Faintly masculine, a rectangle watch is the perfect accessory for those who prefer sharp angles to perfectly circular dials.
The style can be worn in myriad ways, from checking the time before your boardroom presentation to making sure you’re boarding your long-awaited flight in prompt fashion. Along with square and round dials, it’s one of the most popular watch shapes around for both men and women.
Browse any luxury watch website and you’re bound to stumble across a timeless rectangular dial piece. Many are finished with beautiful Roman numerals adding to an elegant look, but if you’re one for details, keep an eye out for contrast colour hands to add a small yet chic splash of colour.
It’s not just high-end fashion brands and jewellers offering such watches though: you’ll find rectangular faces over at Apple and Fitbit on their smartwatches too, combining connectivity and health monitoring features with a style that will never go out of fashion.
They’re best suited to those blessed with rectangular wrists, emphasising their slender dimensions. If your wrist is on the fuller side, you may find a chunkier style or a sports watch feels more fitting.
For readers with their hearts set on rectangle watches, we’ve rounded up our favourite designs below. Spanning a wide range of price brackets, some are for present-giving, while others are ripe for indulgent self-gifting.
See the selection below
Cartier Tank Must
With a slim calfskin leather strap and a beautiful face showcasing Roman numerals, Cartier's tank watch is the epitome of quiet luxury style.
It's not as flashy as a Rolex or Omega, yet keen eyes will immediately notice the exquisite craftsmanship of the design. It’s all about the finer details.
The one we’ve really fallen for? The hands. Painted blue, they remind us of Big Ben's Prussian blue markers - and you can’t get more of an iconic clock than that.
Buy now £3150.00, Goldsmiths
Longines DolceVita 32mm Ladies Watch
If nothing but luxury will do, Longines is on the upper tier. The brand has this timepiece full of classic details paired with features that make it useful for everyday life, such as water resistance to 30m. The quartz movement sits on an alligator strap in tan, contrasting nicely with the blue numerals and hands. Gorgeous.
Buy now £1400.00, Goldsmiths
Tory Burch Eleanor Watch
The ideal accessory to team with all outfits for all occasions, Tory Burch has nailed the elegant wristwatch brief in Eleanor. From the geometric pattern on the dial face to the statement double T clasp as a subtle nod to branding and the link bracelet strap, there's nothing we don't love.
Buy now £315.00, Tory Burch
Accurist Rectangle Ladies Watch
There's something so chic about green leather, especially on a watch strap. Accurist's design supports a gold-coloured rectangle dial with Roman numerals and hands in a slightly darker green.
The vintage-inspired look also comes in cherry red, tan, navy and black colours with free engraving available, meaning it's perfect for gifting on a special occasion.
Buy now £159.00, Accurist
Daniel Wellington Bound Crocodile Champagne Sunray Gold
Available in two sizes, this Daniel Wellington watch is a masterclass in symmetry. The curved case is the same width as the crocodile patterned strap, offering a nice seamless quality. As for the colour, it's a sublime splash to brighten up monochrome separates.
Buy now £150.00, Daniel Wellington
Apple Watch Series 10 GPS, 42mm, Aluminium Case, Sport Band
The latest Apple Watch Series 10 is on sale. It’s not a huge discount (just £50) but if you are looking to upgrade your current model, there is no better time.
A decade in the making, the smart time-teller has a bigger display, while being slimmer and lighter. It boasts all the smart functions that you would expect - health insights, texts and calls - but now with greater water resistance and a better battery life.
Buy now £349.00, John Lewis
Fitbit Inspire 3
Best for: Fitbit fans
Where exactly is the line between a fitness tracker and a smartwatch? The Inspire 3 displays the time and lives on your wrist, so that makes it a watch... right? Perhaps there’s something about the elongated lozenge-shaped casing, rather than round or square, that rules it out. Whatever it is, the Inspire 3 is a bargain-priced way to keep an eye on your heart rate, including the detection of irregular cardiac rhythms, and blood oxygen monitoring.
There’s a six-month trial subscription to Fitbit Premium included, but after that, you’ll need to pay if you want to keep using the added features, which include guided workouts, a daily readiness score that collates heart rate, sleep and exercise data, and even recipes for a healthy lifestyle. With a ten-day battery life and priced well under £100, the Inspire 3 is a great watch even without the subscription.
Buy now £69.99, Amazon
Skagen SKW3147 Women's Hagen Micro Mesh Strap Watch
Looking for something slim and elegant? Skagen’s elongated face sits on a micro mesh strap in stainless steel. The two-hand movement keeps things functional and minimal. Sold with a two-year guarantee and a two-year limited warranty.
Buy now £159.00, John Lewis
GANT Utica Watch
With a satisfyingly chunky chain, GANT’s bracelet watch doubles up as a functional piece of jewellery to add to your everyday style. The rectangle face is white, lifted by gold hour markers and three hands. Wear it with a matching chunky chain necklace and neutral separates.
Buy now £139.00, GANT
Casio Unisex Gold Watch
Whether you’ve recently watched Saltburn or Back To The Future is one of your all-time favourite films, you’re sure to have seen a Casio watch at one point or another on the silver screen – more often than not with a digital face. Thankfully, the Japanese label makes a watch with a white analogue dial, too – and you can get it for less than £60.
Buy now £57.90, Casio
Swarovski Octagon Cut Watch Bracelet
Showcasing an entirely different design altogether is Swarovski’s octagon-cut bracelet watch. A preppy pop of pink comes to life in the geometric crystals that form the watch strap. A sapphire glass centrepiece with a rose-golf finish offers a stripped-back, statement face for those wanting to toy with their jewellery archive.
Buy now £380.00, Swarovski
