Round-UpThinking Outside The Circle: A Case For Unconventional Watch Shapes

Boast about your tourbillions, your flyback chronographs, and your minute repeaters all you want; nobody’s going to come up to you out of the blue with, “That’s a cool-looking watch!” Do you know what gets compliments like that, though? A watch that is simply encased in a shape you wouldn’t expect. If you ask someone to close their eyes and imagine a wristwatch, they’re probably going to imagine the archetypal circular case. That’s precisely why watches that challenge the notion of a regular circular case seem to stand out from the crowd, and it’s such unconventional shapes that we’re making a case for. Let’s take a look at some of the best odd-shaped watches.

Bulgari Serpenti

The Shape Of A Serpent

Bulgari is a brand that have quite a knack for achieving the next big thing in the watch world. They’ve made the now-dethroned thinnest mechanical watch in the world (the Octo Finissimo), they’ve developed some of the smallest mechanical watch movements in the world, and 75 years ago, they launched the iconic Serpenti collection.

The Serpenti has transcended being solely a watch. It has now become a symbol of feminine power. As the brand put it, the watch has been ‘evolving side by side with confident [individuals] proud to reveal their magnetic charm’.

Thanks to their Tubogas technology, the bracelets wrap around the wearer's wrist, while the case of the watch emulates the head of a snake

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As one of the most iconic watch collections of all time, the Serpenti line represents more than just an unconventional case shape

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Bulgari Serpenti SHOP THE COLLECTION

Thanks to their Tubogas technology, the bracelets wrap around the wearer’s wrist, while the case of the watch emulates the head of a snake. Some Serpenti watches even feature a snake’s head, with the dial hidden inside its mouth. Honestly, the craziness on display within this collection is unlike anything you can imagine. As one of the most iconic watch collections of all time, the Serpenti line represents more than just an unconventional case shape. We’re off to quite the start, aren’t we!

Urwerk UR Satellite UR-120

A Shape For New-Age Timekeeping

Perhaps the only act worthy of following the Bulgari Serpenti in this conversation are the extremely innovative offerings of Urwerk, especially the UR-120 collection. Not only will a person be drawn into what’s on your wrist thanks to its unique shape, but they’ll stick around once they find out how differently an Urwerk tells time.

Urwerk UR-Satellite SHOP THE COLLECTION

Pictured here is the UR-120 Space Black, a watch with a 44mm case that is somewhat shaped like a chicken nugget. That’ll make sense if you really think about it. The watch features a 60-minute track on the right-hand side of the timepiece, which starts at one and ends at five. Once a ‘wandering hour’ reaches five o’clock, the next one is ready to display the hours starting at one. Unique shape, unique time-telling—now all you need is to make some stories with the watch.

Jacob & Co Epic SF24 and Ghost

Shape It Like It Needs To Be

Jacob & Co are no strangers to extravagant watchmaking. After all, their mission is to ‘create beautiful, dynamic, and unique pieces of watchmaking and jewellery art’. Sooner or later, they were bound to play around with the shape of their watches, and the manifestations of the same are exquisite.

Epic SF24 in grade-5 titanium

First among the line-up is the SF24. Unveiled in 2013, the ‘SF’ in the name stands for ‘Split Flap’, named after the mechanical information boards seen in airports. The 24, obviously, means it features 24 time zones, displayed by cities.

Unveiled in 2013, the ‘SF’ in the name of the Jacob & Co SF24 stands for ‘Split Flap’, named after the mechanical information boards seen in airports

Apart from the incredibly easy-to-use world-timer display of the SF24, what strikes us today most is the shape that the split flap lends to the watch. Take that away, and it looks like a normal watch. With that unique inclusion, however, it receives functionality and design that make it as distinctive as it is.

Jacob & Co. Ghost in carbon fibre

Next up is the hauntingly beautiful Ghost. Let’s give you a quick low-down: it took two years of research and development to design the watch, it weighs a mere 12g, and the digital movement contains only 103 components, yet it displays 20 different time zones. All of this fits into a 14mm-thick case, in an odd pentagon case. A pentagon!

it took two years of research and development to design the watch, it weighs a mere 12g, and the digital movement contains only 103 components, yet it displays 20 different time zones

Gerald Charles’ Maestro 2.0 Ultrathin

The Only Shape They Need

Gérald Charles Genta changed the landscape of luxury sport watches when he came up with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak—an octagonal beauty with an integrated case-and-bracelet appeal going for it. In the year 2000, he launched his own independent, family-owned watch company called Gerald Charles.

To expect a ‘normal’ case from the mind of the genius would’ve been blasphemous. The world expected another unique, iconic silhouette, and he delivered, alright. Enter: the Maestro collection.

Gerald Charles Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin SHOP THE COLLECTION

The distinct Maestro case, measuring 39mm by 41.7mm, is based on Genta’s original drawing, which was inspired by Francesco Borromini’s Roman Baroque architecture from the 17th century. It’s not a regular octagon; it’s original, it’s unique, and the bottom of the case seems to smile back at you. Back, because there’s no way you’re not smiling when you look at the watch on your wrist.

The Maestro 2.0 Ultrathin watches are populated by these ultra-thin (8.7mm), automatic, sporty timepieces. Despite the irregular case shape, the watch offers 100m of water resistance. Go ahead and take a swim with it on, you might just find a dolphin surprised by the shape of a Gerald Charles.

Hublot’s MP-05 LaFerrari

The Shape Of A Mechanical Powerhouse

Not only does this one have a fascinating shape, it’s got a power reserve of 50 full days, an unconventional way of telling the time, and is wound through an electronic screwdriver that you get with the watch. This, without a doubt, is the showstopper we can wrap up our list with. The Hublot MP-05 LaFerarri was launched in 2012, after a collaboration with the Italian luxury carmaker as an official partner.

The Hublot MP-05 LaFerrari timepiece features 50 days of power reserve

Time is indicated on moving drums on the right-hand side of the dial, and to the left is a power reserve indicator that allows the wearer to know when to wind the movement

Only 50 pieces of this marvelously engineered tourbillon timepiece were ever created

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The result was this gorgeous timepiece, which boasts a total of 637 components, is equipped with a tourbillon, a power reserve indicator, and features 11 barrels. Along with all the incredible achievements of this watch, its cobra-esque shape means you could get lost in its beauty.

At the end of the day, it’s quite simple: the cooler your watch looks, the more it’s going to draw attention. Chime your minute repeaters all you want, unless anybody hears it, it’s just a watch on your wrist. An Urwerk, Serpenti, Maestro, or any others we listed above, however, really are the showstoppers.