No 85 & 134 – Squale Tiger

The Tiger is such a badass watch. As I mentioned last time, the Tiger was delivered together with my first 50atm directly from Squale. I actually thought it looked pretty ugly at first sight but it was quite cheap and when purchasing two watches I received a little discount so I decided to get them both. It looked like something I’d never seen before which also made me want to try it and see what it was all about. Yes, it had some Omega Plo-prof feel too it with its red push button on the side but apart from that it didn’t feel like a Plo-prof at all. It was actually super thin which was quite unexpected. Going through all the details of The Tiger you realize it's a rather unique piece.

Just as the 50atm the Tiger was also built from NOS-parts and fitted with a new ETA movement. The movement inside the Tiger was calibrated perfect and really kept the time super accurate. It was delivered on an ugly baby blue rubber that wasn’t as comfortable or nice looking as the one on the 50atm. I mostly wore it on a black 20mm rubber from Timefactors that looked like an Isofrane rubber but made of much crappier material. The Tiger is designed to be worn on top of a wetsuit and the case back has a sharp pyramid/waffle pattern to create friction against the suit but when it was worn directly on the skin for a longer period of time it started to feel really uncomfortable and itchy. Putting it on a nato strap solved the problem but unfortunately it wasn’t very good looking. That was the main reason why I decided to part with the Tiger.

The Tiger was really photogenic because of its fantastic blue sunburst dial. Here are some pictures of the first one I had.

#85 - The Squale Tiger. Here on the black rubber borrowed from the 50atm.

On the Timefactors Isofrane.

Good view of the unusual case back.

On a gray 20mm Phoenix nato.

At Team PYA's secret HQ.

Pike fishing in August 2011. Not much action going on here.

One year later in July 2012 I got a second chance to give the Tiger another shot but it didn’t work out this time either. I still think it’s a really cool and exceptional watch that looks great. It really felt like a genuine vintage tool diver. 

#134 - The second Tiger. This one had the lume marker on the bezel missing.

June the 14th 2012. Chilling in the sun getting ready for Machine Head.

Machine Head live at Gröna Lund, Stockholm, Sweden. A great gig!

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 84 – Squale 50atm

During July 2011 I placed an order on the official Squale homepage for two watches. One of them was the Squale 50atm. This was the NOS-version based on the old parts that had been fitted with a new ETA 2824-2 movement. The 50atm shares its case with many other dive watches from that same era and is one of my absolute favorite designs of all time.

I think it was Fedex that arrived at my office around lunch time. The other watch was a Squale Tiger which I wasn’t that excited about; I just got it because I got a good deal when purchasing two watches. So the 50atm was the one I put on the wrist first. I just loved that rubber strap. So flexible and comfortable with that great smell of vanilla. 

#84 - The Squale 50atm ref. 1521-026/A.

There was actually nothing to complain about regarding this watch. It was perfect. Of course I didn’t realize that at the time but after owning several other Squale watches and seeing what they have come up with latley nothing can’t really beat the old traditional 50atm with the tritium dial. And the fact that it was built on old NOS-parts and had a new movement inside just made it better since I'm not a fan of old rusty vintage movements. Goddamn, I even lost money selling it which today really makes me pissed off. F**k!

Captured during Midsummers Eve 2011.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 83 – Tärnan Oceanographer

There were so many of us who had such high expectations when this watch was presented. Tärnan was an old Swedish watch brand which was re-launched by Franck J (Francis Jacquerye from Techné Watches) and classic slogans like “a limited edition built by the best suppliers in the industry and representing a great value for money” and “manufactured using cutting-edge processes” were used to sell it. Everything looked so good on paper. The specs were nice (42mm case, 300m WR, double domed sapphire, ETA 2824-2 movement etc.) and the old traditional look of an early Rolex Submariner with gilt dial was something that really got me going at the time.

Product image of the Tärnan Oceanographer. (picture borrowed from http://www.taernan.com/)

When the news about the Tärnan Oceanographer reached the former Swedish watch forum Axelzons (now replaced by TimeToTalk) in February 2011 it started a small hype and there were several of us who placed our pre-orders quickly. We all chipped in our share and then kept an on-going discussion on the official forum for the Tärnan Oceanographer. All buyers who wanted was given the opportunity to share thoughts regarding options like lug-holes or no lug-holes, polished center links or not, design regarding the box etc. and the final result was pretty much in favor for how I wanted it to turn out. It took a while though before the activity on the forum got going and if I’m not wrong I don’t think all the pre-orders were sold out before the watch finally was produced and delivered in June the same year. 50 pieces were made in the first run and if I remember correctly I think another 50 was made but I’m really not sure, I could be wrong. I got my hands on number 17; my forever lucky number.

#83 - The Tärnan Oceanographer.

Nice engravings on the case back.

The watch’s finish didn’t feel very good at all. I was very disappointed. Perhaps my expectations had been set too high. All the waiting had built something up in me and what I received in my hands wasn’t close to meet what I thought I was going to get. Perhaps the so called “best suppliers” was the best on delivering average watch parts? That could have explained a thing or two because it definitely can’t have been the best suppliers of the best watch parts out there. For example the clicks of the bezel felt very stiff and made a loud sound when turned. The bracelet felt cheap. The case back was sharp and the watch was just felt awkward to wear. It had an overall low budget feeling which is hard to describe. Either you know what I’m talking about or you don’t. 

At the hospital after surgery. Totally gone on sedatives after removing my wisdom teeth.

The Oceanographer really got me psyched and I was talking about it all the time. I even got a colleague at work to make a pre-order. Luckily he wasn’t as nerdy and picky as I and was totally fine with what he received. We are not colleagues anymore but the last time I ran into him he was wearing it which was fun to see. I on the other had sold mine quickly. What a shocker!

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.