Squale
Squale 1521 43 mm Ice Carbon
Photography on request
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Squale · 1521
Squale 1521 43 mm Ice Carbon
Reference 51703OR.96
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Squale
- Collection
- 1521
- Model
- Squale 1521 43 mm Ice Carbon
- Reference number
- 51703OR.96
- Year / era
- 2008 · 2000s — modern production
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- Automatic COSC chronometer
- Case material
- Carbon TPT
- Dial type
- Ice blue
- Strap / bracelet
- Jubilee bracelet
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 43 mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6 mm
- Case material
- Carbon TPT
- Bezel
- Fixed brushed titanium
- Crystal
- Sapphire with internal AR treatment
- Dial
- Ice blue
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Jubilee bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 33F — Automatic COSC chronometer
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 45 hours
- Number of jewels
- 37 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- Flying tourbillon, power reserve
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 2008 – 2018
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Squale 1521 43 mm Ice Carbon sits within Squale's 1521 line, introduced in 2008. It carries the house codes established since 1946 — carbon tpt case, ice blue dial and automatic cosc chronometer — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
The House
Squale
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1946
- Founder
- Charles von Büren
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Affordable & Tool Watches
- Major collections
- 1521, Super-Squale, Matic, Sub-39, 2002
- Signature technologies
- Anti-magnetic silicon escapement · Composite and ceramic case materials
- Famous movements
- Quartz · Automatic COSC chronometer · Automatic Powermatic 80 · Automatic, 38-hour reserve
- Notable watches
- Squale 1521 43 mm Slate Platinum (1954) · Squale 1521 44 mm Black 18k (1955) · Squale 1521 41 mm Black 18k (1984) · Squale 1521 36 mm Black Platinum (1966)
Brand history
Squale has spent more than 80 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's 1521, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Charles von Büren established Squale in 1946, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Squale calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1946
Charles von Büren founds Squale in Switzerland.
1969
The quartz era forces Squale to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Squale enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Squale continues to produce 1521, Super-Squale, Matic and other icons in limited numbers.