The Ultimate Guide to Watch Case Shapes

While round watches are undoubtedly the most popular shape today, watch cases come in many shapes and sizes. Today, watchmakers are exploring unique watch case shapes to create a distinct visual identity for their brands, and customers are becoming more adventurous. 

This guide to watch case shapes explores 10 different shapes you might see in the market and shares the most iconic models for each shape. Don’t be afraid to go beyond classic round watches and wear something different. 

Guide to Watch Case Shapes

Round Watches

There are many reasons why most watches are round. Because dial hands move in a circle, it’s complementary to read time circularly. Also, the gears and wheels that power a watch’s movement are round, so they easily nestle in a round shape. Historically, wristwatches evolved from pocket watches, which were designed to be miniature clocks that traditionally were round. Most sports watches are round, and Patek Philippe’s Calatrava is one of the most classic round dress watches. There are even brands that mostly make watches with round cases, like Rolex. 

Rectangular Watches

Rectangular watches are also quite popular. An iconic rectangular watch is the Cartier Tank watch. True to its name, the design was inspired by the Renault tanks used in World War I. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is my favorite example of a sharp rectangular case. 

Tonneau Watches

A tonneau case has a rectangular shape with rounded vertical edges. Sometimes, it is called a barrel shape because “tonneau” means “barrel” in French. Richard Mille is a master of tonneau watches, and Franck Muller makes many as well. This shape lets watchmakers create unique designs for the dial. 

Octagonal Watches

As the name suggests, these watches have cases with eight sides. First popularized by Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, octagonal watches are practically a category unto themselves these days; examples include Bulgari’s Octo and Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato collections. Chanel uses a more subtle type of octagonal shape in its Première collection. It looks more like a rectangular watch with cut corners, but it’s technically an octagon. 

Oval Watches

Breguet’s Reine de Naples watch is one of the first — if not the first — wristwatches ever created. In 2023, Cartier relaunched the Baignoire watch on a bangle bracelet, and it quickly became one of the hottest watches of the year and reinvigorated consumer interest in oval watches. 

Square Watches

The Tag Heuer Monaco is one of the most recognizable watches ever, partly because watches with a square case are so unusual. Nomos Glashütte uses a square case in its Tetra collection. Bell & Ross is known for its square watches, and the Santos de Cartier is another famous square watch.  

Asymmetrical Watches

There are many types of asymmetrical watches — some are more pronounced than others. We don’t consider round watches with slides or pushers on the left side to be asymmetrical cases. 

Some watches might first appear to be round, but they are actually asymmetrical. We frequently see this subtle asymmetry in chronograph watches, which have pushers on the crown side. Watchmakers make this side a little thicker to accommodate and protect the pushers. Many dive watches are asymmetrical because they have a protective crown guard. The Omega Speedmaster, Rolex Submariner, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, and Panerai Submersible are examples of asymmetrical dive watches. 

Asymmetry can be part of the mechanics, too. The Ballon Bleu de Cartier encloses the crown within the design, so it appears perfectly round, but the right side is bigger than the left to accommodate the crown. Some of Greubel Forsey’s watches have asymmetrical cases because they contain too many complications to include in a round case. 

East-West Watches

East-West watches can be any elongated shape, like a rectangle or an oval, that is set horizontally instead of vertically. Girard-Perregaux’s Cat’s Eye watch is a great example. The watch becomes more unusual and eye-catching simply by rotating the case 90 degrees. Piaget also uses East-West dials in its Extremely Lady and high-jewelry watches. This orientation is very dramatic with a contrasting dial, like these stone dials from Piaget. 

Cushion Watches

Cushion-shaped cases are square with rounded edges and named for their pillow-like design. They aren’t very common today but are considered more elegant than a classic square watch. The rounded edges soften the sharpness of the square and make the watch look more refined. Cushion-shaped watches can have round or cushion-shaped dials. Laurent Ferrier has made cushion-shaped watches a signature of his brand, like this Galet Square watch. The Historiques American 1921 from Vacheron Constantin has a cushion-shaped case with a twist. The crown is located on the top right corner, and the dial is angled diagonally. This unique design lets the wearer read the time without turning the wrist. Panerai famously uses the cushion case on its Lumior and Radiomir watches. Hermès combined a cushion case with a round dial in its H08 collection, which highlighted the contrasting shapes. 

Unique Case Shapes

Some watches are instantly recognizable for their case shape because they are completely unique, like Cartier’s iconic Crash watches. These surrealism-inspired watches are produced in extremely limited quantities and have become some of the hottest watches in the vintage market today. Hermès also uses unique case shapes in some of its watches. The Heure H watch is shaped like the letter H, and the Kelly watch is shaped like a padlock. 

Many jewelry watches have unique shapes, too. Bulgari’s Serpenti watches are an iconic unique watch; the case shape is reminiscent of a snake’s head. Van Cleef & Arpels uses its iconic four-leaf clover design for its Alhambra watches, a great jewelry-inspired watch. Some high-jewelry pieces create wild designs using diamonds and gemstones that might make a watch look like it has an unusual case, but there’s typically a small round dial hidden amongst the sparkling stones. This Graff high-jewelry watch is a perfect example of a unique shape with a round dial, and this Piaget watch has an East-West oval dial. 

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