Model History
The Reef arrived in 2020, a few years after the brand's relaunch under Raphael Granito, as the first true professional diver in the Formex catalogue of the company's modern era. Following the success of the Essence, the Reef line took the Case Suspension System patented by founders the Grädel brothers underwater, in a symmetrically designed case built to withstand impact and pressure while keeping a relatively compact profile compared with other professional divers in the same segment.
The 42mm version, the line's best seller, offers 300 metres of water resistance, a ceramic bezel that can be swapped without tools, and a patented fine-adjustment system that allows the bracelet or strap to be fitted directly to the wrist. In 2023 the range expanded with a compact 39.5mm variant, designed for smaller wrists and for those seeking the same technical level in a more contained case, keeping the same COSC-certified automatic movement with a 56-hour power reserve.
In 2022 the Reef GMT variant debuted, adding a second time zone via a GMT movement that is also COSC certified, together with an interchangeable Milanese mesh bracelet using the same quick-release system: an extension of the line aimed at those who also use their diver as a travel watch, broadening the Reef's purpose beyond strictly underwater use alone.
Technical Specifications
Main Executions
The Case Suspension System was originally conceived in the early 2000s to absorb the shocks typical of sporty driving and high-performance motorsport. With the Reef, Formex carried the same technology into a very different setting — underwater — showing how an innovation born for the track can also find application at depth, where pressure and accidental impacts test the case's robustness just as much.