BEWARE THE FAKE PLEXI!
Many parts for vintage Squale no longer exist. And someone has figured out that they can make quick cash out of our desperation...
So here is the deal... even with prices now firmly on the up; vintage Squale still make for the best value vintage watches out there. However... you must understand one negative; many parts no longer exist. I mean, a set of nice hands for the 1000m Master are litteral unicorn poop. And; it seems the vulnerable high dome Plexiglass crystal for the vintage Master (both 1000m and 100 Atmos) has now reached this spikey point too.
With a diver being a tool watch, chances are that any original Squale you find from the 60's, 70's, or 80's will have many scars on the thick plastic crystal. Scratches and gouges are common. So if you have a condition OCD, you have two options... polish or hunt down a NOS spare. The latter is a better option, as no matter how much polish is used... stress cracks don't disappear.
But NOS high dome plexi for the Master Squale are now all but gone. Thankfully, they can be found on the various private sales websites around the world (on a rare occasion). But I can tell you from costly experience... most of these plexi are not what they are sold to be.
As I recently revealed in another of my information 'Nugget' features; most of the 70's and 80's plexi for the Master had a handy Von Buren stamp on them (see pic above), making identification of a genuine part easy (well, sort of... you may need a macro lens to see the stamp). But 60's and 90's parts did not feature the Von stamp at all, meaning fake NOS crystals can be sold as genuine, giving the seller a massive profit and the buyer a bit of plastic rubbish.
Above is a shot of an NOS 100 Atmos plexi I bought last week for £120. You can see in the picture it carries a few storage marks (most notably by the 'b' in 'standby') but you can also just about see the 'Von' stamp (below the letter 'y') proving this is the real deal.
Below is one of three others I bought in the last year from different sellers. This one cost £100 plus shipping and, while it does fit the 1000m and 100 Atmos Master case... it is not a Squale part. At best, it is a cheap piece of crap...
Look how the fake plexi distorts the text compared to the real Squale item. There really is no comparison beyond the fact the flange dimension allows it to be clamped into the Squale case (hell, even the dome shoulder ends up below the bezel).
So here is what to look out for... and remember; it is easy to identify the real one in this side by side picture, but it is much harder when the crystal is on its own - so take your time and be sure.
While both fit the Master, the real Squale plexi is on the right. The one on the left is what is most often sold as a Squale Master plexi, but is actually from a Philip 702 Caribbean. While it fits the case mount, all other specs are wrong.
Don't bother with cheap fakes unless you are desperate. Indeed, if you are; ask me... I have plenty of the fake ones now through careless buying from unscrupulous sellers.
Real plexi dimentions:
Flange diameter - 33.8mm
Flange thickness - 1.6mm
Total height - 8mm
Two of my fakes are around 1mm less in overall height, the third has side walls at a more relaxed angle.
METAL MASTER GENESIS...
Last year, we revealed the existence of a hyper rare 100-Atmos Squale; the Mk.2 'Metal Master'. But the genesis of this exclusive variant lays way back in time...
I'm always struck when a collector finds a strange Squale, then posts it on social media only to be battered by loads of 'experts' claiming the piece is a 'frankensquale' (a home-brewed watch monster created from a bunch of old parts). And many are, of course (just don't tell those 'experts' they are mostly right). But, some are not monsters made of bits. No. A few are hyper rare examples of factory watches who's history is lost to time. Such it was with the mk.2 'Metal Master' we revealed last year. It seemed nobody knew about it... until one after another, collectors around the world started to realise their one odd piece was actually part of a large family. And that is how rare variants are proven... by collectors coming together and building a large body of evidence.
You see; one odd looking Squale is questionable... but if five are found that show the same design hallmarks... that there oddball becomes a rare factory variant.
And it seems Squale have a long history of dropping metal bezel specials. Hell, you can go way back to the late 1960's and, if you're extremely lucky, you might find a metal bezel variant of the 1000m Supermatic Master.
One of the 'lucky few' collectors who actually found a 'unicorn' metal bezel 1000m Master was originally so sure it was a franken, he actually took this steel bezel off and replaced it with a NOS acrylic replacement. Of course... finding out about this rare model means his rare ring of steel has now been popped right back to where it should be.
As mentioned in the previous 100 atmos feature, there are other Squale models with rare metal variants too. The chunky 2003 is one such beast, and its bezel design is almost identical to the 1521 metal Master.
There are metal bezel Mediums, including a stellar titanium case version as pictured here. If it had been 38mm, 40mm or 42mm... I would have purchased this very watch. But at 35mm... its just too small.
And then there are the 'turtle' cased y1553, which feature an aggressive toothed bezel edge. These are little known and hard to find.
If you know of anyone with a vintage metal-bezel Squale in their collection, please ask them to get in touch so we can add more meat to our Gallery.
And if you think you have a rare Squale but are not sure if it might be a franken... send us some pictures; we may know of more just like it.
SQUALE MILANO NOS 1521
When the Squale brand was re-launched by the Maggi family in 2005, boxes of parts left over from the 80' and 90's were found in the factory. These included enough NOS components to produce a run of 100 very special 1521...
This first run of NOS watches out of the old Squale factory (made in conjunction with Fabrizio Vallesi from Horus) was released for sale in 2009. They are now highly prized by the collector and, if you know what to look for, they are easy to spot.
This guide will help you spot these rare sharks that occasionally swim in the sea of used 1521 on the various auction sites. Read on to ensure you can spot the next one to surface...
First detail is the bezel insert. Modern 1521 have a bezel pip held into the insert with a metal collar. But on the 'NOS' 1521, there were a number of variations to be aware of: some had a hole filled with Tritium, others had a blob of Superluminova (bottom). But the watch we are speaking about here had a unique insert (top) with a sunken pip that glows an intense green when charged.
The next detail (that is strikingly obvious once you spot it) is that they came with a chapter ring treated with Cerakote, so has a matte black finish.
Next up is the lume plots. On these 1st 100 NOS pieces, the dials featured the T markings for 'Tritium', and the original plots, now a creamy yellow, remain (top). On later batches, you can find T marked dials, but the tritium has been removed and replaced with Superluminova (bottom).
You can also spot in this picture that the seconds hand featured a much smaller paddle than on later examples, as can been seen on the much sought after Marina Militare 1521 from the 80's.
Moving on to the hour hand; this first batch of NOS 1521 had what is known as the 'skinny' hours hand. Again, this is something that featured on the vintage Marina Militare watches made in the 80's.
You can also see a very slight difference in the logo, most noticeable in the 'E'.
Things get pretty nerdy when you start investigating such tiny details, but that is what is required when hunting down perfect examples of this variant. Note the minutes hand above; which features a slightly different sword tip and lume window shape.
As with other early 1521 built with NOS parts, this Milano variant is fitted with a classic 80's case back (top).
These are different to the laser engraved modern case backs, but similar to those made in the 90's. However, note that the '50 Atmos' engraving resides in a box at the top of the circle in the 80's version, and in later pieces it sits above the word 'professional'.
Again, there are a few later NOS batches that can be seen with this feature, but not in conjunction with all the other details featured here in this guide.
What you are looking at here (top) is the bezel edge. Note that it is press fit, not screw fix; and that the coin edge is more shallow compared to modern bezels (bottom).
THE METAL MASTER LIVES!
There are many 'rare bird' Squale out there, but a few are so rare that most don't even believe in their existence...
I will never forget the day (as a collector, such moments burn into your brain) that I found a strange Squale on a German used sales site (above). It ran a Squale mk.2 Master dial, a typical Squale 1521 hand set, and what looked like a 1521 case... but it featured a strange machined metal bezel. I'd never seen anything like it, wanted to buy it, but couldn't find anything about its history.
I got straight on the phone to ping WhatsApp messages to the experts I knew, and even sent a detailed email to Squale CH. All feedback received suggested it was a franken, and Squale had no records of such a piece. But by the time I decided to just buy it anyway, the watch had sold.
The common factors between all the factory built/issued 'metal Masters' is the brushed bezel and engraved case back (which proudly displays a MASTER logo).
The machined bezel has a few design similarities to the Tiger, but is near identical to the rare 1553 'turtle' that was the precursor to the case supplied to North Eagles for military specials, the quartz 1515, and a few special 2003 that also ran a metal bezel instead of the usual acrylic.
Most also run similar dials, with orange 12, 6 and 9 markers; some are branded, some are naked (with no logo at 12), and a few are even full lume!
But there are also others out there that run regular Squale 100 Atmos dials with applied indices.
After kicking myself relentlessly for not purchasing the first one of these I saw, I knew I'd not make that mistake again should the chance arrive. And, thankfully, I did get that opportunity; finding a beautiful Ticin branded example with the orange markers.
As time has ticked by, more of these special Squale have surfaced. And I have kept a record of the serial numbers where I can. The serial numbers (stamped down the side of these cases on the examples with orange markers) suggest there should be at least 300 of these special metal bezel 100-Atmos Masters out there. Yet right now, we only know of 6! That is a whole heap load of Squale gold just waiting to be found...
Interestingly... most of those without the orange marker dial that we have seen, feature a serial number not on the case side, but between the lugs. This suggests that they fell outside of the specific run of these special Masters; and our best guess is that Master owners who complained to Squale about delamination of their acrylic bezel (after diving followed by exposure to strong sunlight) would be offered the more durable option of a machined metal replacement.
If you know of anyone with a metal Master in their collection, please ask them to get in touch so we can add more data to this rare model's history.
SQUALE FUMOSO FACTS
Squale use a number of 'tags' to identify their model variants, and here we reveal what 'Fumoso' is all about...
Fumoso... in English the word means 'smokey', and it's a descriptive word used to identify certain Squale variants that run a special dial design, like the Red Passion 1521 pictured above.
The dial design has a unique look that is darker (or smokey) at its outer edge. But what most people don't know, is that it actually relates to how these special dials are made too.
In the next picture you can see the reverse of a special 1521 dial. The brass is 'blued' due to the application of heat at its edge. And this treatment, carried out by artisans with a blow torch, is what gives the dark edge to the stunning dials.
As the heat is applied, vapours come off the brass dial, and creates a bit of smoke. So the Fumoso name works on two levels.
While there are a number of proper Fumoso dial Squale (like the Red Passion, the Green Envy AWCo, and the much sought after Blue Soleil), the model that actually carries the Fumoso tag in its name (a Gnomon 1521) does not actually run a proper heat treated dial, it is just carefully painted to give the same graduated smokey look.
BLASTED SQUALES
For the money asked, Squale produce some of the best case finishing available; the polish of the 1521 is sublime! But think 1521, and it's hard not to think of the military-inspired 'Satinato' finish...
But where did the 'Satinato' finish come from and what creates it? Well, it started back in 2014, with a limited edition run of 1521 from Page & Cooper (a long since closed watch retailer in the UK) that featured a sand blasted finish (just like the one pictured above). While just supposition, it is my theory that P&C were offered the last of the NOS 1521 cases with press fit bezels, but that they were damaged due to poor storage; and so they were blasted to hide the imperfections.
If you increase the magnification, you will notice that the circumference of the bezel insert is missing material, suggesting these watches were blasted after having the case put together. They masked off the insert, but still suffered blast damage at its edge.
In this shot, a 2014 SuperMatte LE is on top of a Satinato from 2019. And it becomes clear to see there is quite a difference. The SuperMatte seems to shine with more colour and lustre, the Satinato has a look that's more silky and seems to absorb more light. This less aggressive finish (which reminds me of shark skin) is due to a move from sand blasting to bead blasting (that utilises graded beads of glass that are smaller in size and smoother than sand).
In this extreme macro shot, it becomes even more clear to see how different the finishes are. The SuperMatte is super aggressive in comparison to the slick Satinato.
If you ever want to track a down a SuperMatte; 20 were made with blasted chapter rings and 20 were made with PVD chapter rings. All 40 were sold in 2014 and came with Page & Cooper signed warranty cards and in double-width display boxes.
THE 75 ATMOS MYSTERY
When you get into Squale, you eventually get hooked on vintage. And when this happens, many mysteries unfold. One such story is the bizarre case of the '25 Atmos 75 Atmos'... a mystery we have now finally solved!
At the heart of this mystery sits the Blandford Ocean Diver 'Trident'; a 250 Supermatic that gets its nickname from the slightly odd double ended trident logo printed on its dial.
It's a highly prized model by collectors due to the funky colours the dial comes in, and because of the beautiful acrylic bezel inserts that feature on it.
But then a few years ago, collectors began to notice a bizarre detail, and the forums lit up.
It will probably not be of much surprise that the detail being discussed was linked to that trident logo. But it probably will come as a shock as to why it was being discussed. You see, if you hold the watch at a certain angle in the right light, you can see something under the red logo. And, while this watch being a 250 has a rating of 25 Atmos, what sits under that trident says '75 Atmos'.
Wind on a few years and the mystery started to unravel when one of the staffers here, Big Ffish, showed me a picture of a watch he had recently missed at auction; a Monval 75 Atmos Supermatic - a watch that featured a strange model designation (but we will come back to that) on the caseback.
Over a few days, what is left of my 'grey matter' started slowly sparking... and the memory of that trident under-print came flooding back.
Above you can see two images. The top image is of a black dial 75 Atmos Denill, the bottom a 25 Atmos 'Trident' Blandford.
While there is some optical effects going on due to each watch having a different type of crystal (the 75 Atmos using the high dome of the Master), you can see the type is the same... the 250 Supermatic dial had originally been intended for use in 75 Atmos watches. BOOM!
As you can see from this image of my personal watch, there are a number of design elements on the 75 Atmos that are unquestionably Squale. The acrylic bezel with chrome markers, the thin frame hand set, and the high dome crystal are all straight out of a mk.1 Master. The dial is super similar to the mk.2 Master as well. But what on earth is going on with that 'turtle' case?
There are many of these 75 Atmos watches out there, most commonly from Monval, but also from Roundex and Denill. And there will probably be other brands found in time.
Where Squale made watches suitable for 10 Atmos, 20 Atmos, 25 Atmos and 50 Atmos, a huge gap was then left open before the next stage came in; the 100 Atmos. So you can see where the marketing bods at Squale were coming from with this 75 Atmos... there was a big hole to fill.
So what was the model designation given to this new Squale? Welcome, friends, to the mighty turtle-cased Squale 1522.
Just let that sink in for a moment.
Right then; off you go. Let the searching commence! First to find a Squale branded version wins a feature.
SECURING SPECIAL SQUALE
One question I get asked all the time is, "how the hell do you find all the amazing vintage Squale in your collection?" Well; here's a 'nugget' I hope will help...
Rule number 1 is; 'search'. Relentlessly. Everywhere. All the time. Search on every target platform, every hour, every day. You see, the good stuff sells; FAST. So you gotta be there first. If you aren't; you lose. You don't even see the ad!
Take the stunning Mk.2 Squale Master above, for example. Did you see it listed? I did, and so did 15 others around the world; all of us putting 'best offers' through within a few minutes of each other. The seller realised it was special and decided to pull it and list at a higher price. But he did not relist that day, or the next; in fact it took him over a week to do it. But I knew he had it, and that it would go live at some point, so I waited... and relentlessly refreshed search until it finally showed up.
This time, I did not piss around making an offer; it was 'Buy It Now' for the win. After all the effort reaching this point; I was not going to take a risk.
And how was this stunning piece listed? See above. You have to realise that many people list things pretty wildly. Where it should say '100 Atmos' it was listed as '100ATMOS' and if you had only searched for the former, you'd have never seen it. The same goes for the auto translate feature he used, changing the brand from 'Squale' to 'SHARK'... if you want to find such pieces... you must have oddball searches set up that will only deliver once or twice a year... but when they do; you'll be one of the few who can see it.
How about the rare Carabinieri 1521 above... did you spot that for sale last week? 80's bezel insert, Marina Militaire hand set, unique dial... worth a fortune! But some lucky sod got it for six hundred bucks! Why? Because a few of us collectors messed up... well, one actually (I won't embarrass them by saying who it was... but it was Big Ffish!).
You see, when things go to auction, you gotta be ready at the end. Wifi connection; strong. Timing of last bid; perfect. Amount you offer; 'stupid'. No pissing around. If you are too early, you'll drive the price up. If you're late; you lose. If you drop a cheeky low final bid that you hope will bag you that special piece for cheap... you lose. Don't do it. Just go big in the last 10 seconds and win.
Check all platforms from all around the world. There is life beyond ebay. Japan, Italy Switzerland, Poland, Germany, etc. all have there own similar auction sites worth checking out. Then there are all the forums that have 'for sale' threads. Plus there are trawler sites (like WatchRecon) that mine all online sales areas and can help you find what you seek. On top of all this is what I consider the final check of the day... Google Images 'most recent' search. with this, and all other searches I do, I have 49 pages open in Chrome ready to refresh each hour. And then there are the searches for brands Squale supplied cases to. Sounds extreme. Is extreme. But it is this effort that has scored me the pieces you'll see here one day soon in my SOTC feature.
So there you have it; the magic behind the magic. I have no idea why I'm telling you lot and making my life harder. But it is safe to assume that while I have 'spilled a few beans' here; there are plenty more nuggets of info I have kept tucked away.
Good luck in your searches people... I hope you find what you seek... before I do.
CAUTION ADVISED...
When collecting Squale, one inevitably ends up scouring auction houses around the world. But; fortune does not always favour the brave!
I admit it; I have a problem. Well, I have a few, but the one I want to talk about here is my obsession with hunting vintage sharks. I spend multiple hours each day searching all the key sales sites around the world hoping to find the few special Squale missing from my small collection. And 99-percent of the time, these searches are utterly fruitless. But to find a gem... you have to dig.
Now, if you get serious about the Squale hunt too, it won't take long for you to realise that a good few rare vintage sharks surface in little private auctions around the world. And, sometimes, they seem to sell for a very good price.
I will admit it; the urge to get involved is impossible to block... a cheeky bid (or seven) follows quickly. Just like with this Squale FF96 DIVING Automatic in the pictures... these are so historically important; I had to bid. But so did others and, inevitably, I paid more than I wanted to.
It's exciting, though, right? You found that rare Squale. It looks like it's going to hammer at a fair price. And in a few days you'll have it strapped on your wrist and posted on Insta, right? Well, hold your horses there, boy. Life ain't that simple.
You see; this isn't eBay. You don't get amazing photos. You don't get to ask loads of questions. And you sure don't get to return your item if all is not well. All bids placed are fixed, and the sale is final.
When my DIVING finally arrived, I could see that the crystal sat below the surface level of the bezel. Pulling the bezel off released a thin piece of glass that loosely sat on top of another thin piece of glass that was installed as a home-brewed crystal! So now I have to track down an expensive hard-to-find part to restore it. Yet more expense!
But more caution is advised! Those tempting prices don't paint the full picture. If your bid wins, you pay that price, plus VAT, plus the auction house charge, and sometimes an on-line bid surcharge too. The cost stacks up!
So, you win your item, you pay more than expected, and then you suffer the final kick in the nuts... you pay the invoice and get an email from the distant auction house saying "sorry... we don't offer a packing and posting service". Arrgh! Now you have to pay for a courier to collect, wrap and forward.
Sure, there is Squale gold out there in the auctions... but it ain't cheap, and it ain't easy.
GETTING NERDY WITH IT...
When collecting Squale even the most mundane of moments can lead to a magnificent fact find!
It was fellow Squale collector, Pierre (aka 'vintage_diver_watch' on instagram), who reached out to share this cool fact with me, and it was so mind blowing; it was only right for me to share it with you too, fellow Squale nerds.
It came to light when Pierre was doing that thing all us vintage Squale collectors have to do now and again; polywatch that damn scratch-magnet dome plexi so you can see through it. Anyway, he was buffing all those annoying micro scratches off his 1522 (yes; you did read that right... a 1522... you'll find the story on here) but became aware of a mark right in the centre of the crystal that seemed extremely stubborn. The thing would simply not buff off. Pierre reached for a loupe to see what was going on...
And what should spring into view through that magnifier? A deep scratch? An annoying chip? No... A 'VON' stamp. Yep the same Buren branding that can be found on Squale crowns. So, he grabbed a pic and sent it over to us here at TSC.
You know, of course, what happened next... we grabbed every Squale in our collection and shoved them, one by one, under a macro lens. And there, in all its tiny glory, was the 'VON' logo stamped right into the centre of almost every dome plexi from the 70's/80's.
So... if there's a scratch that has been bothering you on your Master recently; don't grab the polywatch and start buffing like a madman... grab a loupe or your mobile phone and look a little closer; you might be about to lose a very special bit of branding.
'DIVING' MYSTERY... SOLVED!
For years, roumours have circulated about a special Squale FF96; here today, we can finally lift the veil...
There are many targets for the lovers of vintage Squale. And when you disappear into the deep collector lagoon, there are niches within niches hiding rare Squale that only the most commited know about. One of these was a special FF96 that wore a 'Militare' dial emblazoned with the brand 'Diving' - just like the one above that belongs to TSC contributor, 'Big FFish'.
The FF96, if you are new here, was like a chunky 1521 that was originally designed for military use. The more robust case was created to house bigger seals and thicker crystal for improved reliability.
Now, most people who know about the FF96 also know that it is, in large part, the foundation stone of the Squale brand. As it is this case that Squale provided to Blancpain for the creation of the historic military 'Bund' watch (which you can read more on here if you need to).
Along with the sterile bezel 'Bund', Blancpain also released around 100 'Civilian' models with standard bezel inserts. And while Squale were producing these cases, they also produced many more than Blancpain required. This led to a few special watches being made that are now prized by the collector.
One of these is the 'Diving'; a watch that in recent years has had the forum comunities alight with rumours and discussion. Where did these come from? Who were they made for?
With no evidence documented about these pieces, the key focus point was the logo. The griffin bearing a trident led many to believe two things. First that these watches were made for a Swedish client, and second that this client was military or, at least, an elite unit of deep divers.
Now, with huge thanks to TSC contributor @squale.shark (on insta), the mystery is finally solved. His recent research, involving the purchase of old diving magazines, has revealled two advertisments for these 'Diving' Squale... and they are not military.
Indeed, they are not Swedish either, as the distributor seems to be a UK based yachting chandler.
So, what we have here with the 'Diving' is an exceptionally robust watch for those who enjoyed a life at see - both on it and in it.
And while today most collectors seek and pay more for the Automatic version (like my old battered example pictured here), it is interesting to note that back in 1980 when these adverts were published, it was the Quartz version that commanded a higher premium price.
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