Squale
Squale Sub-39 36 mm Salmon 18k
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 · Sub-39
Squale Sub-39 36 mm Salmon 18k
Reference 96665OR.26
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Squale
- Collection
- Sub-39
- Model
- Squale Sub-39 36 mm Salmon 18k
- Reference number
- 96665OR.26
- Year / era
- 1970 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Time and date
- Movement
- Automatic Powermatic 80
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Salmon
- Strap / bracelet
- Oyster bracelet
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 36 mm
- Case thickness
- 11.3 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Sapphire with internal AR treatment
- Dial
- Salmon
- Hands
- Rhodium-plated baton hands with luminous fill
- Indexes
- Applied Roman numerals
- Bracelet / strap
- Oyster bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 100 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 11D — Automatic Powermatic 80
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 33 jewels
- Complications
- Time and date
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1970 – 1982
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Gérald Genta
Gérald Genta (1931–2011) trained as a goldsmith in Geneva and became the most influential watch designer of the 20th century. Working freelance, he sketched the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak overnight in 1970, followed by the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the IWC Ingenieur SL and the Bulgari Bulgari — defining the integrated-bracelet luxury sports watch as a category.
Historical significance
Squale Sub-39 36 mm Salmon 18k sits within Squale's Sub-39 line, introduced in 1970. It carries the house codes established since 1946 — 18k white gold case, salmon dial and automatic powermatic 80 — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
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.