Welcome

First of all, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Sandy Rijgersberg, and I am the chairman of the Dutch section of the Historical Diving Society. Within this organization, I am involved in the preservation of historic diving equipment. In addition, I regularly restore antique diving helmets, radios, pumps, and other related equipment for my own collection, always with the goal of returning them to their most original and authentic condition.

One of the greatest challenges that I, as well as other collectors, encounter is that the correct parts or specialist knowledge are often no longer available. In such cases, I carry out extensive research into original techniques, materials, and construction methods in order to make a restoration possible. Sometimes this means that parts have to be completely reproduced from scratch.

I often discovered that parts I had manufactured, or that others had already developed in the past, were also being sought by multiple collectors — without them knowing these parts already existed. As a result, a great deal of duplicate work is carried out within the world of historic collecting, and unnecessary costs are often incurred. For many components, it makes little difference whether one piece or five are produced; the cost usually remains almost the same.

For this reason, I regularly have spare parts produced for future restorations of similar helmets, pumps, or other historic systems. With this website, I would like to show which parts are already available, which reproductions I have developed, and how certain restoration processes are carried out. In this way, other collectors can save time, research, and costs, while helping to preserve valuable historic heritage.

Available spare parts are offered at cost price through the Dutch HDS. If you see something you need, or if you have a question about a restoration or component, please feel free to contact us at info@thehds.nl.