Square with flair: 6 watches bringing the unusual dial shape back in 2024, from Cartier’s Santos Skeleton and Tag Heuer’s Steve McQueen-inspired Monaco, to Mido’s Multifort TV Big Date with 1970s’ ‘TV-dial’
With brands increasingly mining their archives for ideas, and with the resurgence of classic designs from the likes of Gérald Genta, watchmakers across the world are especially looking to the 1970s for inspiration. Square, tonneau and cushion cases existed long before then – see Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso, or Cartier’s Tank and Santos – but the rise of the “TV dial” has given enthusiasts more chance to wear a square timepiece than ever before.
1. Cartier Santos-Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor
We expect Cartier to start the celebrations for the Santos’ 120th anniversary next year, but the maison have pre-empted themselves with what can only be described as a masterpiece in the Santos-Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor, complete with a tiny plane motif in homage to the watch’s piloting heritage.
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2. Tag Heuer Monaco Skeleton
Tag Heuer also gave us a stunning skeleton version of a classic square piece in this year’s Monaco chronograph. Most readily associated with Steve McQueen, this bicompax (two subdials) piece has been a constant symbol of the brand’s racing heritage since its release in 1969.
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3. Mido Multifort TV Big Date
Prescient of the 1970s as the Monaco was, it’s the TV dial design that evokes the decade most, its rounded corners resembling a television of the time. Today, we have brands like the affordable Mido with its Multifort TV Big Date featuring a panorama big date aperture at 12 o’clock, an alternative to traditional date wheel displays.
4. Glashütte Original Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date
In Germany, Glashütte Original’s new colourways for its sleek and chic Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date also heavily evoke the 1970s, in “golden bay” and “ocean breeze” yellow and blue varieties respectively. Aside from a sleek bi-compax chronograph display with muted pushers, the panorama date is set at 6 o’clock.
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5. Brew Metric Automatic
Voted American watch brand of the year by Watchpro, coffee-inspired Brew Watches are a brand almost exclusively known for TV dial pieces. Their signature Metric line uses a mechaquartz movement – combining the accuracy of quartz with the thrill of mechanical parts – but Brew have also given us a fully automatic version of the Metric this year, again with that classic dial.
6. Bell & Ross BR 03 Copper Dial
Squaring off our list of pieces is the Bell & Ross BR 03 update which eschewed the -92 suffix of previous models but retained the signature sturdy design with a super-legible circular dial, which comes in ceramic, steel and even copper.
- American watch brand of the year and coffee-inspired Brew Watches are known for TV dial pieces, with the signature Metric line sporting a mechanical-quartz movement
- Germany’s Glashütte Original brings new colourways to its sleek and chic Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date which heavily evoke the 1970s in its golden bay and ocean breeze varieties