Who knew?.....Not me at least. [vintage '69 AqD pic]Who

[DaBaeker]

Who knew there was an Aquadive Forum on WUS? Not me evidently. I've had my vint. '69 for many years. It was given as a gift by an older friend of mine (my uncles friend really) Bill-who happened to start a company eventually called Body Glove by experimenting with hot liquid rubber in his garage in the 40s or 50s I think he told me?. Anyway-He decided for some unknown reason to impart his old AD to me after a day spent with him at Abalone Cove south of LA. Its worked beautifully for years and only recently has slowed to about -30sec pr day.
The real irony is up until about 4 yrs ago I had a hell of a time finding our ANYTHING about Aquadive. Then a guy on the Omega forum linked me to a site and boom...I finally learned about the O&W connection and the Jenny and all that. (wish i owned a Jenny) but i am extremely happy with this old beater because I know it earned its nicks as first a treasure diver as worn by my friend and then as a snorkler and now a casual watch as worn by me. (don't trust the seals any longer but its never had a lick of moisture afaict)

So-I gather most on this forum are into a 'new' manifestation of the Aquadive? Or the company was reborn, new owners, whatever...I'll have to be linked to the info. As I said-almost nobody knew what an Aquadive was a few years back. I almost thought it was just a generic swiss junker at one point-not a quality piece (though I know my model isnt the top tier dive model). The other oronic thing was I was fascinatd with vintage O&W long before I knew there was a connection between the 2 brands/makers.

ok already-here-enjoy:

[mellonb1]

Thanks for sharing your story and a picture of your AD. Love the color. You have yourself something special so enjoy......

[Spring-Diver]

Cool story and even cooler watch...seems to be in great shape


Cheers
Shannon

[Thomas Miko]

Wait! What's the Ollech & Wajs connection? Herr Wajs re-started O&W several years ago, and I have a O&W 3095 that I love. Strangers walk up to me and say, "Beautiful watch!"

[DaBaeker]

Wait! What's the Ollech & Wajs connection? Herr Wajs re-started O&W several years ago, and I have a O&W 3095 that I love. Strangers walk up to me and say, "Beautiful watch!"

I can't find the link right now. But basically from what I recall-Aquadive movements (maybe cases too) were assembled by O&W during the late 60s early 70s under some kind of agreement. If you google O&W + Aquadive you may find the posting I remember. Also=aquadive has a connection to the Jenny Caribbean though i'm not as sure what that is except aquadive sold their own version of the 'jenny' with the ad brand.

[PloProf Pimp]

@ DaBaeker,

That's a great story and a funky vintage Aquadive! There's tons of info here in this forum about vintage and modern Aquadive watches, just read all the threads. You can also learn a lot at Aquadive's website,

AQUADIVE WATCH HISTORY

And here too,

DeskDivers.com - Aquadive Depth-Time Model 50

The info from the story you read about O&W and Aquadive is not correct though. Don't believe everything you read on watch forums, as there is a ton of misinformation out there. Brands like O&W, Aquadive, Fortis, Eisenhardt, Philip Watch, Sector, Camy, Zodiac and many others which bear the Jenny Fish logo; were all made and assembled by Jenny in Switzerland back in the 60's and 70's. Many of those brands shared the same dials, hands, No Deco bezels, crowns, bracelets, and monobloc 'flying saucer' cases. The NoDeco bezel and monobloc 'flying saucer' case were patented by Jenny. Back then, Jenny was the first Swiss private label manufacturer. Later on, every one of those companies started designing their own cases, dials, etc; but still had their watches assembled by Jenny in Switzerland. Eventually Aquadive became independent. So O&W never manufactured or assembled anything for Aquadive. Hope that clears some things up.

[DaBaeker]

@ DaBaeker,

That's a great story and a funky vintage Aquadive! There's tons of info here in this forum about vintage and modern Aquadive watches, just read all the threads. You can also learn a lot at Aquadive's website,

AQUADIVE WATCH HISTORY

And here too,

DeskDivers.com - Aquadive Depth-Time Model 50

The info from the story you read about O&W and Aquadive is not correct though. Don't believe everything you read on watch forums, as there is a ton of misinformation out there. Brands like O&W, Aquadive, Fortis, Eisenhardt, Philip Watch, Sector, Camy, Zodiac and many others which bear the Jenny Fish logo; were all made and assembled by Jenny in Switzerland back in the 60's and 70's. Many of those brands shared the same dials, hands, No Deco bezels, crowns, bracelets, and monobloc 'flying saucer' cases. The NoDeco bezel and monobloc 'flying saucer' case were patented by Jenny. Back then, Jenny was the first Swiss private label manufacturer. Later on, every one of those companies started designing their own cases, dials, etc; but still had their watches assembled by Jenny in Switzerland. Eventually Aquadive became independent. So O&W never manufactured or assembled anything for Aquadive. Hope that clears some things up.

Thanks for that info Plopimp- Just got around to reading now. I think it was the late great Chuck maddox who first informed me my AD was a Jenny and directed me to the 'misinformed' link. (He never said he was an AqD expert as well) But yes-that helps to clear things up. I think I have always known part of the story but didnt realize Jenny was the assembler as well. So OW's connection to AqD is lateral rather then hierarchical.