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The Best Square and Rectangular Watches Available Now

It's hip to be square and these watches prove it.

close up of a square watch face
Jaeger-LeCoultre

Imagine a cartoonist drawing a watch. It might have a couple lines for the hands, a couple lines for the strap and a circle for the case. But what if it were squarish? You probably wouldn't give it a second thought. Either communicates the basic idea effectively and accurately. The square or rectangular watch is an archetypal look — but, uncommon today, it makes for a deliberate and interesting choice among an ocean of round watches.

Few watchmakers dare to even attempt it nowadays — and even fewer are successful. But those that do pull off the right mix of design and proportions of a square watch offer a powerfully timeless appeal, whether they're of the dressy or sporty variety. If you're drawn to this fundamental and yet simultaneously niche category of watches, here's what you need to know.

The History of Square and Rectangular Watches

The first watches worn on wrists (by men, at least) were round pocket watches, essentially modded. But some of the very first men's watches specifically designed for the wrist were considered a new product category at the time (the early 20th century). A square or rectangular design helped distinguish them as something new and purposefully conceived.

Cartier was instrumental in introducing and popularizing the wristwatch itself with the squarish designs of the Santos and Tank watches. Look through vintage bins at wristwatches from the century's first decades and you'll find a significant proportion are of this shape. To our modern eyes, they look hyper formal but they can also have a quality modern wearers increasingly seek: they're classic.

Eventually, the round watch overtook the watchmaking landscape, obviously. But the 1960s and '70s saw all kinds of design experimentation and different watch shapes, including square and rectangular ones that didn't seem to reference earlier decades at all. Rather, watches like the Heuer Monaco were funky and sporty. Square watches are polarizing, but the number of icons within this watch category suggests that the form holds a basic appeal.

(Just to avoid overload, we're giving the Apple Watch and the original G-Shock as well as other Casios or digital watches a mere honorable mention in this list — but only this time!)

The Problem of Dimensions When Shopping for Square Watches

What gives a square or rectangular watch that timeless look on the wrist is the right proportions. But if you're familiar with evaluating watches based on their measurements, square watches break all the rules that typically apply to round watches. They wear completely differently.

Most watches casually referred to as "square" are, in fact, rectangular. They might even have a square dial aperture, but their cases will almost always be vertically longer than they are wide. Traditionally, however, watchmakers offer one primary measurement by which you're ostensibly supposed to be able to get a sense of the watch's size and how it wears.

That's the diameter, or width (i.e., from the 9 o'clock side to the 3 o'clock side). For example, 25.5mm might sound tiny for a round watch, even though tastes are trending smaller these days. But that is the width of the Cartier Tank Louis Cartier watch — and you tell me it's not perfect!

Such watches have a totally different silhouette than their curvaceous cousins. They have corners that occupy wrist real estate that round watches don't. The length (or lug-to-lug) measurement is a far better indication of how a watch will wear (Apple understands this), and a watch's thickness is another huge factor.

For this guide, we've given measurements in the form of width x length x thickness (where available) to help with this, but it's perhaps even more important than usual with square or rectangular watches to try before you buy.

Iconic Square Watches

There are a few watches that objectively define this category: the icons. They deserve to be treated separately due to their influence and simply because many people looking for a square or rectangular watch will be looking for one of these famous ones, specifically.

Cartier Tank

Cartier Tank Must Automatic

cartier.com
$4,450.00
  • Dimensions: 31mm x 41mm x 8.4mm
  • Movement: Cartier 1847 MC automatic

    Alongside the Rolex Submariner, this might be the most archetypal watch design in the world. It defines the classical square-watch look. The Must is the most accessible variant, but the Cartier Tank collection is large, with multiple sub-collections of different features and designs, many of which offer various sizes for each model.

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    Cartier Santos

    Courtesy

    Cartier Santos-Dumont Hand-Wound

    cartier.com
    $8,800.00
    • Dimensions: 33.8mm x 46.6mm x 7.5mm
    • Movement: Cartier 430 MC hand-wound

      Cartier deserves a couple spots on any list of square watches. The Santos is often considered the first wristwatch specifically designed for men. Having been made for an early aviator, it was technically a pilot's watch though it looks somewhat dressy and elegant today. It offers more design interest to those that feel the Tank is too simple — note the rivets in its bezel, which predate Audmar Piguet's Royal Oak with its exposed screws by many decades.

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      Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso

      Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Small Seconds

      jaeger-lecoultre.com
      $9,600.00
      • Dimensions: 27.4mm x 45.6mm x 8.51mm
      • Movement: Jaeger-LeCoultre 822 hand-wound

        The next obvious example among iconic square watches is the Reverso. Whereas Cartier has a classical appeal, the Reverso is full-on art-deco and it's got a unique trick up its sleeve: its case can be articulated and flipped while on the wrist to protect the dial. At least that was the original purpose (for polo players), but today some collection variants feature two dials as well as a range of features and designs.

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        Bell & Ross BR 03

        Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Black Matte

        bellross.com
        $3,800.00
        • Dimensions: 42mm x 51.5mm x 9.9mm
        • Movement: ETA 2892 automatic

          Though young among icons, Bell & Ross established an utterly unique and recognizable look with the BR01, but the smaller BR03 is much more wearable. A dressy or formal square watch, this ain't: it's based on cockpit instruments but the collection has expanded to include the likes of dive watches — all riffing on that basic, legible, square design.

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          TAG Heuer Monaco

          TAG Heuer Monaco

          tagheuer.com
          $7,800.00
          • Dimensions: 39mm x 47mm x 14.3mm
          • Movement: Sellita SW300-1 with Dubois Depraz chronograph module ("Calibre 11") automatic

            The Heuer Monaco is pretty funky, but it's become an icon among automotive watches for one primary reason: Steve McQueen and, in particular, a famous movie poster of him wearing it. Even the watch's creator Jack Heuer seems baffled by its success, but it's also notable for being one of the first watches to feature an automatic chronograph.

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            More Great Square Watches

            Because of the dominance of icons among square watches, some might look for more affordable alternatives. Though some of the below watches might serve that purpose for some, that's far from their only appeal. They show that the most famous examples aren't the only options when you want that classic silhouette.

            Oris Rectangular

            Oris Rectangular

            oris.ch
            $2,050.00
            • Dimensions: 25.5mm x 38mm x 10.3mm
            • Movement: ETA 2671 automatic

              The Oris Rectangular is one of the most affordable automatic watches of this type we can actually recommend. Its design has an art-deco style that's reminiscent of some Reversos (see above), but also a number of other watches from decades past, including Oris's own. It wears small and can do dress duty, but also offers a bit more fun than something as dressed-up as a Tank.

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              man wearing the oris rectangular watch
              Who said a watch like the Oris Rectangular can’t also be perfectly casual?
              Zen Love

              Nomos Tetra

              Nomos Tetra Neomatik 39 Silvercut

              nomos-glashuette.com
              $3,980.00
              • Dimensions: 33mm x 45.3mm x 7.3 (other sizes also available)
              • Movement: Nomos DUW3001 automatic

                When people speak casually of "square" watches, they're often referring to rectangular ones — or cushion-shaped, or vaguely squarish, or something. The Nomos Tetra's case, however, really is a perfect square (if you don't count its lugs) with angular corners and everything. It's also thin to help it wear well and minimally designed to emphasize its striking shape.

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                Longines Dolcevita

                Longines Dolcevita

                longines.com
                $1,775.00
                • Dimensions: 28.2mm x 47mm x 10.3mm
                • Movement: ETA A20.L01 automatic

                  The Longines Dolcevita is a popular option that many in the market for a relatively affordable alternative to the likes of Cartier or Jaeger-LeCoultre will discover early on. You get a pretty classic look from a respected Swiss brand, with different size and movement options.

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                  Baume & Mercier Hampton

                  Baume & Mercier Hampton

                  baume-et-mercier.com
                  $2,650.00
                  • Dimensions: 27.5mm x 43mm x 10mm
                  • Movement: ETA 2671 automatic

                    Like Longines above, Baume & Mercier is another major Swiss brand that one of the few to have long offered a take on the rectangular, Tank-style watch. The Hampton, however, has a relatively angular case which helps it offer a look that doesn't come across as just a Tank wannabe.

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                    Ralph Lauren RL867

                    Ralph Lauren

                    Ralph Lauren RL867

                    ralphlauren.com
                    $8,350.00
                    • Dimensions: 32mm x (not disclosed) x 5.7mm
                    • Movement: Piaget 430P hand-wound

                      Ralph Lauren's take on watchmaking is always interesting. The RL867 has a subtly interesting case design (available in different sizes) and a dial that might divide some watch fans by mixing Roman and Arabic numerals (we happen to be fans). It's notable for other reasons too: A Piaget movement inside helps keep it impressively thin, it comes in gold or the unusual material for watchmaking, silver — and it's also quite possibly the square watch that looks best on a bracelet (only available for the 35mm version).

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                      Tiffany 1837 Makers

                      Tiffany 1837 Makers

                      tiffany.com
                      $3,500.00
                      • Dimensions: 27mm x 36mm x 9mm
                      • Movement: ETA 2892A2 automatic

                        A square watch in the tradition of the Tank feels appropriate coming from a company like Tiffany & Co, largely known for its fashion and jewelry. Though it comes in a few color variations, its teal-dial variant is particularly notable. Why? C'mon, you know why: it's the exact color that spurned a full-blown trend in watches when Tiffany partnered with Patek Philippe on a much-hyped Nautilus.

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                        Code41 Metascape

                        Code41 Metascape

                        code41.com
                        $13,800.00
                        • Dimensions: 71mm x 108mm x 8mm
                        • Movement: Code41 Metascape hand-wound

                          "What am I even looking at?" you might be thinking. The Code41 Metascape is essentially a modern pocket watch that's about the size (and shape) of a modern mobile phone. No apps here, though, just highly creative and modern mechanical watchmaking. We've included it here just for the heck of it, because it's rectangular — and because it's just an insanely cool and wantable object. It's carried in a little sleeve (in your pocket) and, with a little stand, it also turns into a desk clock.

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