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Squale's Galeazzi Artiglio brings a Wet Indicator to 600 metres

A 500-piece diver marks a century since Roberto Galeazzi's patent, with a blue dial, crystal-printed DRASS emblem and a no-date ETA automatic.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 4 min read · 21 September 2026

• Squale and DRASS Galeazzi have released the 500-piece Galeazzi Artiglio to mark a century since Roberto Galeazzi's 1926 diving-structure patent.
• The 39.5 mm steel diver combines a blue dial and bezel, a Wet Indicator at six, a crystal-printed DRASS logo and 60 ATM resistance.
• Pre-orders are listed at CHF 1,590 before local Australian taxes and import charges, with shipping scheduled from 22 September 2026 and an extra strap included.

Some watch collaborations need a lengthy explanation before the connection makes sense. Squale and DRASS Galeazzi share a more direct subject: equipment made for work below the surface. Their second watch together marks a century since Roberto Galeazzi's patent for a spherical diving structure, and it borrows the Artiglio name associated with the diving story told in Squale's own centenary material. The result is a 500-piece dive watch with a strong blue dial and a detail called the Wet Indicator at six. It is the Squale x DRASS Galeazzi Artiglio.

The Artiglio puts its history on the dial

The case is 39.5 mm in diameter and made from 316L stainless steel. Squale gives two thickness figures, 12.6 mm for the body and 13.2 mm including the flat sapphire crystal, which is a useful distinction if the watch has to fit under a cuff. The one-way bezel carries a flat blue glass insert in Pantone 295U, tying it to the dial rather than framing the face in black. A screw-down crown and screw-in back accompany the stated 60 ATM water resistance. This is a substantial depth rating attached to a relatively manageable diameter.

The blue face has applied domed hour markers, an orange hand and BGW9 Super-LumiNova. At six sits the Wet Indicator, which Squale describes as a revival of historic technology. The brand's press page does not explain the indicator's exact internal operation, so its presence is the verifiable point here rather than a claim about how it behaves underwater. The DRASS Galeazzi logo is printed on the sapphire crystal above the dial, making it appear to hover over the blue surface when viewed from an angle. It is an unusually literal piece of collaboration branding, but one grounded in the watch's central story.

There is also restraint in what Squale leaves off. The ETA 2824-2 automatic movement is the no-date version, so the main dial surface is not interrupted by a calendar window. The brand specifies an Elaboré grade, 25 jewels, a 4 Hz beat rate and 42 hours of power reserve. None of that turns the Artiglio into a technical breakthrough, but it does describe a known automatic platform beneath a visually distinctive exterior. The absence of a date is especially welcome when the eye already has the indicator and crystal-printed emblem to follow.

Two straps and a numbered edition

Squale shows the watch on a sand-coloured microfibre strap and lists an additional blue rubber strap, along with a collector's medal, as part of the package. The product page gives a 19 mm lug width, so the strap choice is a little narrower than on many contemporary dive watches. Sand fabric against navy blue is a deliberate contrast; the rubber option brings the palette back towards the dial. Either way, a buyer is not dependent on a separate accessory purchase to choose between a softer everyday texture and a material made for water.

Turn it over and the steel back carries Squale's 60-atmosphere marking. The finishing mixes brushing with polished bevels, a combination that gives the case enough definition without taking attention away from the dial. Squale's own product photographs show how much of the watch's identity lives in the blue glass insert and the sign at six, rather than in a radical case silhouette. That is a sensible way to make a centenary edition: retain the proportions of a usable diver, then put the historical references where someone actually looks.

Squale's illustrated centenary review identifies the original 1926 patent as a spherical-zone structure intended for deep-sea work. The watch does not claim to reproduce that engineering; instead, its dial and naming point back to the people and equipment involved. That distinction keeps the historical premise readable without pretending a wristwatch and a diving turret solve the same problem. The homage has a place, but the modern watch still has to stand on its own proportions and construction.

The 500-piece limit and the date on the official press listing establish this as a current release, not merely a long-running product given another colour. The Artiglio was announced on 15 September 2026, and Squale says pre-orders ship from 22 September. The brand also calls it the second chapter of its DRASS Galeazzi collaboration. That matters because the design need not carry the entire backstory alone; it is a continuation of a named relationship, with the indicator and the logo chosen as this edition's visible points of difference.

Squale x DRASS Galeazzi Artiglio pricing and availability

Squale lists the Galeazzi Artiglio, reference VONDSSGZBL.MI, for pre-order at CHF 1,590 and states that shipping starts on 22 September 2026. The site displays that figure as tax-exclusive for Australian visitors and says local taxes and import charges outside Europe and the United Kingdom are paid at customs. There is no Australian-dollar list price on the cited page. The edition is limited to 500 numbered pieces and includes the extra strap and collector's medal.