A letter from
The inventor
Mr. Marc Jasinski is the inventor of the Deepstar Chronograph and the head of research and engineering at Aquastar, Marc was born in Belgium in 1933, Marc is one of the great figures who shaped the scuba diving landscape from the beginning in archaeological diving. His actions remain present in our modern conception of this wonderful underwater activity. From 1968 on and to the late seventies, he was frequently hired by the BBC archaeology program Chronicle as cameraman (dry and UW) during the Armada venture in Ulster, also during several searches for VOC (Dutch Est India Company) wrecks and the trials of the replica Lethbridge Diving Machine in Marseille. Marc helped us answer many questions about the early days of Aquastar..
read more about Marc here
Marc sent us this email when we asked him about Frédéric Robert:
A word from the inventor of the Deepstar, Mr. Marc Jasinski, the Belgian Scientist and diver behind the patent of the Deepstar
Dear Rick,
The man behind the Aquastar is Frédéric Robert, a brave man with a vision and a passion.
It was a privilege to be working with him, and I will always remember him fondly, with respect and admiration.
He was a personification of the true entrepreneur. Every new project involved large financial commitments, deep and complex technical knowledge but also some commercial challenges.
I remember times of concern but none of discouragement. Frédéric never gave up. I am glad I could be useful to him and to Aquastar.
And now it is almost unbelievable that another brave man has resurrected this marvel.
Thank you Rick !
With my kindest regards
Marc
On the left, you see Marc in 1968 with his Prototype Wide Angle Lens for the Nikonos Camera
AN INTERVIEW
Marc says in an interview:
The year of 1962 was definitely most interesting for me, because I became acquainted with the standard diving dress, during the CMAS World Congress on Underwater Activities, held in London in October that year. We were invited to visit the Siebe and Gorman works, as I remember then managed by Commander Shelford. Among many distinguished guests, I remember Commandant Philippe Taillez, Frédéric Robert, founder and owner of Aquastar Watch factory in Geneva, and famous Italian underwater movie producer and cameraman, the late Victor Aldo de Sanctis.
Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd was a British company that developed diving equipment and breathing equipment and worked on commercial diving and marine salvage projects. The company advertised itself as ‘Submarine Engineers’. It was founded by Augustus Siebe , a German-born British engineer chiefly known for his contributions to diving equipment.[1]