Squale Matic MATICXSG.HT Review

In the early 1950s the world was taken over by the new past time of recreational diving. Advancements in Scuba gear along with growing interest in films and books about the underwater world started getting more and more people into the water to do their own exploring.

The growing interest in diving naturally fueled the need for water proof watches that could time dives and accompany their wearers to ever increasing depths. There were already waterproof watches like the Rolex Oyster which released in the 1920s, but there were no true dive watches in the early 1950s.



1953 saw the release of the true first divers watch with Blancpain releasing the Fifty Fathoms. The Fifty Fathoms was born from the need of the French Navy whose frogmen required a reliable dive watch. The Navy required a watch with great low light visibility as well as the ability to go down to extreme depths of up to 91 meters. The ability to also use a rotating 60 minute bezel to time a dive was also first seen with the Fifty Fathoms.

Right on the heels of the introduction of the Fifty Fathoms, Rolex debuted their dive watch the Submariner in 1954. Like the Fifty Fathoms, the Submariner also featured a 60 minute rotating bezel to keep track of dive times, but came on a steel bracelet instead of the strap found on the Blancpain. The Submariner also featured a depth rating of 100 meters.

Even though dive watches are probably the most popular genre of watches and the style was first conceived over 70 years ago, almost every modern dive watch falls into two categories… Submariner clones or Fifty Fathoms clones. Although amazing advances have been made in depth ratings and case materials, the classic diver design has really not changed.



Strangely with the dive watch market being so huge, there have only been a few other well known names that have crept into the history of dive watches like the Omega Seamaster and Doxa SUB. Today we will be looking at a name that really should be up there with Rolex, Blancpain, Omega and DOXA when it comes to the history of important dive watches.

The brand I’m talking about is Squale. Charles and Helene Von Buren established their watch factory in 1950 in Neuchatel Switzerland. Both Charles and Helene were avid water sports enthusiasts and wanted to explore the extremely new business of making watches intended for use underwater.

In 1959 Van Buren registered and changed the name of the company to Squale which means shark in French. By that time Squale was recognized as one of the leading manufacturers of watch cases intended for use underwater. Around this time Squale started to produce cases for some of the biggest names in diving watches, including cases for the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, DOXA SUB 600T as well as aquatic watches from Heuer and Sinn.



Squale was such a revered name in waterproof case building that a lot of these manufacturers would include Squale’s shark logo at 6 o’clock with their branding at 12. Some of the most sought after diving watches are dual branded Fifty Fathoms with “Blancpain Fifty Fathoms” at 12 and “25 Atmos Squale” at 6. Some of these dual branded watches would even go on to feature the famous “Van Buren case” which had the crown repositioned at 4 for easier use while also keeping the case dimensions smaller.

In 1962 Squale started producing their own watches and even prototyped the SUB-39 model, which is now in their current lineup. In the years that were to follow, Squale went on to set various diving records while being worn by world class divers.

In 2005, the Squale we know today was re-launched by the Maggi family whose focus was to put historical models back into production. Today Squale has a wide range of dive watches including the original 1521, the no holds barred Master, the advanced T-183 range as well as the model we’ll be looking at today the Matic.



The Matic is basically a larger version of the classic 1521 measuring in at 44 mm versus 42 mm found on the 1521. The Matic also boasts a higher depth rating than the 1521 being just over 600 meters versus 500 meters on the 1521. Some of the notable design elements found on the Matic are the classic Van Buren case and double-domed sapphire crystal.

When looking at the Matic it definitely gives off the feel of a retro diver in the vein of the Fifty Fathoms as opposed to a more luxurious tool watch like what the Submariner has turned into. As opposed to countless clones of the Fifty Fathoms and Submariner, Squale has their own unique case design and was instrumental in the early years of dive watch development, including the Fifty Fathoms. This truly has earned Squale respect and they should in no way be considered a “me too” dive watch.

I have heard of Squale prior to starting Hourstriker, but had never had the opportunity to handle or wear one. I also did not know the extent of their involvement with the beginnings of the dive watch industry. One thing I love about running Hourstriker is it forces me out of the comfort of just learning about the major players in the watch industry and branching out to brands like Squale that have amazing histories and make just as impressive watches.



After adding Squale to the site, I went ahead and reached out to Squale to make sure I was added to their press list. While emailing back and forth, I asked if they would be willing to send me a watch to review. In all honesty, you really don’t get to know a brand until you handle their watches in the metal. Squale was more than receptive to my request and asked for me to pick any watch in their catalog currently in stock.

I had originally thought the new titanium Master would be a great watch to review, since I just love titanium watches and it was their newest release. I guess a lot of people also really liked the Master and it was currently on back order. A very close second was the Matic though, since it was on the larger size of what Squale offered and still retained the original looks of the 1521. I went ahead and picked the classic black dial, with black bezel, satin stainless steel case on a rubber strap. There were over ten other combinations of Matic available, but I felt this version was truest to the brand and dive watch aesthetic.

Squale was quick to get the watch out to me and it arrived in the full retail packaging. The packaging is nice and includes all the paperwork you’d expect with the watch. I do have to say that after seeing the Pelican style hard case that the Master comes in, I had a bit of package envy. Maybe since the Master is Squale’s newest watch, the packaging from it might filter down to older references. Blancpain uses similar hard cases with the Fifty Fathoms, so it would be a nice bonus if Squale could do the same on their entire range of divers.



When first seeing the Matic is person, the thing I first noticed was the extremely bright minute hand. Sure you could tell the hand was a bright orange in the pictures online, but in person this thing is just eye scorching. For a true dive watch this is extremely important along with a running seconds hand (that tells the watch is running), since the minute hand is what tells a diver how much of their dive time has elapsed. When combined with the matte black dial, this orange hand just provides insane contrast, which is a god send in low light situations like diving.

Each hour index as well as the 60 and 30 minute marks on the bezel are set with bright orange as well. The indices and hands are also covered in generous amounts of Super Luminova C3 which glow a stunning green. Telling the time at a glance in both harsh sunlight as well as low light conditions is just a breeze with the Matic.

The next thing I noticed about the Matic was the rubber strap. I have owned and handled a lot of watches on rubber straps, but the strap found on the Matic is just different. Since I do prefer larger watches, those I have on rubber straps come on slabs of rubber that are super nice and thick. For example I just bought a new IWC rubber strap for my Top Gun Chrono and the strap was super thick and stiff, taking weeks to break in.



The strap on the Matic is extremely thin and flexible. The style of strap is called “Tropic”, which refers to a maker of straps from the early years of dive watches. While the original Tropic company isn’t around today as it was at the time of the original dive watches, several strap makers now make modern versions of the “Tropic” strap. This kind of Tropic strap is what is found on the Matic. I then started doing a little bit of research on the strength of Tropic straps and found out that even though the Tropic straps can be half of the thickness of traditional rubber straps, they still offer the same if not more strength.

The pattern of the Tropic strap is done in a crosshatch pattern with alternating holes for both the pin buckle and ventilation. The backside of the strap has a waffle pattern to better grip the wrist. There are also two oversized strap loops which can fully move up and down the strap. The Matic comes with a polished Squale pin buckle, but I believe you can also get a blasted version which would match the satin case a little bit better.

As a lover of deployant clasps, I do feel a clasp on the Tropic strap would be out of place. It would be nice if Squale offered a traditional rubber strap on a deployant though, but that’s just a personal preference of mine and with a standard 22mm lug width, the aftermarket is full of strap and clasp options. Personally I really enjoy the Tropic strap and it does go well with the vintage look of the Matic. I would probably swap out the buckle to the blasted version of the buckle though.



The Squale Matic weighed in at 119 grams on our scale. With the Tropic strap being so lightweight, the watch does feel a bit top heavy when handling it. This does seem to disappear when on the wrist though, I never really felt the watch trying to move around or favor either side of my wrist while wearing it. This probably has a lot to do with how well the Tropic strap formed to my wrist and kept the watch snug against my wrist.

Going back to the dial, Squale does double brand the Matic with the standard Squale text logo at 12 and the traditional Squale shark logo at 6. I’ve heard some people complain about this in the past, but I honestly love it. The 12 o’clock logo would historically be that of the company purchasing the Squale case, i.e. Blancpain, but since this is a Squale watch, that space is filled with Squale branding.

With orange being my favorite color, having the orange minute hand, indices and “Matic” text is a huge plus for me. Also the hue of orange picked by Squale goes so well with the black dial. The date window found at 3 has a white background, which makes the date act as a marker with similar coloring to the other 11 indices. Typically I’m not the biggest fan of date windows on non-calendar watches, but its execution here doesn’t bother me.



For the bezel, Squale decided to stay more with the vintage vibe of the watch and use an enameled steel bezel insert instead of going with something more modern like ceramic. The bezel has a very deep black and glossy appearance, with the markers being very high polish. The bezel is unidirectional and has 120 clicks. The force needed to turn the bezel is fairly high and the bezel is extremely sure with no play to it. It would be rather hard to set the bezel incorrectly or bumping it and having it move. The bezel is also attached to the case using four micro screws, which is actually something I like to see.

The double-domed crystal is also very unique and probably one of the most curved sapphires I’ve handled. Looking directly down the case of the Matic you can see just how curved the crystal is. This design helps with the Matics extreme depth rating of 600 meters while also allowing near perfect visibility at any angle. One funny thing I noticed about the domed crystal is that is makes the ring around the dial seem overly tall, which it isn’t, it’s just an optical illusion. The crystal also has anti-reflective coating adding to it, which really does help reduce the most serious reflections.

The satin finished stainless steel case measures 44 mm in diameter and has a lug to lug of 51 mm with a thickness of 15.8 mm to the top of the domed sapphire. The case is actually 42.4 mm with the bezel hanging slightly over the case and measuring the full 44 mm. The lug to lug of 51 mm is right in the goldilocks zone for my 7.25 inch wrist as well. I’ve worn a lot of 44 mm watches recently that are sub 50 mm lug to lug and just feel a bit too small on my wrist. The Matic isn’t too large or too small in my opinion.



While some of the case edges as well as the bezel have some polish to them, the majority of the Matic’s case is satin finished. For a tool watch and also for my personal preference, this just looks correct on a serious dive watch. There are no crown guards on the Matic and the crown somewhat screws into the case at 4 o’clock. This design actually uses the case as a crown guard while avoiding adding extra guards to the case.

Naturally the crown is screwed down and when unwound offers manual winding. The feeling of manually winding the watch feels very nice and provides a nice level of resistance. Pulling the crown out to position one lets you set the date and position two is for setting the time. A decent amount of force is needed to push the crown down to rethread the screws, but that is re-assuring on a watch meant to dive down to such deep depths.

Flipping the case over shows off the solid case back with an engraving of the Squale shark logo and a wave pattern. The water resistance of 60 ATMOS along with Professional is found printed above the shark logo. The case back is also screwed into the case to ensure water resistance.



For the movement, Squale picked the Sellita SW 200-1 automatic in the Elabore (special) grade. While this movement is rated at +/- 7 to +/- 20 seconds per day of accuracy, we saw +5 to +7 seconds a day on our timegrapher. This is nearly chronometer spec and way more than expected at the roughly $1,350 retail price of the Squale Matic. In a hardcore diving watch like the Matic, the build of the watch is more important than the movement inside. Having a movement like the SW200-1 ticking inside ensures a rock solid and proven caliber that can be serviced by any watchmaker and has the assurance of replacement parts being available until the end of time. The SW 200-1 also offers a power reserve of 38 hours.

A review of the Matic really couldn’t be complete without talking about value for money. When you look at the founders of the dive watch movement and what their offerings go for today, you have the stainless steel Submariner with date retailing for $10,250 (higher true market price) and the stainless steel 45 mm Fifty Fathoms going for $15,700. Sure both the Rolex and Blancpain offer in house movements with the Fifty Fathoms being more of a high horology offering when it comes to quality of the movement and the finishing, but both compare well to the exponentially cheaper Squale Matic.

There are countless dive watches that range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars the complete directly with the Squale Matic, some even using the same movement. The biggest thing that distinguishes the Squale from the other brands is their heritage, especially when it comes to the development of the first dive watches. When just talking about dive watches and companies that helped form the blueprint of what a diving watch would be 70 years later, Squale stands right there with Rolex and Blancpain. Squale just seems like a brand on the brink of exploding if more collectors become versed in their history and importance. The quality of their watches also seem to back up their historical significance as well.



Now that I’ve spent almost 3,000 words rattling off the history of Squale and some design cues and mechanical specs about the Matic, let’s talk about how I feel about the watch…

Over the two decades I’ve been working in the watch industry, almost all of the time has been spent on what I used to explain to laypeople as “Rolex on up”, meaning most of my interest was spent with top tier brands. Our personal collection contains brands like Audemars Piguet, Rolex, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Hublot, etc… in context to the article I’m also currently looking for a Blancpain 500 Fathoms. Not on purpose, but naturally there is a bit of brand snobbery that goes along with that. Sometimes when I wear a brand that is newer or doesn’t have the recognition of the top brands, I feel this weird need to defend or overly explain the brand of the watch I’m wearing if asked about it.

With Squale, they already have the history in place that other smaller brands just do not have. Bring up a picture of a Squale branded Fifty Fathoms and instantly people are impressed and want to know more about the brand. When they find out the brand is still around and the price point of their watches they are genuinely interested. This is PR that even the slickest newer brands could never buy or come by.

We have divers from IWC, JLC and Rolex in our personal collection and I have to say the Squale is just as impressive of a watch as all of them. The watch just feels right on the wrist and looks like a slightly larger and “cleaner” version of a vintage dive watch. I do prefer more of the Fifty Fathoms look to a diver than the somewhat sterile Submariner diver look. The Matic skews more towards the look of the Fifty Fathoms, which I appreciate.



The watch has enough presence and size along with some polished bits that get it noticed on the wrist. I’ve had a few people talk to me about the watch and its fun giving a little of a history lesson when showing off the watch. Everyone knows the Submariner, much less know about the Fifty Fathoms, so its fun to talk about the origins of the dive watch and where Squale fits into all of it as well.

Unfortunately we haven’t got into swim season just yet, so I didn’t have a chance to get the Matic in the water, so it mostly accompanied me running on land errands and going out to dinner and drinks. On the Tropic rubber strap, the Matic pretty much disappears on the wrist, the strap is just that lightweight and comfortable. For my typical dress of sneakers, shorts and a t-shirt the Mactic fit in perfectly as well.

At one dinner we went to with our young daughters and a friend’s family, I let my friend look over the watch for a while. He is a diehard Rolex fan and owns a few Rolex sports models including two Submariners. He knew of Squale, but not the history, at first he was skeptical of the brand but after handling the watch and catching up on the brand, he left the dinner being a fan.



Would I recommend the Squale Matic to somebody looking at dive watches? 100%... I see the Matic as a very handsome watch which carries a great heritage and has extreme diver chops. For $1,350, the Squale Matic is also an amazing value for money. Even if the 44 mm size is too large, Squale has a full range of similar spec’d and looking watches with cases down well below 40 mm.

Is there anything I’d change on the Matic? I’ve already touched on that the blasted buckle might look better with the satin case and the pelican style hard case would be nice. I’d also say that making titanium an available case option would be very nice. I wouldn’t say that the 119 gram weight was a lot, but having a nice lightweight option in the Matic couldn’t hurt. I also think the hue of brushed titanium would look perfect in a true diver’s tool watch like the Matic.

Sure you can get titanium in the new Squale Master, but the look of the watch is very different than that of the Matic. The Master is 2 mm smaller at 42 mm and uses a sandwich dial construction, ceramic bezel insert and has more weathered looking lume and markers. I think titanium would really look great with the nice big orange hand of the Matic along with its more traditional styling.



When all is said and done, I’ve spent a lot of time with the Squale Matic on my wrist and am left really enjoying the time I spent with it. I feel it could make a great daily wearer and just be a complete blast in situations where you get it wet, be just in the pool or actually diving with it. It was also a great introduction to the brand and I really can’t wait to see what Squale sends us next.

If you’d like to learn more about Squale or about the Matic please feel free to visit their site: Squale

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: MATICXSG.HT

Retail Price: CHF 1,245 (~ $1,350)

Case Size: 44 mm

Lug to Lug: 51 mm

Thickness: 15.8 mm

Weight: 119 grams

Case Material: 316 L Stainless Steel

Bezel: Enameled Steel

Strap: Tropic Rubber with Stainless Steel Buckle

Movement: Sellita SW 200-1

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date

Power Reserve: 38 Hours