Introducing the Squale SUB-37 Legend: A Return to the Roots of Dive Watchmaking

Image Courtesy of Squale

There's a particular kind of watch that doesn't ask to be noticed. It doesn't lean on size or flash. It simply sits on the wrist, ready for whatever comes next — and it still looks right fifty years from now. The Squale SUB-37 Legend is that kind of watch.

Unveiled at Time to Watches in Geneva — the enthusiast-focused fair running alongside Watches and Wonders — the SUB-37 Legend is Squale's clearest statement in years about what a dive watch actually is. And what it was always meant to be.

The Case for 37mm: Proportions With Purpose

In an era when dive watches routinely hit 42, 44, even 46mm, Squale is doing something quietly radical: going smaller. The SUB-37 Legend measures 37mm across the case, 38.5mm at the bezel — compact by any contemporary standard, but exactly right by the standards that shaped professional dive instruments in the 1960s and '70s.

The lug-to-lug span of 45.5mm and a case thickness of 11.2mm mean this sits low on the wrist, slides under a cuff, and disappears into daily life. That's not a limitation. That's the whole point.

Dial, Crystal, and Bezel: Every Detail Earns Its Place

Image Courtesy of Squale

The dial is matte black — no sunburst, no texture for texture's sake — with printed white-outline indices and hands treated in Super-LumiNova Old Radium. That warm, slightly amber lume tone is a knowing nod to the radium-painted instruments of an earlier era, without the obvious pastiche. It reads beautifully in the dark and looks the part in daylight.

Above it sits a box-shaped sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. The domed "glass-box" profile evokes the vintage plexiglass crystals of the golden age of diving while delivering modern scratch resistance and improved legibility at oblique angles. It's one of those details that rewards close attention.

The unidirectional bezel features 120 clicks and a glossy, domed K1 glass insert — matte indices treated with SuperLumiNova for low-light readability. Clean and purposeful, it measures real dives.

The Strap: Italian Rubber Done Right

The SUB-37 Legend ships on a vulcanized rubber strap made in Italy — a ladder-style design in black, secured by a 19mm lug width with a 16mm polished buckle. Vulcanized rubber wears differently from silicone or tropic-style straps; it's denser, more durable, and develops its own character over time. On a 300-meter water-resistant tool watch, it's exactly the right choice.

Movement: The Sellita SW200, Modified and No-Date

Inside is a Sellita SW200-1 in Elaboré grade, modified to run without a date complication. That last detail matters. Date windows are a concession to convenience; removing one here is a statement that the SUB-37 Legend is about focus. The movement runs at 28,800 A/h (4Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 38–41 hours — dependable, serviceable, and properly Swiss Made.

Individually Numbered, Historically Grounded

Each SUB-37 Legend is individually numbered — a quiet assurance that this is a considered, limited piece rather than a catalogue filler. The 316L steel case wears a polished finish, the crown and caseback both screw in, and water resistance is rated to 300 meters. Nothing here is decorative without reason.

Squale's Place in the Story

It's worth remembering who's making this watch. Squale was founded in Neuchâtel in 1959 by Charles Von Büren and has been family-owned by the Maggi family since the 1980s. Between the 1960s and '80s, they supplied cases and movements to at least thirty other brands — including luxury names — with the Squale logo appearing at 6 o'clock as a certification of water resistance and reliability.

Their watches were worn by legends: free divers Enzo Maiorca and Jacques Mayol, Giuliana 'Jolly' Treleani and Jean Tapu. Later, special editions were made for the Italian Armed Forces — the Folgore Paratroopers, Carabinieri, Navy, and the elite Comsubin frogmen. Those military pieces are now serious collector objects.

"With the SUB-37, we wanted to return to the roots of our story," says CEO Andrea Maggi. "This is not a trend-driven revival — it is a reminder of where dive watches were born, and why Squale has always held a front-row seat."

Squale SUB-37 Legend Pricing and Availability

The Squale SUB-37 Legend launches at 1,380 CHF / 1,650 EUR / 1,750 USD / £1,460, available worldwide through authorized retailers and directly via the Squale online boutique. The watch makes its public debut at the Squale booth at Time to Watches in Geneva this week.

For a brand that helped define what dive watches could be, this is a fitting way to remind the world of it.