Watch Cases Come in All Shapes and Sizes

When you think of the typical watch case, something round usually comes to mind. The shape dominates the industry by far, going back centuries, but many others are common and even preferred by enthusiasts. There are square, rectangular, cushion and even triangular cases among many others, and Horage has ventured beyond round cases as well. The new Lensman 2 has a tonneau shape, which is mostly square with rounded sides, while our exclusive Yi diamond watch is a perfect square (well, with clipped corners). Let’s take a look at some of the most popular case shapes that have been embraced by major brands.

Round Case

Round cases are a natural choice for watches as central hands, of course, rotate in a circle. Movements are generally round as well. Virtually all pocket watches from the 16th century onward were round as a result, but rare exceptions existed. Animal themes were popular back in the day with interesting insect-themed cases and so on, but the actual timekeeping dials and crystals were almost always round. Most of our portfolio features round cases as they’re practical, stylish and the most accepted shape by global buyers. The round theme goes beyond just the case and dial as complications like the rotating tourbillon are round, along with gears and jewels. Quartz and digital LCD watches have more latitude with case shapes as timekeeping elements aren’t as restricted as most mechanical counterparts, but most of those default to traditional roundness as well. Why reinvent the wheel?

Rectangular Case

Rectangles are another common case shape, led by legendary collections like Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso and Cartier’s Tank. Introduced in 1931, the Reverso was designed to swivel the dial/crystal around so the case back was forward. This helped protect the watch during polo matches, although a second watch face is common on pieces today. It was a time when Art Deco styling was all the rage and brands like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin were also experimenting with early wristwatch designs. Patek Philippe introduced the rectangular tortue jump hour watch in 1927, for example, while Audemars Piguet’s World’s Fair watch was rectangular in 1938. A majority of major brands have rectangular watches today, from the Holy Trinity to Hamilton and Tissot to small microbrands, and even Apple embraced the style for its now iconic smartwatch.  

Square Case

Square cases are often associated with Cartier’s Tank watches, introduced in 1917. Influenced by the French Renault FT-17 military tank, the watch featured a square dial and crystal with extended sides for a rectangular-ish case. Modern pieces are often fully rectangular, but the iconic square design really epitomizes the Tank ethos. Other famous square designs include Tag Heuer’s Monaco, made famous in the 1971 movie Le Mans on the wrist of Steve McQueen, the Bell & Ross BR 01, based on cockpit instruments, and the Nomos Tetra.

Horage’s latest Yi diamond watch features our first square design with 100 CVD baguette diamonds. CVD diamonds are lab grown, yet identical to natural (and unethically mined) counterparts to the atomic level. Same exact product, just produced under laboratory conditions to ensure internally flawless clarity and colorless E-F color. The Yi is very exclusive and limited to just two pieces, and represents the pinnacle of Horage design and engineering as it’s powered by our in-house K1 automatic movement. Beautiful, precise, and unapologetic.

Triangular Case

You don’t think of triangles when talking about watch cases, but some truly iconic pieces have adopted this shape. The most well-known is Hamilton’s Ventura, introduced in 1957 and made famous by Elvis Presley in the 1961 movie, Blue Hawaii. The watch also featured the world’s first battery-powered movement in a production watch, although it predates the quartz. It replaced the mainspring with an electronic equivalent and maintained the mechanical balance wheel, although it proved unreliable and was soon overshadowed by quartz technology. The Ventura found fame again in the Men in Black franchise that started in 1997.

Another iconic triangular watch is Patek Philippe’s Gilbert Albert (ref. 3412) in 1958, which was basically a Ventura in reverse. A triangular point met the crown, while the Ventura’s crown was at the long, flat end. Of course, Patek’s piece had a conventional mechanical movement and was very rare (likely limited to prototypes), although it showcased the same futuristic aesthetic as Hamilton’s effort.

Tonneau and Cushion Cases

Tonneau cases are basically rectangles with rounded “barrel” sides, made popular by Franck Müller’s watches and Hublot with the Big Bang collection. Richard Mille also has a huge following with its tonneau shaped pieces and other luxury brands like Parmigiani Fleurier, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe have played with the style. American luxury watchmaker RGM even created an in-house tonneau-shaped movement (Caliber 20) for its tonneau-shaped cases.

Our recent Lensman 2 has a tonneau case and innovative camera exposure calculator via the rotating bezel and outer dial markings. It’s a first for wristwatches and both functional and stylish, and honors renowned photographer Brian Griffin. We have serious photo enthusiasts at Horage as well, notably Marketing Director Landon Stirling who shoots with a Leica rangefinder and yours truly, Erik Slaven. I favor mechanical Nikon SLRs like the original F and subsequent FM. Having an exposure calculator on my wrist with the F is very handy.

The Lensman 2 is also powered by our in-house K2 micro-rotor, featuring either a gold-plated tungsten or PT950 platinum rotor. The K2 has a silicon escapement and hairspring, and is COSC certified. Our micro-rotor watches represent the most attainable Swiss-made micro-rotors on the market.

Cushion cases are generally square or rectangular with rounded edges and curved sides that resemble a cushion. The most famous of these come from Panerai, which really defines the category. It’s an older design language more common in the past, but Panerai embraced it for its entire mainstream portfolio. Rolex was also an early pioneer of the design and even designed/produced Panerai watches with pocket watch movements before and after World War II. Panerai has since become a member of Richemont and is no longer affiliated with Rolex.

This doesn’t represent all watch case shapes and there are some radical designs out there, but it does cover the most common. Although more unconventional shapes have become very popular, round cases will always dominate the industry and represent the classic aesthetic that has endured for five centuries.

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Sound off in the comments about additional topics of interest, so we can be sure to cover what you want to read in future articles. And please share this with friends and anyone interested in watchmaking, and let's keep the conversation going. Also, be sure to sign up for our newsletter (here) and keep an eye out for new products as we're always in the process of development. Check out journal entries as well (here) and a detailed section on performance watchmaking at Horage (here).

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Erik Slaven