Diver Magazine Equipment Shorts Written By Stephen Weir

What to do while decompressing? Watch the Watch
New watch mechanical watch from Japan
arrives in North America

The Japanese based Orient Watch company put a big push on this past Christmas season to introduce its mechanical saturation diver watch to the North American market.
The watch, which retails for $1,300 US has, according to company spokeswoman Christina Koshzow “a special case design that prevents the penetration of helium gas (while diving at depth). This means that the internal pressure hardly rises at all, eliminating the need for an escape valve and a diver no longer has to use a valve to adjust the pressure inside the case when diving or surfacing.
The watch is rated to a depth of 300 meters (900 feet), with a strong exterior that has excellent corrosion resistance.
The self-winding watch has a large crown and rotating bezel, which makes it easy to operate even when wearing thick dive gloves.
The watch company has teamed with North American broadcasters to sell their full product line on television. As well, Orient Watch is also working with Blog masters to get the word out about their products. Selected Bloggers are giving away watches as part of on-line promotions and draws.
Established in 1950, Orient is Japan's largest producer of mechanical watches. The Asian company builds over 2 million time pieces annually.

Cutline: The Orient Watch’s mechanical saturation diver watch is rated to a depth of 300 meters (900 ft).




Award winning design of the Pearl i3
A BC designed for the female body form

Just in time for Christmas, the Aqua Lung Pearl i3 is appearing in Dive Shop showrooms across North America. What makes this Buoyancy Compensator (BC) different from many other BCs on the market today is that the Pearl i3 is designed specifically to fit and flatter a woman’s body
Aqua Lung says that their new product has been designed for real women, who come in all shapes and sizes. As a result, the Pearl i3 offers a multi-set waistband that lets divers change the waist size up to six inches and a double adjusting shoulder strap that allows them to find the best fit for their body.
Added for a woman's comfort, security and stability, the Pearl i3 incorporates a plush back lining, rolled neoprene collar, and patented sports bra. It has a weight system that Aqua Lung says is comfortable, easy to load and allows for a quick ditching of its weight pouches if the need arises.
Divers will appreciate the strategically constructed bladder that expands backwards as the BC inflates (instead of outward) as well as the contoured silhouette that allows for a better range of motion and provides more comfort while swimming. The Pearl i3 comes in sizes XS-L and features three colours: pink/silver, aqua/silver and charcoal/black. Three zippered utility pockets provide plenty of room for all of a diver's essential accessories.
Like Aqua Lung's popular Sea Quest Pro QD i3 BC, the Pearl i3 incorporates what it calls is the latest i3 technology, allowing divers to quickly and easily control inflation and deflation with just a single action.
“The innovative i3 allows divers to simply and intuitively control their ascent and descent by pulling a lever up and down to surface or dive deeper,” explains company spokeswoman Jacqueline Edelman. “ The i3 simplifies buoyancy control. Instead of using a traditional BC setup with a cumbersome inflation device on the end of a hose and separate pulls at each vent to dump air, the i3 system uses one simple lever, fixed to the BC on the left hip.
“When the lever is pulled up, air is transferred from the diver’s tank into jacket, making it more buoyant,” she told Diver Magazine. “Conversely, pushing the lever down opens both an upper and lower one-way air valve simultaneously releasing air from the BC. By utilizing a push rod system, as opposed to hydraulics or pneumatics, Aqua Lung’s i3 is the most reliable integrated system for perfect buoyancy.”
The Pearl i3 is available at Aqua Lung dealers across the continent. In the US the BC retails for $695 US.