Aquanero Hydrosphere

Aquanero is maybe a little-known brand, but I’ve had the chance to check out their first watch, the Sailmaker, and a watch from their sister brand, the Archon Sealiner. Just one of several brands under the Blacklist umbrella, Aquanero says their aim is to deliver stylish, sailing-inspired watches that can “be worn anytime.” Does the new quartz-powered Hydrosphere rise to the occasion? Well. It’s a dive watch, so that’s a start.

Immediately catching the eye are the Hydrosphere’s textured dial and the very light luster to the bezel. The applied indices are nice, too. Aquanero has done a great job with the different colorways (there are eight), and I encourage you to check them all out on their site.

Despite its slightly large size, the Hydrosphere sits rather well on the wrist. When you’re using a quartz movement, it’s not too hard to keep a watch thin, and I’m glad that’s the case here. And how about those blued hands catching the light? Too good.

There’s not much going on here. Curved lugs, that pinch a bit to stay thin, and a screw-down crown that could stand to be just a little bigger, but posed no real problems. And it’s always nice to see drilled lugs, especially when you’re an unapologetic strap swapper like me.

The super slim case is on full display here. Sits nice and flat on the wrist. No fuss. It’s hard to see here, but if you look closely at where the end links meet the lugs, you can see they don’t quite line up. Functionally irrelevant, aesthetically annoying.

Ah, there she is. Great texture on the dial, and lovely blued hands and indices. The low-profile, box sapphire does a great job keeping the dial readable and catching a pleasing amount of light on its edge. Overall, the dial manages good balance despite being quite large; too often are large dials left with huge swaths of open space.

Can you see the luster (frosting?) on the bezel, where the light catches it. Anything more would’ve been overkill next to the dial, so this is done just right. The 120-click bezel has a satisfying click and limited, if any, backplay.

Interesting that the bluing on the indices is just kept the tops, no? Still, they’re awful pretty. And I don’t know what it means (I didn’t ask, it wasn’t shared), but I like the hashtag-in-a-circle Aquanero logo. Also would’ve preferred a blued seconds hand to tie it all together.

While the white date wheel doesn’t work on every color option, it certainly does on the sky blue, especially with the shiny black hands. The pronounced beveled edge is a great choice and is well executed. The indices here are as good as on the other variant, but maybe matching them to the black hands would have made them even better.

No complaints here. The lume charges quickly, shines brightly, and is evenly applied. That’s actually saying a lot for a sub-$500 watch.

Casebacks are unimportant, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy one done cleanly. I like the polished, embossed brand and model against the frosted background. Hiding beneath is the Swiss Ronda 515 quartz movement. It’s not top of the line, but it does feature one jewel, 45 months of battery life, and a neat power-saving trick: when not on in use, pulling the crown will decrease battery consumption by 70%.

The bracelet and its clasp are disappointing. The ersatz jubilee style links are light and jangly, and the stamped clasp delivers more of the same. Further, while the clasp was secure every time I wore it, it did not have a satisfying click when fastening, and I was constantly left uncertain of whether it was closed all the way. And quick-release pins–now a staple of microbrand watches–would’ve been nice.

Aquanero seems a bit uncertain of itself: the Sailmaker is a decidedly stylish, affordable alternative to the watch nerd favorite Patek Philippe Nautilus. The Hydrosphere seems to have a bit less personality, and at the end of the day is simply a quartz dive watch with a pretty dial. That doesn’t make it bad. Just out of place when put next to its brand sibling. Taken alone, the Hydroscaphe is a serviceable, if not incredibly robust diver. It checks the boxes, and sometimes that’s all you need. If you’re interested, you can check out all the colorways on the product page.

P.S. – If you’re interested in that nice leather watch roll, it’s by Rothwell, another marque under the Blacklist umbrella. I don’t much go for watch rolls, but this one was very nice. The leather felt like it was of high quality and featured a snap closure. The partitions are rigid, and the cushions slide out easily and seemed rather secure once placed in the roll. With other brands charging hundreds of dollars for the same, this one seems like a great deal at just $80. You can check them out here.