based mostly on some just lately found sketches within the Aquastar archives, the Heritage II imagines what may need been if Aquastar had continued iterating on the Benthos approach again within the Seventies. Reverting again to a regular three-hand configuration with out the chronograph, many of the Benthos spirit stays intact, with just a few essential adjustments. Let’s have a look.
The very first thing one will discover, and doubtless a very powerful change within the Benthos Heritage II, is the scale discount. That’s proper, women and gents, as of at present, the identify “Benthos” is now not completely synonymous with “gigantic beast of a timepiece”. The diameter has been lowered to 40mm from the 42mm of the earlier two fashions, and the thickness has been lowered a whopping 4mm, down from 16mm to a mere 12mm. 4 millimetres may appear insignificant to the layman, however on this planet of horology, that could be a enormous discount and makes a really noticeable distinction on the wrist.
The 40mm case retains the long-lasting Benthos form however is now crafted in 904L metal for presumably superior toughness and corrosion resistance in comparison with its Seventies predecessors. The dial is similar semi-glossy black as the opposite fashions and affords a pleasant distinction with the utilized hour markers, that are made with high-density Tremendous-LumiNova. The seconds hand is one other small change right here. Gone is the big arrow hand of the H1, which was modelled after the chronograph hand, which was conspicuously absent. One might have both seen that addition as a pleasant nod and a wink to the Benthos of previous or as a taunting reminder of what was lacking. Both approach, the brand new Benthos H2 has opted for the standard stick hand because the seconds hand, rendered in a extremely seen orange. This seems like the right selection and the pure end result of an extended journey of concepts for the seconds hand.
The bezel is of the ceramic, 120-click selection and has ample lume in each minute mark, throughout the circumference. It feels very sturdy with a satisfying and hefty click on and is suitably grippy to be operated with a gloved hand (I dipped into my dive equipment to substantiate this). The crystal is a triple AR-coated flat sapphire that does a wonderful job defending issues and being anti-reflective. The caseback is the usual star-tooled screw-on again that’s seen in all of Aquastar’s fashions, and the entire bundle is waterproof to a more-than-respectable 300 metres. Contained in the case is a traditional, outsourced automated motion, the Sellita SW200. Nothing fancy however a dependable motion in step with the value of the watch.
The final a part of this newer, slimmer bundle that we’ve got not mentioned but is the twin crowns. “What might a second crown probably be used for if not an inner bezel?” you may be asking your self. That, my mates, is a Benthos first, a operated by hand helium launch valve. As most of you realize, the helium escape valve is a largely pointless complication that may solely be put into use by business saturation divers in very particular situations. As such, I’m certain this would be the most hotly debated change to this new Benthos, however for me, it may be merely summed up as follows: Is it needed? In all probability not. Does it harm to have it? Certainly not. Does the twin crown setup make the watch look cool? It actually does. It’s that straightforward from my perspective, and as such, I’m placing the addition within the win column. Case closed.
The Benthos Heritage II the wrist
Helium escape valves apart, the smaller dimension and elevated wearability of this new Aquastar Benthos Heritage II is the actual story right here. As a lot as individuals appear to like the appears of the unique Benthos and each of the current fashionable additions, a constant chorus across the watchosphere is “they’re cool, however too large for me”. And that’s not with out benefit, as all of the earlier Benthos fashions are large, chunky scuba diving watches. The press launch even states:
On the coronary heart of the Benthos Heritage II lies a sequence of core traits that had been requested by our group over the previous 5 years. “We listened fastidiously to the suggestions and requests of our supportive group on our official discussion board and on social media, and integrated these options into the Benthos Heritage II”
You may wager {dollars} to doughnuts that’s a reference to the scale change. And the change actually is substantial. Aquastar has toyed with shrinking watches earlier than: the Deepstar 2020 was 40mm and just a little on the thick facet, so the subsequent iteration was the Deepstar 39mm. The thickness didn’t change a lot on that one as a result of motion, so the distinction wasn’t all that noticeable. This Benthos H2 is completely different, because the aforementioned 4mm thinner case makes it really feel like a very completely different watch. That is like shifting from Ploprof and DeepSea territory right down to Seamaster 300 and Submariner territory, to make use of just a few well-known examples. It’s a giant distinction.
It wears nearly good on my smallish 6.25” wrist. It’s snug and svelte whereas not sacrificing an excessive amount of wrist presence in its shrunken state. It seems like a contemporary dive watch, however possibly not a contemporary diver’s watch, in case you take my that means. I additionally had slight considerations that the double crowns could possibly be uncomfortable or dig into the wrist a bit, however this proved to be unfounded; they’re small and recessed sufficient to be unnoticeable.
The watch comes on both a rubber strap (Tropic or ISOFrane) or Aquastar’s beads-of-rice bracelet. Having worn it on each, I want the Tropic rubber for a classic diving vibe, however your mileage might range relying in your degree of fanciness and/or adherence to classic diving requirements and practices.
Remaining Ideas
There might be fanatics who say that shrinking a Benthos and leaving out the chronograph is sacrilege and that it’s not a real diving software anymore. I might argue the other and say that the true software watch is one you wish to put on every single day, on a ship or on the grocery retailer, on a dive or within the kitchen. And hey, in case you want an even bigger Benthos, these are nonetheless on the market, too. There’s loads of room within the proverbial pool for Benthos of all sizes and shapes and kudos to Aquastar for listening to group suggestions and delivering on it with this new Benthos Heritage II, a welcome addition to this iconic household. Plus, the value is greater than proper.
The Aquastar Benthos Heritage II is now accessible from aquastar.ch with a pre-order value of USD 1,190 on a strap and USD 1,290 on a bracelet. The longer term retail value might be USD 1,490, and deliveries are anticipated in Might 2025.
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