Why Square-Faced Watches Are Having a Moment
It’s hip to be square.
There’s arguably never been a better time to buy a pre-owned luxury watch from a global brand, but the next timepiece found on your wrist might take on a different shape: Square and rectangular-dial watches are all the rage right now, say experts at European Watch Company and SwissWatchExpo.
From the relatively classic yet exclusive Cartier Tank and its many variations (like the lovely Cartier Tank Louis Cartier Manual Wind in 18K Yellow Gold), the watch world has shifted away ever so slightly from traditional shapes, said Eugene Tutunikov, CEO of luxury watch resale site SwissWatchExpo.
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“Over the past few years, there’s been a real shift in what people look for in watches,” he told Maxim. “It’s all about uniqueness—smaller sizes, cool features, and shapes that stand out, like squares or rectangles.” A variety of Cartier watches dot the SwissWatchExpo site in particular, with price tags climbing well into the four or five figures, and the same is true of European Watch Company.
That square-centric trend reflects a growing interest among collectors in both rare timepieces and points of differentiation in the market, said Joshua Ganjei, CEO and head curator at European Watch Company. “There has always been a small subset of collectors who have been focused on non-round watches,” he said.
Ganjei noted that subset “grew significantly in recent years though as watches moved more and more into the mainstream.” Collectors also wanted to find “new ways to stand out from the rest of the Daytona and Nautilus-obsessed masses,” he said, calling out that the site recently sold an extremely rare Vianney Halter Trio Grande in white gold with a striking dial design. Older watch models that might have proven more obscure in years past are also gaining traction at European Watch Company, he said.
SwissWatchExpo’s Tutunikov notes that Patek Philippe watches with square or rectangular dials have proven especially popular. Timepieces like the Cartier Santos and Cartier Tank also boast “incredible examples of non-round designs,” he noted, adding that “a big part of our clientele is all about finding unique ways to express their individuality, and there’s just something timeless and bold about the statement a square watch makes.”
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Flagship timepiece companies like Cartier will continue to set the tone, Ganjei of European Watch Company said. “Cartier essentially invented the square (or) rectangular wristwatch category
with the Tank and Santos models more than 100 years ago, and have continued to pump out interesting variants ever since.” And in the coming months and years, both watch experts anticipate stable demand for unusual, distinctive square timepieces.
“If this year’s LVMH Watch Week is any indication, it looks like brands will be taking more risks and rolling out funkier designs to try to capture the attention of the market,” Ganjei said. “What’s old is new again, and square and rectangular cases are here to stay.”
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