In terms of materials, a lot has changed in the last couple of decades concerning watches. It was first titanium that asserted its place next to precious metals and stainless steel before ceramic became a more common material. Then there was carbon. While this material offers quite a few advantages and can be worked with in different ways, it has yet to be fully embraced by the industry. Some brands have experimented with it, yet a full-scale deployment into their collections has yet to be seen. While this may be a pity, it makes the material even more exotic, although that is not the only aspect that makes it so appealing.

Squale is one of the brands that have used this material in their collection. Some might remember the last edition of Baselworld, where the brand launched their T-183 with a case of layered black carbon fiber with blue or red fiberglass. It was an incredibly appealing watch that now gets a second chapter with the T-183 Forged Carbon. Unlike its predecessor, it is the way of making the case slightly different. Carbon fibers are placed in a mold and mixed with a resin. Temperature and pressure ‘forge’ it into a material that is light and very strong. As the carbon fibers are never placed in the same way into the mold, each case will show a different pattern, further underscoring the unique nature of the watch.
Several things make this T-183 stand out. Machining the blocks of forged carbon fiber is quite a task, but Squale puts rem...