
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Lemania Benthos 1 "1000 Meters" Dive Watch, late 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Lemania (maker)
- Date
- late 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 42 mm
- Stock no.
- W-2467
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-2467)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Lemania Benthos 1 "1000 Meters" Dive Watch (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-2467), this is a wristwatch by Lemania, made in Switzerland, dated late 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 42 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Bulang & Sons
This is a very rare 1970s dive watch by Lemania. The Benthos 1 was a rare example of a watch able to go to a depth of 1000 ( a VERY RARE feature at that time !)meters, thanks to the monobloc case. The watch features an orange ‘running minutes’ hand that is adjusted using a pusher in the case at five o’clock. This watch remains in excellent original condition with great lines on the large 42mm steel case. The black dial features white text and zinc-sulphide tritium lume. The bakelite bezel remains in amazing condition. This watch will come on the pictured Bulang and Sons strap and the AS Schild AS2162 automatic movement has been fully serviced by our watchmaker. This is a rare watch, that we believe was never made commercially available, unlike its cousin the Aqua Star Benthos 1. Get in touch and we can discuss it more ! Specifications: - Lemania Benthos 1 - Dates to late 1970s - 42mm stainless steel monobloc case - Pusher at five to set the orange dive hand - Bakelite bezel - Black dial with zinc-sulphide lume - Comes on the picture Bulang and Sons strap - AS Schild AS2162 modified movement - Fully serviced by our watchmaker
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Dive and water-resistant watches
Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.
Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.
What to look for
- Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
- Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
- Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
- Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.
Dating clues
- Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
- Professional dive watches: from 1953.
- Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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