Article: The Rectangular Watch, Reconsidered: Six Icons and One Rectilinear Newcomer
The Rectangular Watch, Reconsidered: Six Icons and One Rectilinear Newcomer
Why rectangular watches keep coming back
Round is the default for a wristwatch, which is why a rectangular case turns heads. The shape has been worn for more than a century, and retailers still describe it as a rare sight in new launches and core collections. That rarity is part of the appeal. Below are six rectangular watches that shaped the category, from a 1917 sketch to a modern-vintage digital. After that comes a short note on a word we care about: why our new case for the Havørn is called rectilinear.
What makes a rectangular watch work
A rectangular case wears larger than its measurements suggest, and its slim, elongated profile often sits better on smaller wrists than a bulky round case. The shape also leans dressy by habit. Bonhams' global head of watches told The Rake that a rectangular sports watch rarely appears at all. Several of the six below break that habit, and so does the watch this post builds up to.
The six rectangular watches that shaped the category
Cartier Tank (1917)
Photo: Christopher Waluga
Louis Cartier sketched the Tank in 1917, and the first six pieces reached production in 1919. Cartier's own legend traces the shape to the Renault FT tank seen on the Western Front, a story historians question on timing. The design itself is clear: straight sides, with the lugs folded into the case as brancards that echo the tank's treads. In the early 1920s the Tank Louis Cartier softened those brancards, and that version became the Tank most people picture.
Cartier Santos-Dumont (1904)
Photo: Christopher Waluga
Cartier dates the first Santos to 1904, when Louis Cartier made a watch for his friend, the Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, so that he could read the time in flight with both hands on the controls. The signature look is a square bezel with visible screws and lugs that curve seamlessly out of the case. The modern Santos-Dumont XL, introduced in 2020, stretches that shape into a rectangular case of 46.6 × 33.9 mm and just 7.5 mm thickness, powered by the hand-wound Calibre 430 MC (Openers).
3. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso (1931)
Photo: Provo rossi / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
The Reverso started as sports equipment. British officers stationed in India wanted a watch that would survive polo, and the answer was a case that slides and flips over, hiding the dial behind a solid back. The patent application reached the Paris office on 4 March 1931. Production stopped in 1948, and the Reverso came back in 1972 after JLC's Italian agent Giorgio Corvo asked for it. Worth remembering the next time someone files rectangular watches under "dress only".
4. Patek Philippe Gondolo (1910s)
Photo: EMore98 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
The name comes from Gondolo & Labouriau, Patek Philippe's retailer in Rio de Janeiro from 1872 to 1927. Chronometro Gondolo wristwatches began in 1910 and came in round, square, cushion and rectangular cases. Patek still catalogues the name, and the rectangular references stay compact: one gold example measures 27.5 mm.
5. Hamilton Boulton (1941)
Hamilton introduced the Boulton in 1941 and revived it in the 1980s, and a quartz version is still sold today. The case is rectangular with rounded flanks, and a modern Boulton appeared on Indiana Jones's wrist in Dial of Destiny. It is a reminder that a rectangular case has long been American, accessible and quartz-friendly.
6. Casio Vintage A700WEM-7AEF (1987)
Photo: Christopher Waluga
The A700 is Casio's slim digital watch from the Vintage line, and the A700WEM-7AEF is the version with a stainless steel mesh bracelet and an amber LED backlight. Its case measures 37.4 × 35.5 mm and is only 6 mm thick, so the face is close to square, with straight sides and a profile that slips under a cuff. Strictly speaking it is square rather than rectangular, but it belongs on this list because it shows that straight lines work on an inexpensive watch as well as on a Cartier.
Rectangular or rectilinear?
People search for rectangular watches, which is why that word carries this post. For our own case we use a different one. Rectangular describes an outline of four sides and four right angles. Rectilinear is the wider word: characterized by straight lines. That is the difference we mean. On HAVØRN the straight lines run through the case sides, the integrated lugs and the crown guards, while the profile and the crystal curve gently for comfort on the wrist.
Meet HAVØRN, our rectilinear dress watch
HAVØRN is the first NMI watch with a rectilinear case. The name is the Norwegian word for the white-tailed eagle, a bird that hangs above the water until the moment is right. The watch takes that calm literally: it shows hours and minutes only, with no seconds hand to chase across the dial.
The case: Stainless steel, 38 × 29 mm, about 45 mm lug-to-lug and about 9 mm thick, with integrated 20 mm lugs and a slightly curved profile for comfort. Vertical brushing runs along the sides, and the polished surfaces get our MØRK finish, a black polish worked by hand with diamond paste.
The crown guards: Two guards flank the crown, a detail borrowed from sports watches. Seen from the side, they give the elegant case a more capable look. A curved sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating completes the profile.
The dial: A herringbone pattern cut sharp, like the structure of a flight feather seen up close. It comes in Arctic Silver, Sky Blue and Ember Red.
Strap and movement: A 20 mm sailcloth strap and a Swiss Ronda 1062 quartz movement, water resistant to 3 ATM. We chose quartz for a flat, quiet dress watch with nothing to wind and no power reserve to think about.
Launching 4 November
HAVØRN launches on 4 November, exclusively on nordicmarineinstruments.com, from US$349. The rectangular watch started out as sports equipment, became a dress classic, and keeps finding new wrists. We think there is room for one more chapter, written in straight lines and a little Nordic calm. Navigating Life's Moments.
