To celebrate a magnificent partnership between two of Italy's historic brands, Squale introduces yet another fantastic limited-edition timepiece to reflect on the prodigious heritage of Marina Militare and the distinguished watchmaking legacy of Squale. With a blend of an alluring military design, modern materials, and spectacular underwater performance, the Squale Master is an excellent limited-edition timepiece from Squale, packed full of exciting features for both professional divers and avid watch enthusiasts. Best yet, it's the first time Squale introduced its iconic dive watches with robust titanium material. Since its founding in 1946 by dive enthusiast Charles von Büren in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Squale has pushed the boundaries of dive watches with its continuous pursuit of avant-garde innovation. This was remarkably demonstrated in the late 1960s with the release of the groundbreaking 101 ATMOS, achieving the first-ever 1000m dive watch without needing a helium escape valve. Before even a time when rubber gaskets and screw-in case-backs were widely implemented on dive watches, Squale designed an ingenious ring lock system, securing the case back with a threaded metal ring. Having understood the requisites of divers, Squale strives to bring professional divers with highly reliable timepieces to withstand unforgiving underwater environments. As a highly-respected leader in the dive watches industry in the '60s and '70s, numerous renowned Swiss watches manufacturers such as Tag Heuer, Doxa, and Blancpain sought out Squale's watchmaking expertise to manufacture robust and well-designed cases for their watches. Today, Squale remains an illustrious family-run business based in Italy - ceaselessly creating magnificent timepieces that faithfully embody the adventurous spirit of Charles von Büren. The Comsubin Palombari connection The long-running partnership with the Italian Navy dates back to the 1980s when Squale twice won the contract to supply professional dive watches to Italy's Diving Operations Group (known as GOS) based in the coastal port of La Spezia. Today, standards have been raised with a watch made of grade 5 titanium that allows military divers to reach incredible depths of 1200 metres. This very dive watch was made officially for the Marina Militare's Palombari Comsubin, where 200 pieces were explicitly allocated for them. The Palombari belong to the legendary Comsubin diving division, which is further split into the Operational Divers Group (GOS) and the Operational Raiders Group (GOI). Both are the pride of the Italian Navy even today. The naval raiders perform special military operations, including liberating hostages and maritime counter-terrorism. Meanwhile, the operational divers perform search and recovery operations for submerged artefacts and disposal of explosive ordnance and rescue missions for stricken submarines. On top of having all the military training to operate underwater, each member of the Palombari also possesses a military paratrooper certification. This allows them to parachute in to rescue submarines damaged at sea, meaning they are world leaders in their field who can operate anywhere. In Italy today, the Palombari dispose of unexploded devices found in seas, lakes, and rivers daily, and they can also be called in to deactivate improvised explosive devices. These skilled divers are also called upon to assist in crises. One example was the sinking of the Costa Concordia, where the Palombari played a vital role in the rescue operation. The squad also undertakes essential duties such as inspecting underwater pipelines and recovering sunken treasure in collaboration with government ministries. The Palombari also work internationally, including rescuing damaged submarines for NATO, securing oil platforms, checking gas pipelines, and supporting research missions in Antarctica for the National Agency for New Technologies (ENEA). They possess highly sophisticated vehicles and equipment, such as the SRV300 (Submarine Rescue Vehicle) – a bathyscaphe for rescuing damaged submarines – the ADS (Atmospheric Diving System), an underwater diving suit equipped with thrusters for operations up to 300 metres deep, and several ROVs. (Remotely Operated Vehicles) that operate at 2000 metres. Thanks to meticulous training and decades of experience, the Palombari are constantly ready for action in purely military operations or assisting other departments. As an internationally-recognized elite body, the Palombari also train divers of other armed forces and police departments, as well as special agents, to use cutting-edge diving equipment. Therefore, this Squale diver Is apt as it is made specifically for underwater missions. The collaborative dive watch Intriguingly, Squale not only re-mastered this new collaborative skin-diver based on the current Squale's signature 50 ATMOS case but also executed with a case material that has never been used in Squale's entire history. The masterfully crafted, high satin-polished Grade 5 titanium case of the Squale Master clads a classic silhouette that harks back well over five decades, where the watchmaker engineered the Fifty Fathoms 3H Bund for Blancpain during the seventies. The iconic case certainly reflects Squale's extensive experience in the artistry of producing exemplary watch cases, as robustly built and over-engineered just like the ones made for the Bundeswehr Kampfschwimmer, as it is with the newest Galeazzi diver, and now this particular military piece. This timeless and distinctive case design, known as the esteemed "Von Büren case," bears a classic '60s aesthetic. The case features a screw-down crown at the 4 o'clock position cleverly tucked underneath the case construction, minimizing the risk of accidental knocks that may harm the movement. This time, Squale went above and beyond to upgrade the dive watch case with an additional helium escape valve at the 9 o'clock position, providing uncompromised driving performance up to 1200m water-resistant, as it discharges built-up pressure during decompression. Again, a vital but straightforward feature aligns with Comsubin's values of design excellence in developing powerful underwater technologies. Dimensions on the titanium diver are upgraded from the previous special Galeazzi edition. It hits the sweet spot between a classic vintage size and bold tool watches of the present. In the same spirit as the original Fifty Fathoms 3H Bund, it measures a gratifying case diameter of 41.65mm, a lug-to-lug distance of 48.9mm, and a case thickness of 16.15mm. It is a piece that excels in its beautifully proportioned case, keeping it highly wearable on a wide range of wrist sizes while tackling the ocean's depth. Since the entire case is lightweight titanium, the watch wears more comfortably without feeling the hefty weight of a usual stainless steel case with the exact dimensions. It is then fitted with convenient drilled lug holes for an easy strap change; the Squale Master Marina Militare Comsubin pairs well with a 20mm blue camo strap in canvas material and a complimentary black carbon-fibre-grained strap with leather backing for utmost comfort. The camo strap was made to match the blue uniform of the Palombari, and the same manufacturer even fabricates it. This time, Squale went above and beyond to upgrade the 50 ATMOS case with an additional helium escape valve at 9 o'clock, providing the watch with uncompromised driving performance as it discharges built-up pressure during decompression. A vital but straightforward feature aligns with Drass Galeazzi's values of design excellence in developing powerful underwater technologies. While a vintage-inspired dive watch, the Squale Master pulls off a classic look with phenomenal modern materials. The scratch-resistant ceramic bezel on the blue 120-click unidirectional diving bezel exhibits a pleasing lustre in different angles, capturing the utilitarian look with its dark minute markings. This design is instantly recognizable as a style reminiscent of the stunning bezel in one of the exceedingly iconic dive watches. For a fresh modern touch, each hour marker on the dial, including the 12 o'clock triangle, is treated with BGW9 Super-LumiNova luminescent for a charming professional look and a bright glow in the dark. Zooming into the main highlight of the Squale diver, the captivating sunburst blue dial ensures maximum legibility with its substantial round and block-shaped hour markers and broad pencil-style hands. The Squale further clads much Italian flair with a "sandwich" dial design where the markers are placed below the sunburst blue dial, forming two different layers. Under the deep dark depths of the ocean, overcoming the lack of light and decreased legibility is a menacing challenge for divers. Fortunately, underwater legibility is one of the most vital attributes of the watch; packing a vibrant orange minute hand and a generous filling of "Swiss SuperLumiNova luminescent treatment, " the hands and markers are applied with the same luminous. Together, they exhibit a charming modern appeal while offering bright blue glow-in-dark lighting. Marking the commemoration between the respected brands, the dial of the Squale Master displays both the Squale logo at the 12 o'clock position and the Palombari Comsubin emblem at the 6 o'clock position. The depiction of a divers' helmet symbolizes the Marina Militare's excellence in pioneering underwater exploration - a proud mark of great honour and rich heritage. At the 3 o'clock position, the hour marker is replaced with a subtle date window, matching the dial seamlessly with a white date wheel with contrasting black text. With an emphasis on incredible underwater performance, the titanium diver has a thick 4mm scratch-resistant sapphire crystal protecting the exquisite dial and a screw-down case back, achieving a hefty water resistance of 1200m, ready for undersea adventures. The case back signed with Marina Militare's proud logo is marked with a unique serial number of 500 pieces to signify its exclusivity. Currently, this is a collective collection where only 150 pieces are reserved for collectors - the first 150 pieces are explicitly assigned to the Palombari. Underneath the solidly-built exterior, the watch is driven by the Swiss-made Sellita SW200 Elaboré grade automatic movement, which has a 4 Hz beat rate of 28,800 beats per hour (BPH), calibrated to achieve higher accuracy. This 26-jewel movement is a tried-and-tested "workhorse" movement renowned for its impeccable reliability, featuring hand-winding and hacking capabilities with a power reserve of 38 hours. The Squale Master Marina Militare Comsubin is presented in an incredibly sturdy IP67-certified travel case specially designed to transport and protect sensitive equipment to complete the whole experience. This exceptional case is also equipped with an automatic pressurization valve to guarantee resistance to water, dust, and impacts - a packaging certainly fitting for such a great dive watch. All that said, the Squale Master truly sets itself with two new milestones, where the brand had honed its crafts with never-been-used case material, made specially and officially for the Italian nation's Comsubin division. Apart from these novelties, the brand has consistently delivered impressive performance and stunning designs, which is no surprise with Squale's rich heritage of producing fine dive watches. Lastly, the MM's timepiece takes things to a new level with a watch that combines all the correct elements to accomplish what many would describe as a perfect dive watch.
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