My Brown Shark - Squale 20 ATMOS Root Beer 1545

Earlier this week, Anders stopped me from making yet another purchase. "Wait till the end of the week", he said. "I've got a surprise for you and you'll love it!". So patiently, I waited till today. I headed over to Gnomon and demanded that he kept me in suspense no longer. He relented and came back to the counter with an auburn beauty queen. After a brief examination (and i meant somewhere along the line of 15 seconds), I relented two and flashed my credit card and purchased 2 - one for myself and one to appease higher authority at home.

I will not be going into as much details as I did in my last review (the Squale 20 ATMOS vintage) as this is just another variant of the range. I'll be focusing on the differences and noteworthy features.

No on with the watch...

I have spent the past 2 hours scrutinizing my latest catch. Firstly, as you should be aware by now, this latest offering is from the same product line as the vintage 1545 which I reviewed yesterday. The same clean lines and sexy curves are present on the casing.

Firstly, the dial. What's the difference? Well, for starters, it's brown (sunburst brown, to be precise) and amazingly beautiful! It's literally a piece of art, imho. It's complemented by a brown bezel with gold arabic numerals and indices. Round indices surround the circumference of the dial. and matching gilt mercedes hands and logo complete this visual feast.

Once again, the gilt date window is nicely magnified with the correct cyclops eye.

Another feature which, I feel, deserves to be mentioned again is the screw-down crwon. Unlike most watches the threads are concealed.

The current batch of 1545 comes with an updated case back design. The Squale logo is embossed on a burnished centre. And the serial number is now indicated on the case back as well as the other usual literature.

How's the lume? it's not too shoddy imo. You be the judge. However, it didn't last exceptionally long. and I am not comparing it against any Seiko diver either. But hey! Who cares about the lume?!!! This is a timepiece you want to complement your wrist in bright daylight!

Once again, the lugs are well proportioned at 20mm and are mated to a tapered (20mm-18mm), brushed stainless steel bracelet. I could be wrong but I don't think they are hollow links as they are rather hefty. The bracelet on this model differs from the one on the vintage, which explains why it's marginally more expensive than the vintage. The bracelet comes with screwed links, unlike the vintage, which utilizes pins. Do be careful when trying to remove the links yourselves as quite a fair bit of loctite seems to have been applied at the factory.

The twin-lock clasp is also slightly different from the vintage. The Squale logo is now on the main body of the clasp rather then on the secondary closure. Also, the diver's extension is also slightly different from the vintage's. It is more mordern and not so utilitarian looking. However, I do have one gripe with the clasp. It's more difficult to unclip if you have short fingernails like me. The main clasp is folded into a steeper angle. But it's more reassuring than the first batch's.

Despite it's rather diminutive size by today's standards, it sits rather comfortably on my 6 3/4 inches wrist. It's a really versatile watch that blends in with your shirtsleeves and tie as well as your jeans and tees. Its looks equally great bonded to metal or attached to leather.

this is really a watch you'll never tire of wearing. Simply because it looks absolutely stunning! It'll definitely be a conversation piece in most situations.

I am not certain if this will b the only release. However, I had personally witnessed the popularity of this model. As soon as this was posted on the Gnomon website and facebook page, phone enquries started pouring in. I personally saw 3 pieces being sold to walk-in customers. as I was leaving the shop, I overheard that there were only 21 pieces left. Anders informed me earlier that only 30 pieces were available.

The Specs:

Case : 40mm.
Lugs : 20mm.
Bracelet : Straight Brushed Stainless Steel.
Movement : ETA 2824-2.
Power reserve : +/- 42 hours.

Pros:
- Value for money.
- Exceptionally beautiful.
- Drool worthy.
- Good construction.
- Reliable movement.
- Versatility.

Cons :
- The tight clasp - difficult to unclip.
- Huge demand.
- Excessive use of loctite on the link screws.
- Relatively short duration lume.