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IWC Aquatimer

Posted 3rd May 2011

Between 1942 and 1946, French Naval Lieutenant Jacques-Yves Cousteau and engineer Emile Gagnan developed the aqua lung, a portable underwater breathing device that revolutionised diving. Previous self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) had consisted of clunky and awkward methods of continuously blowing air into a diver’s face, but the Aqua Lung used pressure valves to only release air when a diver breathed in. This meant that the equipment could be scaled down to a back-worn tank and mouthpiece, and didn’t require a sealed suit. Skin diving, as it was to be known, had begun.

Into the sixties, an increase in wealth, the ability to travel abroad on holiday, and the reducing price of SCUBA equipment meant that it became more accessible and therefore more popular with the public. The National Association of Underwater Instructors was formed in 1960 to regulate and teach the increasing number of students with an interest in the sport. This lead the formation of PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, in 1967.

Dive watches were generally about a decade ahead of the sport, but IWC didn’t release anything into the market until 1967. The first Aquatimer, using a super-compressor case made by EPSA, who also manufactured cases for the likes of Jaeger-LeCoultre, was water-resistant to 200 metres. The super-compressor case allowed the watch to have a rotating internal bezel as it did not require screw-down crowns to make it water-tight. It used IWC’s ingenious Pellaton winding system with its built-in shock protection.

In 1982 IWC wowed audiences again with the first titanium diver’s watch, this time with ten times the water resistance to 2000 metres. Designed by Porsche, the single most impressive feature of the watch was its lack of helium escape valve – instead of following in the footsteps of other the manufacturers that had spent a lot of money developing their versions of the HEV, they produced a case that was just outright strong enough to cope with the extreme pressures at 2000 metres below sea level.

The GST came next in 1997, available in titanium and steel, and also rated to a depth of 2000 metres. The simple design and integrated bracelet was classic IWC design, and the push-to-turn external bezel was a stroke of design genius, making the GST one of the most sought-after Aquatimers. The GST bowed out with the GST Deep One in 1999 that previewed the look for the 2000 range of Aquatimers, that returned to the original internal rotating bezel and featured a depth gauge built into the case.

IWC’s most recent range of Aquatimers is a fresh design, losing the integrated bracelet and internal rotating bezel. Instead they gain a luminescent, sapphire glass bezel for easy low-light reading, as well as a super-legible face. As always, the quality is up with the best, and the patented Pellaton winding system continues to provide power.

IWC has taken a steadfast approach to making its divers, using simplistic engineering rather than fanciful unnecessary technologies, and as such their Aquatimers are amongst the hardiest – and best – divers available to buy.