The Fratello × Aquastar Deepstar II Pink Salmon Limited Edition

Just in time for summer! This is how the team at Fratello announces its latest limited edition. And indeed, they might have created one of the coolest watches for summer. An unexpected, unusual one for sure, but one that takes things lightly. It is a dive watch (of course). It comes from a brand with a great history in this field. It’s compact, vintage-inspired and not another copy of a Sub. And instead of a classic black or blue dial, it comes with a light pink “salmon(ish)” dial that blows some fresh air into the field of diving instruments. It’s named the Fratello × Aquastar Deepstar II Pink Salmon Limited Edition, and it’ll be available tomorrow.

Following the ice-blue version of this exact same watch released in February by RJ Broer and his team, the Fratelli are now bringing it back with a new dial colour – and one that is far from conventional, especially for a dive watch – and a slightly different approach regarding its availability. The Fratelli have been listening to their audience. “We made just 50 of those watches, and they sold within minutes. Along with the positive feedback, we also received our fair share of concerns from those who missed out on the small run of pieces. We’ve been listening…” says Micheal Stockton. But more on the way to grab your example at the end of the article.

The watch in question is cool and is based on the classic Aquastar Deepstar, an icon of the diving community. An unusual watch back in the day, with a non-decompression table on its bidirectional bezel and a uniquely-styled dial, it was first equipped with a chronograph function. The watch returned in 2019 as a relatively faithful yet slightly enlarged re-edition thanks to the man who also rejuvenated Doxa, Aquadive and the Tropic strap brand. Then, in 2021 the Deepstar II surfaced as a time-only edition with a far more compact case. And it made quite an impact. Fun, retro-styled, easy to wear and yet performing well underwater – yes, we’ve tested it – it is the watch of choice for Fratello.

This watch’s second edition is technically identical to the models from the regular collection, and the ice blue version was released earlier this year by the Dutch magazine. Measuring just under 37mm in diameter, it, however, retains all the attributes of the classic edition and modern chronograph re-edition, with its multi-scale bezel, its boxy case shape and very decent diving credentials – screw-down crown and back, super-dome sapphire, 200m water-resistance. Besides the obvious size reduction, what changed compared to the original models of the relaunch was the movement, now a Sellita SW-290 with small seconds at 9 o’clock. But all the cool elements of the dial were basically intact.

Talking about the dial, this is where the Fratello × Aquastar Deepstar II stands out… With a light pink/salmon dial over a sunray-brushed pattern, it’s definitely not your usual dive watch colour. But it sure does make an impact. To stay light and modern, the dial is now coated with white SLN (no fauxtina here). The big-eye seconds counter is treated in silvery-white, and the markers and hands are brightly polished.

Completing the look of this Fratello × Aquastar Deepstar II is a solid stainless steel beads-of-rice bracelet with a signed safety clasp. And if you want to know all the details about this watch, and to see how it performs underwater, make sure to read our diving review here.

Availability & Price

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the team at Fratello has been listening to its audience and its concerns. Instead of a limited edition by numbers, the Fratello × Aquastar Deepstar II Pink Salmon will be available for a limited period of time. Fratello will offer an ordering window in the Fratello Shop from July 19th at 16:00 CEST until July 26th at 16:00 CEST. After the window closes, no additional Pink Salmon-dialed watches will be produced. The first pieces should be delivered within three weeks of the pre-order window closing. The price will be EUR 1,950 (excluding VAT). Available as of tomorrow at shop.fratello.com.