Thinking outside the circle: While the vast majority of wristwatches stick to round proportions, a small corner of the market stands out with square designs. Take a closer look, and the world of angular timepieces has plenty to offer, from masculine sportiness to feminine elegance. But how do you choose? We give you an overview of the most popular square watches in the luxury segment and explain what makes these bestsellers tick.
Welcome to Monaco
The hands sweep in a circle, so surely that dictates the shape of the watch? What sounds logical at first, TAG Heuer took to a new level of watch design as early as 1969. The square Monaco broke with the established design conventions of round watches and combined its angular sportiness with serious water resistance, making the collection a practical eye-catcher. To this day, the brand hasn't strayed from the radical spirit of those first designs. TAG Heuer embodies the avant-garde attitude that made the brand, which belongs to Swatch, famous. Current collections are powered by the Calibre Heuer 02 automatic movement.
Wearers find 39 mm a comfortable size, especially for a square watch. But the sporty Swiss brand keeps developing the watch, and the Monaco name is carried by innovation. The new Monaco is also available with the Chronomatic Calibre 11, the first automatic chronograph movement with a micro-rotor.
Bell & Ross BR 03-92 STEEL
If there's one brand on this planet known for square watches, it has to be Bell & Ross. Specializing in square models with rounded corners styled after historic aircraft instruments, the French luxury brand offers everything from hardcore versions for actual astronauts to versatile urban all-rounders. An absolute classic is the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 STEEL (Ref. BR0392-BLC-ST), shown here in the black BLACK STEEL version with a 42-millimeter diameter. This square men's watch offers 100 meters of water resistance and catches the eye with its round dial, whose legibility is in a league of its own: huge Arabic numerals, bold hands, and maximum black-and-white contrast turn the Bell & Ross into a miniature station clock on your wrist. Thanks to the bright luminous material, its phenomenal readability doesn't suffer one bit at night. Matching its sporty look, the BLACK STEEL is completed by a black rubber strap.
Tissot T-Trend T-Evocation
If you're after the greatest possible contrast to the Bell & Ross, the delicate Tissot T-Trend T-Evocation (T051.310.61.117.00) is the right candidate. At 23 millimeters in diameter, this square women's watch is the perfect piece of jewelry for slender wrists. The stainless steel model shines not only with its Swiss Made quality but above all with its flowing aesthetic: because the bracelet and case merge seamlessly, you could mistake the T-Evocation for an elegant bangle. A slim bangle, too, since a height of 7.25 millimeters is a real statement. This slender construction is made possible by a modern quartz movement that gives this feminine beauty excellent precision. Beneath its scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, the T-Evocation keeps things minimalist: a silver dial with three hands and four indices fulfills the basic function of any watch.
NOMOS Glashütte Tetra
With the NOMOS Glashütte Tetra, a modern icon of angular watchmaking enters the arena. In its cool, elegant Neomatik 39 Silvercut version (Ref. 423) with a side length of 33 millimeters, this square men's watch has a particularly strong presence. But not in height: within just 7.2 millimeters, the polished stainless steel model houses the automatic in-house caliber DUW-3001, whose share of in-house manufacturing is exceptionally high thanks to the self-developed escapement assembly ("NOMOS swing system"). Precision that slips effortlessly under a shirt cuff.
The refined distinctiveness of this rectangular watch, fitted with sapphire crystal on both sides, lies in its dial, whose "Silvercut" aesthetic results from a special process of gilding, rhodium plating, and wet blasting. Blued hands and a red small seconds hand show the Tetra's attention to detail. By the way: the square Silvercut is part of an entire model family that includes square watches for women, hand-wound versions, and a wide range of colors. The purple Tetra Pflaume and the exquisite special editions marking Ludwig van Beethoven's 250th birthday are especially worth discovering.
Sevenfriday - Rounded Rectangular Futurism
Let's move from the timeless to the wild and turn to the up-and-coming Swiss brand Sevenfriday. Founded in 2012, the company pursues an unprecedented combination of futurism and industrial components in its watch designs. Standing out in a whole new dimension – with a legibility the average eye first has to get used to. Rather than highlighting a specific model, we want to spotlight the brand as a whole, since it offers a wealth of square editions with heavily rounded edges. Whether M1, P1 Essence, or P3 Industrial – if you want to combine a square watch case with the feel of engines and machinery on your wrist, this extravagant label is the place to go. Fans of skeleton watches get their money's worth too, as every Sevenfriday timepiece offers generous views of its mechanics.
Rado True Square
Speaking of skeletonization: with the Rado True Square Automatic Open Heart (Ref. R27083202), another luxury watch that brings its mechanics into the daylight joins the race. The focus of this 38-millimeter unisex version, however, isn't its generous 80-hour power reserve but its ceramic case. No other watch brand has committed itself to ceramic construction to the same degree as Rado, and you can see and feel it: the square case is made of "plasma high-tech ceramic," which continues into the bracelet, where it meets a titanium folding clasp.
Beyond its mysterious sheen, the True Square's wearing comfort deserves special mention: smooth, sleek, and warmer than stainless steel, the hypoallergenic material sits gently on the skin. And to keep things interesting, the watch presents a dial (or rather fragments of one) in vivid blue beneath its sapphire crystal.
Why Square Watches?
Like clothing, watches are a first-rate way to express your personality. If everyone wore the same shirt, the same suit, or the same dress, those uniform pieces would be unbeatably boring. If you want to stand out in the watch world, the possibilities are endless: wild colors from neon yellow to apple green, innovative materials like carbon and ceramic, and extravagant complications from alarms to the equation of time are just a few examples. Perhaps the most effective way to set yourself apart is a square case shape. But: anything that isn't round draws extra attention compared to the circular classic on the wrist. It doesn't have to be a square watch case; oval shapes, triangles like the legendary Hamilton Ventura, and the currently trendy tonneau shape also stand out from the crowd.
