Hydrium California

From Isotope

Limited edition Isotope Hydrium California Diving was profoundly different a century ago. What is now the territory of many enthusiastic amateur divers was a field for hardened and determined professionals back then. It wasn't until the documentary 'The Silent World' debuted in 1956 that the general public became more aware of the wonders below sea level. With his ship 'Calypso,' for over two years, underwater pioneer Jacques-Yves Cousteau sailed the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean, shooting over 25 kilometres of film underwater. Rapid equipment improvements in the following years made the beauty of underwater life more accessible for amateurs to explore, turning diving into a sport. But in the early days of diving, it was a hazardous endeavour, very much like exploring a different planet. Today, a diving watch is a backup for the diving computer, but in those days, it was a vital piece of equipment. Before the 1950s, dive watches were fairly uncommon for most people because there was no market for them. The majority of professional divers, apart from a few scientists and explorers, were in military units. Their watches were made by government order. As legibility was important, brands played with luminous material to make the dials read as easily. As even the slightest error can make the difference between life and death, there needs to be no confusion at all about the current time. On July 15, 1942, Rolex was awarded a patent (Brevet No.221643, now expired) for a dial with Roman numerals at the top half of the dial and Arabic ones at the bottom. They advertised them as 'error-proof' dials, as there is even a more distinct difference between them. Panerai would also start using these types of dials for their watches, supplied by Rolex and made by Stern Frères around 1944, although they claimed to have already had a prototype with this type of dial in 1936. As you can see, the 'California dial' history is like murky water with (too) many myths. This is also regarding the name, which this type of dial didn't get until the 1980s. With the renaissance of mechanical watchmaking getting into swing, there was an increased interest in vintage diving watches, among the rarest, those made by Panerai and Rolex, with these dials combining two types of numerals. One of the stories about how the 'California dial' got its name is that vintage watch dealers played into the frenzy by having the dials of original Rolex Bubble Backs refinished. A man by the name of Kirk Rich was their go-to guy, and as he was based in California, the name kind of stuck with experts who used it to indicate these refinished dials. Among the general public, it quickly became the legitimate designation for all dials featuring this unique combination of numerals. At Isotope, the love for dive watches runs deep. With the Hydrium and HydriumX, a modern dive watch with a nod to vintage design was born. However, Jose Miranda, founder of Isotope, has always dreamed of owning one of the original dive watches with a 'California dial.' With more fakes than real ones floating around in the market, often changing hands for steep prices, they are out of reach to him and many other watch collectors who share his love for this quirky dial design. So he followed his passion and created the 'California dial' he craved so much for the Isotope Hydrium. It became a watch that, if it existed back then, could very well be used by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his team when filming 'The Silent World.' The grainy black dial creates a matte effect in which the Arabic and Roman numerals stand out. Filled in with Super-LumiNova, they light up in the dark with their mysterious glow, similar to the luminescent creatures of the sea. The clear white letters of the Isotope logo further indicate that we are dealing with a proper tool watch. The industrial finish of the bold hands, a design that has become a hallmark of Isotope's divers' watches, makes for a visual conne