Following on from our exploration of all things square-cased, it’s time to delve into the realm of rectangular watches. In contrast to square watches, which we’ve seen have a wide variety of styles, rectangular watches are strongly tied to the Art Deco movement. This means they often follow 1920s inspired geometric patterns with a vintage flair. Let’s take a look at some of the coolest.
Vario Versa Dual Time, £333
The Vario Versa Dual Time is strongly influenced by the design of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Duoface as it too has a reversible display. Interestingly, while the Reverso flips on a vertical axis, the Versa rotates on a horizontal axis going end over end. This is made possible by having and external case that’s separate from the main body of the watch allowing the body to rotate between its two modes.
Housed inside is a Ronda Slimtech quartz movement to ensure high degrees of reliability regardless of which orientation you use the watch. In fact, in an amazing example of work smarter, not harder, the watch actually contains two of these movements, one for each face rather than having a single double-sided movement. It means you can set each dial totally independently, which is what allows it to function as a dual time model. The use of quartz movements also helps to maintain an accessible price point for the model at £333.
Price and Specs:
More details at Vario.
Frederique Constant Carree Automatic, £995
As Frederique Constant and Alpina are sister brands, it’s perhaps not surprising that they share certain elements of design. The clearest example of that is in the Carree, which is incredibly similar to the Alpina version right down to the name, sans accent. It measures 30.40mm x 33.30mm with smooth flanks and an onion style crown.
The display is archetypically Art Deco with a railway track minute scale around the central textural motif and then long, facetted hour markers around the periphery. It’s sophisticated and relatively understated when presented in white. You could add a bit more flair if you opt for a more colourful edition like the blue, although that moves it away from the traditional elegance of a dress watch. Housed inside is the automatic FC-303 movement, another based on the SW200 to help keep it accessible.
Price and Specs:
More details at Frederique Constant.
Alpina Heritage Carrée Automatic 140 Years, £1,495
While the modern brand Alpina has been around since 2002, they’re technically a revival of a much older brand that dates back to 1883. Meaning that 2023 marked the 140th anniversary of the original brand. To celebrate, Alpina released the highly exclusive Heritage Carrée Mechanical, a watch that was so popular they followed it up with the non-limited Heritage Carrée Automatic.
The most obvious feature of the watch is its 32.5mm by 39mm rectangular, stainless steel case, which is every bit the Art Deco throwback you’d want from an archival re-issue. It’s the kind of look that the Reverso and Tank have been riffing off for decades, though the Alpina is a good deal larger in almost every dimension. It’s also a lot squarer and more fun than elegant. It’s not sporty per se, but with its shoulder crown guards and broader look, it’s edging there. Beneath the heritage inspired surface beats an in-house movement. It’s the AL-530, which has a 4hz frequency and 38-hour power reserve, which is a riff on the Sellita SW200 of course.
Price and Specs:
More details at Alpina.
Longines DolceVita, £1,700
The Longines DolceVita is a versatile collection of rectangular watches that runs the full gauntlet from sector style designs all the way to gem-set creations. Its name translates to ‘sweet life’, a reference the luxurious, relaxed aesthetic the design inspires, full of parties and sunny weather.
With dimensions of 28.20mm X 47.00mm, this reference L5.767.4.73.9 has a really pronounced rectangular shape that is disproportionately long, giving it an impressive amount of presence on the wrist. The dial has a sector dial pattern popularised by the Art Deco movement, although it’s been adapted for the longer proportions of a rectangle display. Discover some more of our favourite sector dials here. Powering the DolceVita L5.767.4.73.9 is the automatic calibre L592 with a 45-hour power reserve with central hours, minutes, seconds and a date window.
Price and Specs:
More details at Longines.
Oris Rectangular, £1,800
Oris is an interesting brand because while they have their core collections, they’re not afraid to go out on a limb and create a handful of designs that fall outside those ranges, such as the Artelier watches and Rectangular.
The Rectangular has a really strong Art Deco influence seen in the stepped flanks of its case and the railway track scales on its dial. Measuring 25.50mm x 30mm it’s also on the smaller side, which is also in keeping with a design inspired by the 1920s and smaller vintage proportions. Interestingly, while the collection was updated in 2021, it would have been a perfect launch in 2024 when collectors are much more interested in those aspects of design. Inside is the Oris 561 calibre, an automatic number with a 38-hour power reserve. It feels completely unlike any other watch Oris produces, but I’m also glad they do make it because it’s unexpected and fun.
Price and Specs:
More details at Oris.
Cartier Tank Must Extra-Large, £4,800
Cartier are one of the most experimental brands when it comes to shape. They have a wide variety of rectangle, square, round, tonneau and even bell shaped watches in their collections. However, arguably the most famous of these is the Tank, so named because the rectangular design of the early models was inspired by French Renault tanks in World War One.
It’s undergone many updates and changes over the years and now exists across several subcollections such as the Française, Normale and Must. Of these, it’s the Must that people generally think about when it comes to Tank with its rounded, softer design that originated in the 1970s. Not only is it the entry level model, but the gentler aspects of its shape give it a refined appeal suitable for a dress watch, whether in steel or gold. This particular reference in steel measures 41mm x 31mm and houses the automatic calibre 1847 MC with a 40-hour power reserve and automatic winding.
Price and Specs:
More details at Cartier.
Baume & Mercier Hampton 10741, £6,225
The Baume & Mercier Hampton is a rectangular watch that wasn’t really on my radar until earlier this year when they launched the ref. 10741 limited edition. The case is a classic rectangular design measuring 48.11mm x 31mm in steel with a black DLC coating featuring flat sides and angled lugs.
What really captures the attention is the dial though, which does away with the Art Deco influences of the standard Hampton and replaces it with an immaculate rendition of a modern artwork in miniature. Specifically, it depicts the Peinture 324 x 362 cm, 1986, Polytyque 1 by Pierre Soulages. The amount of texture and subtlety Baume & Mercier have been able to recreate on the dial is stunning. The rectangular shape of the watch is the natural fit for the large square canvas of the original artwork. Below the surface is the automatic calibre ETA 2892.
Price and Specs:
More details at Baume & Mercier.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds, £20,800
You can’t talk about rectangular watches without mentioning the watch that has helped to define the archetype since 1931. As the story goes, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso was originally designed for the sport of polo. Riders wanted to wear their watches while playing but didn’t want to damage the fragile crystal, so JLC developed a case design that was reversible. This meant that you could hide the crystal on the inside with the robust, metal caseback exposed to the world. It makes sense that a rectangle that can have hinged-style mounting is easier to execute than a rotating circle.
These days the Reverso has moved firmly away from sports fields of all types to become one of the premier dress watches. They frequently have dual faces allowing you to choose between two designs to show the world or alternative sets of complications. We though love the original style, and there’s still a classy beauty to the Art Deco Monoface Tribute. It measures 41.6mm x 25.4mm in pink gold. It’s equipped with the calibre 822, a manual movement with central hours and minutes as well as small seconds.
Price and Specs:
More details at Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Corum Golden Bridge Rectangle, CHF 40,500 (approx. £36,255)
The clean lines of the 42.2mm x 29.5mm rose gold case of the Corum Golden Bridge Rectangle belie the complexity of the movement housed inside. The entire calibre CO 113 is constructed not in the traditional round design of most movements but strung out in a line on a singular axis. Hence the name Golden Bridge because everything is contained on that golden bridge that arcs through the centre of the skeletonised display.
It makes for a very extreme aesthetic that is daring and certainly not to everyone’s taste, though I think everyone can appreciate its achievement regardless. The movement is manual-winding with a 40-hour power reserve, which is impressive considering how compact the movement is. The time telling functions are limited to hours and minutes which correspond to the Roman numerals that occupy the void-like space on either side of the bridge. A very high concept take on rectangular watches, although one rooted in history as while the Golden Bridge is available in basically any case shape you care to imagine, the original was rectangular.
Price and Specs:
More details at Corum.
Lang & Heyne Georg, approx. £36,775
Lang & Heyne watches are very exclusive and are sold through official retailers, none of which are UK based. So determining the price involves converting from various international sources, hence we’ve given it as an approximate value. To my eye, the Georg is an interesting mix of styles. While it has those classic Art Deco features such as the railway minute track, there’s also a strong influence from Saxon dress watches.
Which is to say, a strong black and white colour scheme with a relatively thin typography. Simultaneously bold and elegant. The same is true of the 40mm x 32mm case, which is available in a variety of precious metals including rose gold and platinum for an ultra-luxurious aesthetic. Powering the Lang & Heyne Georg is the Calibre VII, a manual-winding movement with a 55-hour power reserve. It’s wound using the onion style crown.
Price and Specs:
More details at Lang & Heyne.
Moser & Cie. Swiss Alp Watch Minute Repeater, Price on Request
The original H. Moser & Cie. Swiss Alp Watch was something of a joke, designed to parody smart watches but in mechanical fashion. The logical extension to that punchline is for H. Moser to have also created an haute horological edition, which they duly did in the form of the H. Moser & Cie. Swiss Alp Watch Minute Repeater. It features a diamond-clad, rectangular case housing a chiming complication and flying tourbillon.
A slide on the side of the case activates the minute repeater, activating the hammers and gongs to ring out the current time in musical style. The auditory nature of the device is reminiscent of the incessant dinging and vibrating of a smart watch. As a further note, the central hands don’t actually display the time, leaving it up to the minute repeater to pull its weight. The movement is the HMC 901 manual-winding calibre with an 87-hour power reserve.
Price and Specs:
More details at H. Moser & Cie.
