# Welcome to the NEW and Exciting AQUADIVE Watches Forum



## Ernie Romers

Dear Watchuseek members and visitors,

It is with great pleasure to announce the official launch of this new forum, dedicated to AQUADIVE watches. AQUADIVE watches were quite populair in the 60s and 70s. but before I start telling you about the great and rich history of the brand, it is probably best to simply quote the information from their website:

"In the 60s and 70s, divers the world over knew *AQUADIVE*. Aquadive's professional dive watches were highly sought after for both their toughness and their reliability under extreme conditions. Hand crafted form followed functional beauty, reinforced by Aquadive's close attention to detail. These were the hallmarks of *AQUADIVE*, making it the go-to watch of professional divers around the world.









After years of planning, we're back with a new line-up of watches, paying tribute to the great watches of the past, while remaining 100% authentic. The qualities that made us so sought after then, are just as relevant today.

Every *AQUADIVE* watch is produced to the highest industry standard, assembled by hand in Switzerland. That means durability, dependability, accuracy, and fine craftsmanship. Your *AQUADIVE* will not only perform trouble free, it will look good while doing it. You have our word on it.

The first series of watches will be introduced in 2012 is partially made of genuine Aquadive new old stock components. The NOS vintage diver case and crystal are Aquadive NOS, movement and all gaskets are new and Swiss made. The Bathyscaphe 300 is CNC machined off new old stock Swiss Made stainless steel blanks.

*AQUADIVE* *Dive watches created by experts - for experts*"









Click the image to see the Aquadive Watches Collection

*Related link: *Welcome to Aquadive Watches


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## Aquadive mod1

Our DLC Bathy 100 model...


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## gaijin

I'm curious why you are selling your "Vintage NOS Diver" as a collector piece only. It seems that since you are building the watch from NOS components where possible, and substituting a new movement, that you should be able to assure its water resistance. Your caveat to keep this piece "above the water line" and not use it as a diver puzzles me.


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## DEMO111

Welcome Aquadive, it is great to see the iconic name back with new watches. 

The new Bathyscaphe 100 & 300 are very exciting to see..... now I just have to decide which size I want.


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## W. C. Bartlett

Demo I havr been wearing the 100 model for several day and love it. When I saw pictures of the DLC version I was speechless.


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## W. C. Bartlett

The old crystal that was retained to keep the original design is a the weakness of the whole case, although it has a new gasket, the hesalite is not as reliable after being stored for 50 years.



gaijin said:


> I'm curious why you are selling your "Vintage NOS Diver" as a collector piece only. It seems that since you are building the watch from NOS components where possible, and substituting a new movement, that you should be able to assure its water resistance. Your caveat to keep this piece "above the water line" and not use it as a diver puzzles me.


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## gaijin

W. C. Bartlett said:


> The old crystal that was retained to keep the original design is a the weakness of the whole case, although it has a new gasket, the hesalite is not as reliable after being stored for 50 years.


How is a crystal, even an old one, not watertight?

Sorry, still puzzled ...


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## W. C. Bartlett

They were stored for over 50 years and the hesalite is not reliable.



gaijin said:


> How is a crystal, even an old one, not watertight?
> 
> Sorry, still puzzled ...


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## gaijin

W. C. Bartlett said:


> They were stored for over 50 years and the hesalite is not reliable.


OK, let me state my question another way ...

You have stated the Hesalite crystal is "not reliable" twice. Not reliable in what way that would adversely affect water resistance?

Please explain.

TIA


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## jswing

Stunning!


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## AdamR

Maybe, at the very least, is he hesitant to use 50 year old crystals. Whether there is a scientific explanation or not I would have done the same in his shoes. 
Aside from that, perhaps they were stores in a non stable area (fluctuating humidity, temperatures...), but again, a dive watch isn't a stable enviroment at all hehe, so it stands to reason that hersalite or any crystal would be confortable in either situatuion for a long time to come...
That being said, without any logical explanation (and he might have one) I still would want a new crystal on my new watch hehe
If the Hersalite has properties that make it age not as well as other crystals, it would nonetheless be interesting to know, especially for those of us owning Hersalite in our collection.



gaijin said:


> OK, let me state my question another way ...
> 
> You have stated the Hesalite crystal is "not reliable" twice. Not reliable in what way that would adversely affect water resistance?
> 
> Please explain.
> 
> TIA


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## Hasna

Hi, who is the company owner today?


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## W. C. Bartlett

Over a period of 50 years, the crystal degrades and we cannot represent it as new old stock if we replaced it with a new crystal it would not be NOS.



W. C. Bartlett said:


> They were stored for over 50 years and the hesalite is not reliable.


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## JonasForsberg

Simply great watches - keep up the good work... *BUT... Aquadive is all about COLOURS, amazing minute- and hour-hands, brave cases and (sometimes) wonderful bracelets. Don´t be to shy/moderate*. At least give me some colourful, halfcrazy dials to choose between. Don´t be like all other watches... this place is allready taken by hundreds of watchbrands. 
And, as a man, i love large watches (45-50 mm) -thanx for the 47mm watch!!!!

I know I ask a lot, but i love this brand: where is the depth-gauge??? Is it very expensive to produce or is the patent to expensive to use? My watchrepair-man says it´s a very simple construction... and he has repaired 3 of my Mod 50 watches.

I love you for making the Aquadive alive again!!!


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## W. C. Bartlett

As we all know, Aquadive is definitely about colors and the best is yet to come. I assure you you will not be disappointed.



JonasForsberg said:


> Simply great watches - keep up the good work... *BUT... Aquadive is all about COLOURS, amazing minute- and hour-hands, brave cases and (sometimes) wonderful bracelets. Don´t be to shy/moderate*. At least give me some colourful, halfcrazy dials to choose between. Don´t be like all other watches... this place is allready taken by hundreds of watchbrands.
> And, as a man, i love large watches (45-50 mm) -thanx for the 47mm watch!!!!
> 
> I know I ask a lot, but i love this brand: where is the depth-gauge??? Is it very expensive to produce or is the patent to expensive to use? My watchrepair-man says it´s a very simple construction... and he has repaired 3 of my Mod 50 watches.
> 
> I love you for making the Aquadive alive again!!!


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## W. C. Bartlett

Synchron Uhren Manufaktur, an Austria based watch manufacturer, not to be mistaken for Synchron watch group in the USA, a US distributor.


Hasna said:


> Hi, who is the company owner today?


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## DEMO111

W. C. Bartlett said:


> Demo I havr been wearing the 100 model for several day and love it. When I saw pictures of the DLC version I was speechless.


Thanks Bill. The DLC looks absolutely gorgeous but I am more of a SS guy. I've had DLC & PVD watches in the past and have always ended up selling them off after a while.

Bill, I'm trying to decide on the 100 or 300 size. You and I have the same wrist size. Do you have a size preference of the 100 or 300? If I remember correctly you had a Zinex Trimix 2000m which I think would wear similarly to the Bathyscaphe 300. Would this size comparison be correct?

Thanks,

-Dave


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## W. C. Bartlett

I had the PVD and it fit fine. If I had th choose all over, I would have choose the 300. Asyou can see the 100 fits good and the included Isofrane makes it a comfortable watch to wear.

Wrist shot of the 100.










Bill



DEMO111 said:


> Thanks Bill. The DLC looks absolutely gorgeous but I am more of a SS guy. I've had DLC & PVD watches in the past and have always ended up selling them off after a while.
> 
> Bill, I'm trying to decide on the 100 or 300 size. You and I have the same wrist size. Do you have a size preference of the 100 or 300? If I remember correctly you had a Zinex Trimix 2000m which I think would wear similarly to the Bathyscaphe 300. Would this size comparison be correct?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> -Dave


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## gaijin

W. C. Bartlett said:


> Over a period of 50 years, the crystal degrades and we cannot represent it as new old stock if we replaced it with a new crystal it would not be NOS.


The movement in the watch is brand new, and yet the watch is still represented as NOS. I fail to see the distinction ...

And how, exactly, does a hesalite crustal degrade to adversely affect water resistance?

Sorry to be (apparently) beating a dead horse, but a new (to me) watch maker selling a diver that cannot get wet is a puzzlement.


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## W. C. Bartlett

The crystal is 50 years old, the surface tension of this material (very early synthetic fiber glass) deteriorates by time. This watch should not be considered a dive watch. I for one would love to own 50 year old watch but would not use it for diving for fear of ruining it completely.





gaijin said:


> The movement in the watch is brand new, and yet the watch is still represented as NOS. I fail to see the distinction ...
> 
> And how, exactly, does a hesalite crustal degrade to adversely affect water resistance?
> 
> Sorry to be (apparently) beating a dead horse, but a new (to me) watch maker selling a diver that cannot get wet is a puzzlement.


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## Gerry

W. C. Bartlett said:


> Wrist shot of the 100.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bill


Looks perfect on the wrist. I think I might have to give one of these a go. I really like the style and there is some history too!


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## W. C. Bartlett

Synchron Uhren Manufaktur, not to be mistaken for Synchron watch group USA


Hasna said:


> Hi, who is the company owner today?


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## Aquadive mod1

gaijin said:


> The movement in the watch is brand new, and yet the watch is still represented as NOS. I fail to see the distinction ...
> 
> And how, exactly, does a hesalite crustal degrade to adversely affect water resistance?
> 
> Sorry to be (apparently) beating a dead horse, but a new (to me) watch maker selling a diver that cannot get wet is a puzzlement.


Feel free to send an email to the manufacturer at their website.

Contact Aquadive

Its a vintage watch. Most owners of rare collectible vintage watches - whether they be NOS or well used - tend not to get them wet or submerge them to deep depths. There are only about 50 pieces of the NOS model available. So obviously it isn't a watch for everyone. I own one, and have not submerged it, and never will. I've also owned seven (NOS and used) vintage Omega 600m Ploprof's, three vintage Omega 120m Chrono's; and other vintage divers like Certina, Heuer, Rolex, Tudor, Aquastar, Aquadive, and many others. I've never taken any of them diving or gotten them wet. I have many collector friends that have done the same, and others that got their vintage divers wet or submerged and had problems. Vintage watches aren't for everyone.


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## gaijin

W. C. Bartlett said:


> The crystal is 50 years old, the surface tension of this material (very early synthetic fiber glass) deteriorates by time. This watch should not be considered a dive watch. I for one would love to own 50 year old watch but would not use it for diving for fear of ruining it completely.


Hesalite is PMMA - Poly (methyl methacrylate) originally commercialized by Rohm and Haas under the tradename Plexiglas. Nothing to do with Fiberglas.

As a retired Chemical Engineer with 30 years experience in the field (and, yes, I did work for Rohm & Haas), I can assure you that surface tension of PMMA (Hesalite) has nothing to do with water resistance.

With all due respect, may I suggest that there is another reason for not certifying the Water Resistance of the Vintage NOS Diver than the crystal material?

Out of curiosity, do you speak for AQUADIVE or simply as a Moderator on this forum?


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## W. C. Bartlett

Simply put every time a NOS watch was put together with the NOS crystal, the majority of the times it leaked. Now I own numerous vintage watches and I would not even wash dishes with them on. Here we have an issue that we are advising the general public and recommending that they do not dive or use the watch under water. If this is not satisfactory, you can contact as advised by Aquadive in this thread.



gaijin said:


> Hesalite is PMMA - Poly (methyl methacrylate) originally commercialized by Rohm and Haas under the tradename Plexiglas. Nothing to do with Fiberglas.
> 
> As a retired Chemical Engineer with 30 years experience in the field (and, yes, I did work for Rohm & Haas), I can assure you that surface tension of PMMA (Hesalite) has nothing to do with water resistance.
> 
> With all due respect, may I suggest that there is another reason for not certifying the Water Resistance of the Vintage NOS Diver than the crystal material?
> 
> Out of curiosity, do you speak for AQUADIVE or simply as a Moderator on this forum?


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## Aquadive mod1

W. C. Bartlett said:


> Synchron


*Synchron Uhren Manufaktur*


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## Aquadive mod1

gaijin said:


> Hesalite is PMMA - Poly (methyl methacrylate) originally commercialized by Rohm and Haas under the tradename Plexiglas. Nothing to do with Fiberglas.
> 
> As a retired Chemical Engineer with 30 years experience in the field (and, yes, I did work for Rohm & Haas), I can assure you that surface tension of PMMA (Hesalite) has nothing to do with water resistance.
> 
> With all due respect, may I suggest that there is another reason for not certifying the Water Resistance of the Vintage NOS Diver than the crystal material?
> 
> Out of curiosity, do you speak for AQUADIVE or simply as a Moderator on this forum?


Aquadive consults and retains engineers in the design/construction/assembly of their watches. As previously suggested, feel free to contact Aquadive for further clarification. At this point, you're trying to argue with moderators.


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## gaijin

W. C. Bartlett said:


> *Simply put every time a NOS watch was put together with the NOS crystal, the majority of the times it leaked.* Now I own numerous vintage watches and I would not even wash dishes with them on. Here we have an issue that we are advising the general public and recommending that they do not dive or use the watch under water. If this is not satisfactory, you can contact as advised by Aquadive in this thread.


Now that makes sense. Thank you for the clarification. ;-)


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## jetpilot

I love the 300. What is the story about more colorful face designs like the originals and possible time frame?


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## rlewisk

I was just on the Aquadive site, great images, great reading, but when I took a look at the ordering process I noticed there is an option for a pre-order deposit for the 300 with a *TiAn coating*.....Don't recognize the term, nor do I have any idea what kind of coating this is...........any info/explanations out there?

The 300 looks killer, I just broke into my 9 yr. olds Piggy Bank, it seems that the Downhill bike is gonna have to wait


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## JonasForsberg

This is much more than I could hope for. Once again - thanx!!! And I will spread the word here in Sweden about the rise of Aquadive.


W. C. Bartlett said:


> As we all know, Aquadive is definitely about colors and the best is yet to come. I assure you you will not be disappointed.


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## Aquadive mod2

rlewisk said:


> I was just on the Aquadive site, great images, great reading, but when I took a look at the ordering process I noticed there is an option for a pre-order deposit for the 300 with a *TiAn coating*.....Don't recognize the term, nor do I have any idea what kind of coating this is...........any info/explanations out there?The 300 looks killer, I just broke into my 9 yr. olds Piggy Bank, it seems that the Downhill bike is gonna have to wait


Hi, this a anthracite color Titanium Aluminum carbo Nitride coating, that gives steel a surface hardness of 3500 vicers. Some refer to it as PVD, but PVD is just the process of coating and is not the material used for coating


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## rlewisk

Thanks so much for the info........I'm 95% sure that's the one for me...........Any ballpark delivery time for the 300 with the TiAn coating, and/or any pics ??


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## Aquadive mod2

Hi, It is good to have experts on our forum. As you know, Hesalite is elastic to a minimal extent, once the crystal has been removed to replace the gasket, a portion of the elasticity will give and eventually micro cracking could start building at the edge when reinserting the crystal. Although every watch of the 50 pieces was tested and withstood the 20ATM test, We at AQUADIVE cannot recommend the usage of this watch for diving because we don’t have the long term test capability on aged plastics and simply will not risk it. Please also bear in mind that when you dive your life could rely in a critical moments on your watch. That is why we do not feel that using aged materials is right for diving, although this very watch model was used for this purpose 50 years ago. We hope you understand


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## gaijin

aquadivewatches said:


> Hi, It is good to have experts on our forum. As you know, Hesalite is elastic to a minimal extent, once the crystal has been removed to replace the gasket, a portion of the elasticity will give and eventually micro cracking could start building at the edge when reinserting the crystal. Although *every watch of the 50 pieces was tested and withstood the 20ATM test*, We at AQUADIVE cannot recommend the usage of this watch for diving because we don't have the long term test capability on aged plastics and simply will not risk it. Please also bear in mind that when you dive your life could rely in a critical moments on your watch. That is why we do not feel that using aged materials is right for diving, although this very watch model was used for this purpose 50 years ago. We hope you understand


That makes perfect sense. Thank you for the explanation.

It does seem to conflict with what was posted earlier, however ...



W. C. Bartlett said:


> Simply put *every time a NOS watch was put together with the NOS crystal, the majority of the times it leaked*. Now I own numerous vintage watches and I would not even wash dishes with them on. Here we have an issue that we are advising the general public and recommending that they do not dive or use the watch under water. If this is not satisfactory, you can contact as advised by Aquadive in this thread.


In any event, it looks like a very nice vintage piece ;-)


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## Cowbiker

Aquadive said:


> Our DLC Bathy 100 model...
> 
> View attachment 556835


Nice...how's about a Model 50 tribute with an automatic...so long as the depth gauge works I'd even go for quartz so long as the depth gauge works...oh and the bracelet was cool too.

Reference pic from Deskdivers, whom has a nice writeup on the model.

http://www.deskdivers.com/Site/AD50_files/adadvert2.jpg

DeskDivers.com - Aquadive Depth-Time Model 50


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## W. C. Bartlett

stainless steel in 5 days and coated version in 2-3 weeks



rlewisk said:


> Thanks so much for the info........I'm 95% sure that's the one for me...........Any ballpark delivery time for the 300 with the TiAn coating, and/or any pics ??


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## roo7

Well, it will be an exciting wait for me for the NOS and the Bathyscaphe 100...


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## W. C. Bartlett

Congratulations.



roo7 said:


> Well, it will be an exciting wait for me for the NOS and the Bathyscaphe 100...


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## Aquadive mod1

Cowbiker said:


> Nice...how's about a Model 50 tribute with an automatic...so long as the depth gauge works I'd even go for quartz so long as the depth gauge works...oh and the bracelet was cool too.
> 
> Reference pic from Deskdivers, whom has a nice writeup on the model.
> 
> http://www.deskdivers.com/Site/AD50_files/adadvert2.jpg
> 
> DeskDivers.com - Aquadive Depth-Time Model 50


There's a reason why a tiny portion of Swiss watch manufacturers (Panerai, IWC, Blancpain) make a dive watch with a mechanical depth gauge. It is extremely expensive and complicated to do so. Those are million/billion dollar companies as well.


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## Victor Boyd

The TiAn form of DLC coating gives a Pencil Lead color finish as opposed to a Darker Black

Here my Panerai 233 has this finish ,

All the best,
Vic












rlewisk said:


> I was just on the Aquadive site, great images, great reading, but when I took a look at the ordering process I noticed there is an option for a pre-order deposit for the 300 with a *TiAn coating*.....Don't recognize the term, nor do I have any idea what kind of coating this is...........any info/explanations out there?
> 
> The 300 looks killer, I just broke into my 9 yr. olds Piggy Bank, it seems that the Downhill bike is gonna have to wait


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## Victor Boyd

I must say that I am really looking forward to the new Aquadive watches ,

Cheers,
Vic


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## rlewisk

Hey Victor your Pam looks terrific, thanks for the pic and cementing my choice of finishes..........it seems like a lot of us are looking forward to these new/old timepieces.


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## JonasForsberg

Aquadive said:


> There's a reason why a tiny portion of Swiss watch manufacturers (Panerai, IWC, Blancpain) make a dive watch with a mechanical depth gauge. It is extremely expensive and complicated to do so. Those are million/billion dollar companies as well.


Well, you probebly knows this better than most of us on this forum (due to your Aquadive contacts), but my watchrepair-man told me the Aquadive mod 50 depth-gauge was a very simple construction. He got one of my mod 50 split in all pieces there is, and turned it into a 100 % correct watch (by the way - this repair cost me no more than 300 usd). During this he told me the depth-gauge was a simple construction. The watch has an hand that's attached to a circular copper pressure chamber around the outside of the movement. The tricky bit was (he told me) to get it water proof (between the coppper chamber and the movement chamber). I don´t know if this was due to aged material or if it was REALLY hard to do. Finally he gave up. Hopefully Aquadive solves this i 2 seconds and GIVE US WHAT WE NEED - A NEW MOD 50 :-d


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## JonasForsberg

JonasForsberg said:


> Well, you probebly knows this better than most of us on this forum (due to your Aquadive contacts), but my watchrepair-man told me the Aquadive mod 50 depth-gauge was a very simple construction. He got one of my mod 50 split in all pieces there is, and turned it into a 100 % correct watch (by the way - this repair cost me no more than 300 usd). During this he told me the depth-gauge was a simple construction. The watch has an hand that's attached to a circular copper pressure chamber around the outside of the movement. The tricky bit was (he told me) to get it water proof (between the coppper chamber and the movement chamber). I don´t know if this was due to aged material or if it was REALLY hard to do. Finally he gave up. Hopefully Aquadive solves this i 2 seconds and GIVE US WHAT WE NEED - A NEW MOD 50 :-d


Oh - i forgot to say: I my world I would be fine with the old type of depth-gauge (in case any engineers on Aquadive reads this... fat chance - not). I don´t mind if the depth-gauge isn´t 100 % correct, I would settle with 70-80 % correct (make the depth-gauge hand really fat, and nobody will notice.... ha, ha, ha) - I just want the depth-gauge hand and a dial that shows it.


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## W. C. Bartlett

For those that did not see the other thread regarding a mesh on the BS 100 her you go..


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## DEMO111

^^^ Damn Bill, that looks REALLY good!


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## W. C. Bartlett

Hard watch to take off my wrist and now with the mesh I probably bought another day or two.



DEMO111 said:


> ^^^ Damn Bill, that looks REALLY good!


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## arutlosjr11

Up


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