Aquastar – Instrument de mesures pour plongées sous-marines (1959)
Details
An absolute rarity, only a few remaining in the world, we’re proud to present a NOS 1959 diving instruments panel by Jean Richard. I know only a famous parisian dealer and a NASA ex astronaut/diver who have one of this panels equiped with a Deepstar. But in 1959-1960 the Deepstar wasn’t launched yet and this panel was intended for a 60/63 model. Here you can see it with both watches, just for the pleasure of the eyes. It can seem a bit simple or outdated nowadays but this instrument was a great innovation at that time. It was let’s say the first portable “computer” for a frogman, something handy (I can assure it’s comfortable to wear) and life saver too!
Feel free to contact me and send me pics if you have one of these.
The panel is made of plastic and contains a Celsius thermometer and a compass. On the left side there is a cavity where a depthmeter can be fitted and on the right side, the watch. Inside of the panel, there is a sliding folder with a decompression times table.
The panel comes with its original box and price tag: 20 thousand lire.
Funny enough, in a Barracuda 1966 catalog (see pics), an Aquastar diving panel – with a ref. 60 watch (!) – was sold for 423 DM while you could buy a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms for 266 DM (!!!)
If you have a time machine, feel free to contact me.
Dimensions:
11,4 x 6 x 2 (cm)