Watches are, for the most part, round. Round case, round dial, and, underneath all of that, a load of round mechanical-y bits. This isn’t exactly breaking news, but it’s worked pretty well for the past century or so.
Recently, though, famous guys have started straightening things out. Harry Styles has worn a Cartier Tank Louis, Connor Storrie pulled out a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso at the Saint Laurent show, and rectangular dress watches now appear on red carpets so regularly that nobody really questions them anymore. Square watches were once the weird alt. Now, they’re positively sensible.
So, what comes next? Triangles, obviously! Proper pointy watches with three sides, freaky proportions, and absolutely no interest in blending quietly with rest of your fit. There aren’t many of them out there, but the good ones make a very strong case that there should be.
The Anoma A1 is the best recent example. Its smooth, rounded triangular case was inspired by a free-form table designed by Charlotte Perriand in the ’50s, which sounds like a strange place to begin making a watch until you actually see it. The new Angles Triscope and Nectere Eclipse are both worth a shout-out, too.
And then there are the OGs. The Hamilton Ventura, designed by American industrial designer Richard Arbib, arrived in 1957 as the world’s first electric wristwatch. It looked futuristic then, and, almost 70 years later, it still does. Around the same time, Gilbert Albert designed the triangular Patek Philippe ref. 3412, an 18-karat gold watch so odd that only a few were ever produced. As watch expert Meighan Johnson puts it: “The future is a big investment when it’s 18-karat gold.”
So, why did circles win? Annoyingly, because they just… work. “Rectangular watches are about form, whereas round watches are about function,” says Andrew Morgan, founder of Andrew Morgan Watches. “The path of the longest hand from the centre dictates a practical shape: a circle.”
Nabil Amdan, editor at Hairspring, agrees. “The circle won because it is the most neutral shape for a watch,” he says. “It’s inherently symmetrical, easy to manufacture, works naturally with a circular movement, and sits comfortably on the wrist.” People got used to round watches, brands kept making them, and everyone just got on with their lives.
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