The MODERN HISTORY OF Aquastar
After the Frederic Robert era, Aquastar was acquired by the Geneva based EREN Group, which then sold it to the Seinet Brothers in 1982. Mr. Marc Seinet, an avid sailor and 3rd generation watchmaker wanted to acquire a watch brand with its facilities and resources in order to start a new era of watch marketing in collaboration with Hollywood stars. Mr. Seinet acquired Aquastar and created the Alain Delon wrist watch. In 1983 Mr. Seinet also realized that the traditional mechanical Swiss watches that were passed down through generations no longer appealed to the young population that had become used to the convenience and disposability of the quartz watch. He saw that the need for a new type of fashion watch was imminent and a change was needed from the traditional swiss watch to a new type of affordable timepiece made of plastic and housing robust quartz movements. Aquastar filed a patent for this new type of watch, which marked a new era of commercial success for the brand.
After achieving the necessary commercial success, Mr. Seinet decided to focus on his passion, which is sailing and continued the tradition of Frédéric Robert and created multiple generations of quartz regatta watches between 1983 until 2018.
THE LEGACY CONTINUES….
In continuing Aquastar’s rich traditions of markedly functional, purpose-built dive watches, the modern Aquastar brand has been revived by another Swiss watch industry innovator and disruptor: Rick Marei, who helped bring global notoriety and widespread sales success to other legendary Swiss watch and strap brands like Doxa, Aquadive, Tropic and ISOfrane. Since 1999, and throughout the past 2 decades, Marei and the Seinet brothers have been in touch and have discussed a new orientation and online strategies for the brand. Marei’s plans were always strictly dive watch oriented, while Mr. Seinet has focused on developing Regatta watches and has successfully launched several generations of digital regatta watches. In 2019 Mr. Seinet and Rick Marei met once again. Marei was the first man to help put a watch collection of a Swiss brand online back in 1999, an unprecedented method of marketing Swiss watches at that time. In 2019, both met an agreement to reboot the brand and start a new chapter in the Aquastar history, but Mr. Seinet was involved in designing an E-learning concept and was not able to put resources into the new Aquastar. The Synchron group acquired the company from Mr. Seinet with all its old stock, toolings, spare parts, the brand, and all blueprints and documentations and agreed to serve existing Aquastar customers in the future and relaunch the brand in 2020.
About the 2020 Deepstar Re-Edition
The 2020 Aquastar Deepstar is a faithful recreation of one of the most influential dive watches of the 60s. The unique and uncluttered mono sub counter dial, combined with the small running indicator, and the patented multiple dive decompression bezel table make the Deepstar an unmatched diver-oriented tool with an instantly recognizable design.
The 2020 Deepstar retains all proportions of the original Deepstar from the 60s while relying on high-end Swiss Manufacture automatic movement, custom manufactured for the Deepstar by La Joux-Perret, and like its predecessor the Valjoux 23, the new Deepstar movement is equipped with column wheel operated pushers. This gives the new Deepstar not only the practicality and versatility but also the refinement you expect from a modern Chronograph.
