Aqualung Diver

Why We Love It When it comes to vintage dive watches, we love the heavy hitters just as much as the next guy. The Rolex Submariner, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, and the Omega Seamaster 300 all have special places in our hearts—and collections. But for every well-known name in the dive watch world, there’s one that makes us stop and say, “Now this is why we got into collecting watches in the first place.” This Aqualung diver is exactly what we mean by this. In the 1950s and 1960s, tons of brands got into the dive watch game, using contract cases and movements. However, this watch was made for Aqualung, the company founded by Jacques Cousteau, the father of SCUBA himself. The case, made by A. Schild, is the perfect size at 37mm. The thick beveled lugs and brush finishing make it visually appealing as well as comfortable on the wrist. But the crowning glory is the dial—gilt and gloss like the best of early Submariners, and with Radium luminescent elements—a winning combination if there ev