In Italian, ‘Palombaro’ means diver – and Squale is proud to introduce the latest in a long line of dive watches: the Squale Master for the divers of the Comsubin, an elite department of the Italian Navy specialised in complex underwater operations.

This new Squale Master x Palombari del Comsubin is being produced in a limited edition of 500 pieces. Only 420 are available to the public, as the first 80 are reserved for operational use by the Comsubin divers themselves.

As expected from the ultimate underwater tool watch, this is an exceptional timepiece featuring technical characteristics that guarantee excellent performance even in extreme conditions, having been designed in collaboration with professional divers.

For this distinguished collaboration, it was decided to use the revived historic Squale “Master” case. This model was one of the first cases designed by Squale's founder, Charles Von Büren, in the 60s. Over time, the Squale Master became an established name in the world of diving enthusiasts, as famous freedivers such as Enzo Maiorca and Jacques Mayol chose it as their reliable companion during their underwater adventures. The technical characteristics of this pioneering watch guaranteed water resistance up to a depth of 1000 meters.

With the aim of creating an even higher performance product for the renewed collaboration with the Italian Navy, the Master case has undergone some technical improvements (such as the introduction of the helium valve and the addition of a 4 millimeter-thick sapphire crystal) to withstand depths of up to 1200 meters. The Drass Galeazzi company (world leader in the production of submarines) carried out the case water resistant tests in their laboratories and certified the resistance up to 120 ATM. This is also the very first Squale watch made entirely of Grade 5 titanium

Every detail of the watch has been designed in close collaboration with this elite Italian military unit, whose logo features at six o’clock on the deep blue dial - complemented by a matching deep blue ceramic bezel. This stunning colourway, emblematic of Squale, also reflects the tones of the Palombari del Comsubin’s uniform, which is designed to blend in with the sea. Furthermore, these colours are echoed in the additional operational camouflage-coated Comsubin leather strap that is supplied with the watch, which comes on a durable black rubber tropic strap as standard: ready for underwater work. This is truly a diver’s watch created by divers for divers.

Yet it’s far from the first time that Squale has embarked on a similar collaboration. The partnership with the Italian Navy dates back to the 1980s when Squale first became a supplier of professional dive watches to the military diving corps based in the port of La Spezia.

The Palombari del Comsubin division is renowned worldwide for its underwater capabilities and ability to collaborate with other national and international bodies at the vanguard of diving excellence. The Comsubin diving school is also a training ground for divers from other armed forces or departments, frequently taking part in international exercises alongside other equivalent units from around the world.

Not only is the Palombari del Comsubin a crack squad of divers certified for underwater operations to a depth of 300 metres, but they are also licensed parachutists, with airdrop and heli-airdrop capabilities to rescue submarines damaged at sea. These extreme demands formed the basis of the brief for an incredibly high performance dive watch.

As a result, 40 years after their first historic collaboration, Squale and the Marina Militare (Italian Navy) Comsubin divers now renew their partnership. Over the years, the technical demands have increased, and the result is this latest watch of uncompromising quality, which meets the specific requests of the diving unit for a product that is perfectly suited to their extreme underwater environment.

All the features of the watch have been designed to create an incredibly high-performance timepiece, able to meet the needs and high standards of the Italian Navy. The matte deep blue dial is made with a "sandwich" technique, which allows a greater amount of SuperLuminova BWG9 to be concentrated in the large indexes. The smooth, coin-shaped 120 click uni-directional bezel has a ceramic insert and partners well with the bright orange minute hand providing crucial, at a glance, information on remaining or elapsed dive-time. The flat scratch-resistant sapphire crystal is enhanced with an anti-reflective treatment for better visibility.

This classic diver has a screw-in case back, and a brushed grade 5 titanium case with dimensions of 42mm x 16mm for a comfortable presence on your wrist. The caseback bears the Palombari and Marina Militaire names, as well as the edition number of the limited series.

The Squale Master Palombari del Comsubin is powered by a Swiss made Sellita SW 200-1 Elaboré automatic movement which provides mechanical reliability and accuracy under the toughest circumstances.

With the all-titanium limited-edition Master x Palombari del Comsubin, Squale has created an elite dive watch for a truly exceptional organisation that operates at the frontiers of military endurance.