Squale has been proven to be a well established and prestigious watch case manufacturer with a strong heritage since the 1960s, manufacturing cases for brands such as Tag Heuer, Doxa, and Blancpain. Today, Squale has been independently producing their line of professional dive watches that incorporates superior underwater prowess with aesthetics true to their heritage. Being a recreation from Squale’s original iconic 1000m diver from the late 60s, the 101 ATMOS line of dive watches packs impressive modern-day upgrades while looking as impressive as it did back then.
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Squale 101 ATMOS Blue/Red Sapphire
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The Squale 101 ATMOS Blue/Red Sapphire is the latest addition to the line that will truly impress dive watch lovers, sporting a new ‘pepsi’ style bezel, a widely popular design in the watch world. The spectacular tonneau case remains loyal to the design from the late 60s with its round structure and lugs that are hidden underneath the case, giving the piece an appealing vintage design reminiscent of divers from the past. The case is made up entirely of 316L polished stainless steel and has a case diameter of 44mm. While 44mm may seem on the larger side, the lug-to-lug distance is surprisingly compact at only 49mm due to the lugless design; this allows the watch to sit comfortably well even on smaller wrists. The watch also comes supplied with a steel mesh bracelet that oozes rustic charm, complimenting the watch's classic aesthetics.
Being one of the pioneers of 1000m dive watches, the Squale 101 ATMOS Blue/Red features a remarkable water-resistance of 1000m for deep saturation diving endeavors. The addition of a helium escapement valve (HEV) at the 9 o’clock position protects the watch from damage during prolonged use in the deep depths of the ocean.
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Sunburst Blue dial with multi-faceted applied index |
Squale has been renowned for their ingenious innovations, one of which is their push-to-release bezel system, which prevents the bezel's accidental rotation. The captivating ‘pepsi’ style bezel 101 ATMOS Blue/Red also houses this locking bezel system that requires the user to push down on the bezel for operation, being a vital tool for saturation divers that utilizes the bezel for timing purposes underwater. All the markers on the bezel are treated with Superluminova lume. In addition, the bezel is protected by a sapphire insert that mimics the vintage style of bakelite bezels used in diver watches in the past while providing superior scratch resistance.
Diving into the dial, the 101 ATMOS Blue/Red showcases an exquisite blue sunburst dial paired with multi-faceted applied indexes that exert attention to detail when viewing the piece up close. The indexes' edges are filled with Superluminova lume that glows a luscious green in dark lighting conditions. The minute hand is painted with bright and vibrant orange, adding a pop of color to the dial while making the dial incredibly easy to read. Protecting the dial is a flat piece of 3.5mm thick sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating that is fitted with double gaskets to ensure uncompromised water resistance.
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Integrated Automatic Helium Valve Escapement |
The 101 ATMOS Blue/Red houses a Swiss-made 25 jewel ETA 2824-2 / Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement with a 4 Hz beat rate of 28,800 beats per hour (BPH) features hand-winding and hacking capabilities. This movement is widely popular even in many other.
Swiss brands as it has been proven to be a robust and reliable “workhorse” movement. The movement can be operated using the screw-down crown situated at the 4 o’clock position, which is specially designed to prevent accidental impacts that may harm the movement.
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"Radium" coloured SuperLuminova that glows green
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To sum up, the Squale 101 ATMOS Blue/Red Sapphire is a stunning addition to the line, bringing impressive specifications and amazing features to the iconic heritage design. Regardless if you are bringing this piece diving in the deep depths of the ocean or ‘desk-diving’ in the office, the 101 ATMOS Blue/Red will definitely be a companion that will not disappoint.