Baselworld, the planet’s largest watch fair, closed on Tuesday but a lot of the whizz-bang new timepieces had already made their debut prior to the show, via social media. Regrettably, I am still playing catch-up with the first watch fair of the season, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie Genève, as well as the in-between period called”pre-Basel”, through which brands tease watch writers with what’s coming. This week, we’ll take a look at some of the in-betweeners, specifically dive watches.
We start with Squale, the Italian-owned Swiss dip watch specialist that is something of an online phenomenon. Up until a few years back, the only people who understood about Squale were professional sailors and hipster Japanese watch aficionados who are always ahead of the trends. Recently, Squale has taken off, with YouTube vloggers zeroing in on the brand, hammering it as being a hidden gem that combines heritage, build quality, legitimacy for a tool watch and affordability. Demand has outstripped supply for an entry-level Squale and you could be left waiting some time for delivery.
Stylish and functional timepieces from Squale, Ulysse Nardin and Zenith to your next underwater adventure Baselworld, the world’s largest watch honest, closed on Tuesday but a lot of the whizz-bang brand new timepieces had made their debut before the series, through social media. Alas, I am still playing catch-up with the very first watch fair of the year, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie Genève, as well as the in-between period known as”pre-Basel”, through which brands tease watch writers with what’s coming. This week, we’ll look at some of the in-betweeners, specifically dive watches.
The Squale 1521 50 ATM Professional
We start with Squale, the Italian-owned Swiss dip watch expert that’s something of an internet phenomenon. Up until a few decades back, the only people who understood about Squale were professional divers and hipster Japanese watch aficionados that are always ahead of the trends. Recently, Squale has taken off, with YouTube vloggers zeroing in on the brand, hammering it as being a hidden jewel that combines heritage, build quality, legitimacy as a tool affordability and watch. Demand has outstripped supply for an entry-level Squale and you could be left waiting a while for delivery.
Dive watches Are Getting to Be increasingly sophisticated and elegant
The Squale 1521 50 ATM Professional is not just new but recent tweaksare likely to result in a frenzy from fanboys. Among the remarkable dip attributes are 500 metres of water resistance, luminescent markers, a rubber band, an orange instant and a unidirectional bezel (Squale is famous for its instance structure, so the action and noise that the bezel makes as it clicks round is divine).
The 42mm steel casecan require a hefty knock or two, making this an excellent regular watch even if you never set foot in deep water. Inside the 1521 is a fairly average ETA 2824-2, that has about 40 hours of power reserve. The Diver Deep Dive — it’s really called that is a severe watch using a whopping 1,000 metres of water resistance, which can be made possible by a case which features a heavy-duty crown guard on the right and a pressure-release valve on the left.
Having a 46mm titanium instance, it’s perhaps too large for ordinary use but if you are into diving this could be a winner as the design features are just lovely, using a grim hammerhead shark pattern on the dial.
Inside is a UN-320 movement forcing 48 hours of electricity and the watch comes with an extendable strap which may be worn over a wetsuit. Limited to 300 pieces, the cost for the Diver Deep Dive has not been released yet but expect it to be fairly high given the rich capabilities.
Finally, We’ve Got the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 Blue. OK, it is not a dive watch per se, well, not job specific like the previous two, but Zenith does tout its dive capabilities, 100 metres of water resistance and rubberized strap, though it could be a brave man who takes this to get a dip. I mainly wanted to speak about this watch because of its great looks, together with the open dial, colour scheme and brushed titanium all working in harmony.
A handsome watch it’s but it has also got that El Primero movement indoors — in this situation, the 9004 — so it’s a winner in my book. The case is sized at 44mm and the watch has a chronograph feature. Costs for the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 Blue is going to be released shortly.
