Frogdiver 44 – something new on the way from MALM Watches

Swedish MALM Watches goes from strength to strength and has exciting news on the way in the form of the diver's watch Frogdiver 44. A watch they have worked out together the navy's clearance divers and which meets military requirements when diving. The watch does not only seem to be a real tough guy. It also has a terribly cool feature in the form of an analogue depth gauge. Eqotime has of course got a preview.

The project with the Clearance Diver watch was started during the autumn of 2019 and was an initiative between MALM and members of the 44th Clearance Diving Division in Skredsvik, belonging to the 4th Naval Warfare Flotilla. The assignment was to produce a solid and reliable Swedish diver's watch whose requirements were set entirely from Swedish clearance divers' needs. Needs that are entirely based on the clearance divers' experiences from the very toughest diving missions.

The name FROGDIVER 44 is a nod to the term’Frogman’, the English word for clearance diver. The number 44 is a reference both to the watch's size in diameter and to the 44th Clearance Diving Division.

Collaboration with clearance divers

We think the watch looks really promising. FROGDIVER is drawn and developed from the ground up by clearance divers together with MALM. The details have been taken from diving equipment with the performance and user-friendliness that were required by the clearance divers themselves. Shapes, colours and materials are carefully chosen to be able to be used in cold, dark Swedish waters where instruments and equipment are exposed to great strain. For example the preview pictures hint at a generously applied luminous compound and a tritium tube on the seconds hand. On top of that comes an hour hand taken from oxygen pressure gauges and a minute hand that has been inspired by the divers' protective casing over the diving equipment. 

Specifications

Frogman 44 overall seems to be a really robust and stable piece with a good-looking blue-green dial and bracelet or rubber strap. The specifications also feel good with an automatic movement from Swiss Selitta, WR set to 50ATM/500M and a ceramic rotating bezel with solid grippers so that the ring can be turned when you are wearing diving gloves.

But the coolest detail we still think seems to be the analogue depth gauge. Simply put it works like this, that there is a drilled hole through the crystal at 9 o'clock that allows water and air to penetrate down into the watch's case construction and into a channel that runs around the dial. The diver then reads off an air bubble that moves in the channel when the watch is exposed to an outside pressure change. 

The launch will officially take place during the autumn and the list price is not set either. But the whole thing seems to say the least very promising and for keen prospective buyers it is already possible now to put yourself on the interest list at MALM Watches. Pre-orders start in Q4 and delivery is expected to take place at the beginning of 2022.