When speaking about the most iconic dive watches we usually speak about Rolex, Omega, Blancpain, Doxa and Squale. All pretty much released their first iconic diver at around the same time—the late 1950s/early 1960s—which has cemented their reputation for making professional-grade underwater explorative timekeeping devices. Whilst I have not, and never will, review models from the first three aforementioned brands (for reasons which are self-evident,) I did study Doxa through the SUB 200T and subsequently the SUB 250T GMT, however I had yet to get hands-on with a Squale. Not that I didn’t want to before—because believe me I would have done so many moons ago should the opportunity had presented itself to me—for I always was attracted by the aesthetics of its divers and the heritage the brand comes with. There is something inherently cool about Squale’s past of being one of the principal case makers for the biggest names in the industry and for it also released many iconic collections under its own banner. 

It’s as if today an unknown Italian manufacturer revealed it made Ferrari’s most iconic engines. 

Although this is the first time we’re taking a look at Squale, this article won’t be a historical treaty about the brand as many have gone through the trouble of recounting its past. No, instead we’re going to riff about its latest release and the one which has caught my attention the most violently in the past few years: the SUB-37 Legend. Squale’s smallest dive watch to date and the one which seems to be the closest to the first models the brand released under its own name starting in the early 1960s. More specifically, the SUB-37 is the smaller sibling of the SUB-39 Squale re-released in 2019 to celebrate its 60th anniversary, the original of which came to life as a prototype in 1962. So in a sense, with the SUB-37 Legend, the iconic dive watch brand is circling around its own heritage to offer what some would call the most authentic and distilled-to-its-essence Squale diver in years. Again, this is my first hands-on experience with the brand however I couldn’t have dreamed of a better one for a first. 

Specifications 

If you are a dive watch specialist of a Squale historian (or both, who knows?), you will probably say that the brand’s most iconic case is the 1521 released in the early 1960s, one of its earliest collections and the one which stamped Squale’s reputation for meaning business in the professional diving realm. From my understanding, the 1521 was the first case offering a 500-meter depth rating which was quite insane for the time, whose profile is characterized by dramatically down-turning lugs, sculpted case-sides, and a bulbous case-back. It is one of Squale’s founder Charles von Buren’s most important inventions which could be seen being used by many other iconic brands such as Blancpain, Heuer, and Doxa to name a few. So the aforementioned SUB-39 today’s Squale re-released in 2019 was inspired by a prototype found in the brand’s archives which Von Buren designed in 34mm which was a normal size for the time (and I would love to see a contemporary brand create such small divers.) So 5mm up then 2mm down in diameter in seven years. 

It feels appropriate to focus a great deal of time speaking about the case of the SUB-37 Legend as it pretty much makes the watch. What impressed me as I immediately sized the new metal bracelet to my 6.50”/16.5cm wrist and slid it through, is how nimble and flat the SUB-37 sits on the wrist. Seen from above this model is mostly dial and bezel yet I see the fully polished and elongated lugs peek through the latter two elements with subtle elegance. Seen from the side the case commands a superb vertical presence on account of its fully polished treatment, of its symmetrical design (which I will get back to later on,) and for the mid-case is perfectly positioned in the center of the entire steel body. Dimensions-wise it is also perfect for a dive watch and I sincerely would love to see more smaller divers on the market today*: 37mm in diameter though 38.5mm at the bezel, 45mm lug-to-lug, 11mm thick, and a 19mm lug width. Thank the horological gods Squale had the balls to do an uneven lug width to generate the perfect proportions! 

*Said it twice already. 

What is further impressive is that within this nimble case one gets 300 meters of water resistance which, as you know, is more than necessary for 99.99% of mankind but sweet to have in such a French-wrist-friendly format. To that you have to add an élaboré Sellita SW200-1 caliber (4Hz/38 hours of power reserve) which is factory regulated in three positions to run at ± 7 seconds per day; a slightly raised but flat piece of sapphire crystal complete with several layers of inner anti-reflective coating; a unidirectional 120-click bezel made of a K1 mineral inlay (stronger than regular mineral) which comes with a vintage bakelite appearance; generous applications of Old Radium SuperLuminova on the hands, printed hour markers, and five-minute increment markings on the bezel. Moreover, the SUB-37 Legend comes on a bespoke dive-style Bonetto FKM rubber strap with fitted ends and one can add this semi-ladder-style steel bracelet for $190 USD**. By the way, the SUB-37 Legend retails for $1,750 USD which is exactly what it should cost. 

**The bracelet is an add-on, comes with screwed links, four holes of micro-adjustments, and a built-in diver’s extension.

Design 

Upon seeing the first images of the Legend I was wondering what the latter moniker refers to exactly since the prototype which inspired the 2019 SUB-39 was 34mm in diameter and I haven’t seen a photo of it yet. Well, on the one hand, we could see the 1962 prototype as being a legend for it was one of Van Buren’s first designs and that the smaller diameter would have made it legendary in 2026. On the other hand, it could have something to do with the timeless design of the legible dial and the very Squale-like profile of the case and how it fits on the wrist like a legend of underwater timekeeping would. (Call me vain but wearing the SUB-37 Legend instantly made me feel cooler than I usually feel which is nile.) For indeed the case has a unique silhouette which has a je-ne-sais-quoi of historical relevance which, in my narrow experience of the horological word, reminds me of the most iconic and legendary of professional divers which did come to life in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Therefore we’re first going to discuss the case. 

Although it is not the legendary 1521 (ok, I’ll stop with the adjective,) the metal body of the SUB-37 is quite remarkable and we can see in its side profile and elongated lugs the heritage which made the former such an icon. The bezel, for example, sits tall and wider than the mid-case and is composed of polished walls on top of which sits a thin knurled section made of a shallow coinedge pattern—though easy to grip and operate. On the opposite vertical side, the upper section of the case-back (or lower section of the mid-case, however you want to see it) comes with the same profile as the bezel assembly which creates symmetry and gives the case a majestic wrist presence even though it only measures 11mm in thickness. What makes the SUB-37 Legend unique—and I believe all Squale’s for that matter since the dawn of the brand—is how the actual case-back screws-down and appears to be solidly sealed to make the 300-meter depth rating. Moreover, the polishing work on the entirety of the case is the stuff legends are made of (Sorry!). 

Although it is the case that makes Squale divers for the most part I would be lying if I were to pretend I wasn’t seduced by the design and layout of the dial which is what one looks at more often than he/she does the case. As many vintage-inspired watches still do today, the SUB-37 Legend’s dial shows vintage touches through the Old Radium SuperLuminova applied in generous quantities on the hands and printed hour markers and a classic hour marker layout with an inverted triangle at the twelve, batons at the three, six, and nine (truncated at the six to make space for Squale’s historical Shark logo,) and circles everywhere else. The hour and minute hands are faceted and polished and rightly proportioned so that the former reaches the hour markers and the latter the single hash-marks of the simplified minute track. The seconds hand is fully polished as well, equipped with a lumed lollipop element and a circular counter-balance, also deliciously old school. Everything is set against a matte black dial and the whole is timeless. 

The Heart of the Matter

I’ve known about Squale for many years since I was, and still am to some extent, a romantic watch nerd with a deep affinity for large bodies of water and indeed a diver. A very good friend of mine bought a 1521 recently which made me yearn to have one myself, and another friend of mine routinely posts incredible photos of his 1521 Militare on Instagram. As if both were working in concert to push me to make a financially terrible,yet horologically superb, decision: to add a Squale to my personal collection. Something which might happen in the future near or far and mostly in the form of the SUB-37 Legend. Why? Because to me it is endowed with the perfect dimensions for a classic diver and classic is what I’m always looking for in watches. Designs which float through time with great confidence and never gain a wrinkle. Cases with character and the right proportions for my average French wrist. And overall timekeeping devices which show heritage and brands experience in doing something very well. And I for one believe that $1,750 USD is a good price to pay for such a…great diver. 

Conclusion

By writing this review there were actually two “firsts” for me: my first time reviewing a Squale and what a treat it has been to share my thoughts about the SUB-37 Legend—a vintage-infused, spec’ed out, and elegant professional-grade diver which will remove the appropriate amount of money from your bank account, guaranteed. Second, it was to borrow a watch from an online retailer, in this case German-based Chronofactum which I got to know through Anna’s review of the collaboration they made with Nivada Grenchen for the Antarctic Chrysocoll. So thank you guys a lot for making this happen and I recommend anyone living on the old continent to browse their website as this is what I did a few weeks ago and which led me to discover the SUB-37 Legend. 

Thanks for reading.