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These days, it seems like every watchmaker is getting back to their roots and releasing redesigns or homages to past hits. I won’t speculate on what this means for the world psyche at the moment, but it has certainly produced a few discussion worthy pieces, whether controversial, widely popular, and everywhere in between. Swiss dive watch specialist Squale is capitalizing on the nostalgia boom with the Corallo NOS 2008.
While the Corallo isn’t a rehash of a specific model for the brand—originally founded in 1959 as a case maker for other brands and known for their extreme divers and tool watches—it is a callback to designs of that decade, both from Squale and the watch world as a whole, and revives their “Corallo” case style from the decade, as they rediscovered 300 new old stock (or NOS) examples of the case in their archives three years ago. The name means “coral” in Italian, supposedly chosen for the eight rounded humps that form the bezel of the watch, giving it a shape reminiscent of the aquatic life form. I can’t see the resemblance, but I do like the silhouette that the humps give the watch, imbuing it with a symmetry that feels aggressively tactical, and makes sense for extreme diving applications; a gloved hand underwater will have no problem gripping the bezel with the namesake protrusions.
The Corallo measures in at 36.8mm in diameter, 10.5mm in thickness, and 44mm lug-to-lug, and the 316L stainless steel case itself is a blend of the original case’s vintage design and construction with modern materials and dimensions. Combined with the chunky monodirectional aluminum bezel and domed sapphire crystal, the case has a look that toggles between bubble-cute and retro-sporty. To add a grounding touch and another nod to the original, Squale has engraved each new Corallo case with the serial number given to the original cases by their manufacturers, Swiss case maker MRP SA, in the 1980s.
The case isn’t the only feature of the Corallo that stands out, though. Three dial color options round out the lineup, and each has its own visual aesthetic: a black dial with a black and sky blue bezel retains the most business-like persona, a blue option with a matching blue bezel has a sportier feel, and a sky model with black and sky blue bezel dips a toe into dress watch territory style-wise. Each option features SuperLuminova-treated numerals and markers, a date window at 3 o’clock, and an orange outline on the minute hand, highlighting dive watch functionality.
Inside each Corallo is an ETA 2892/A2 automatic caliber movement, which boasts a very slim thickness of 3.60mm, complementing the case’s small dimensions. It also carries an all-important 200 meters of water resistance, placing it squarely in the “serious diver” category. Each Corallo comes on a perforated rubber strap by Bonetto Cinturini, and the sky variant also comes with an original NOS steel bracelet—Squale found 100 examples in the archives along with the Corallo cases, and the sky model does wear the dressier bracelet style the best, in my opinion.
The Corallo NOS 2008 seems to be a worthwhile blend of Squale’s many historical feats—their Italian connection, no-nonsense dive pedigree, and cohesive design cues—and the line is limited to 300 pieces. Each model retails for $1,999, with the sky variant exclusively available on Squale’s website. Squale
