Watch Trend: Shape Shifters

The constant stream of trends in the watchmaking industry is thrilling for watch aficionados. One year the chronograph is the epitome of style, and the next unique watches with petite feminine dials are all the rage.

But every now and then, more unique shapes generate curiosity in the women’s watch space, with designs running the geometrical gamut from square and rectangular to intricate cuffs, ovals, trapezoidal or completely innovative asymmetrical styles that emote fantasy — with jewel-encrusted details and bold color, making them the ultimate conversation starter.

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From flower-studded dials to mystery watches, these creative works of horlogerie from some of the world’s most renowned watchmakers have transformed a style accessory into an art form. 

But the desire for something different, eye-catching, a new vogue or a deeper, more abiding undercurrent in the marketplace has been cemented with the aid of the resurgence in vintage watches. 

Although the wristwatch only launched back around the 1900s, it did not take long before innovators in the watch-manufacturing industry looked for alternatives to round cases to arouse interest and whet the appetite of consumers. Cartier, a pioneer in the space, has fostered the reputation of shaped watches as modern, groundbreaking and ruggedly individualist. In 1904, Louis Cartier designed what was arguably the first proper men’s wristwatch, the square-cased Santos, for early aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont and went on to create the Cartier Tonneau, and the Tank. 

Piaget’s latest collection offers a new way of wearing time with its yellow gold cuff watch, part of the “21st Century Collection” that launched in 1969. The sculptural art piece features a turquoise dial in an interlaced and branch-type effect — a style once owned by Elizabeth Taylor, but with a jade colored dial.

Here, WWD rounds up the top five timepieces that bridge femininity with artistry.

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Antoine Pividori

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