Часы в форме треугольника: как независимые бренды меняют круглую традицию индустрии

Watches are, for the most part, round. Round case, round dial, and, underneath all of that, a load of round mechanical-y bits. This isn't exactly breaking news, but it's worked pretty well for the past century or so. Recently, though, famous guys have started straightening things out. Harry Styles has worn a Cartier Tank Louis, Connor Storrie pulled out a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso at the Saint Laurent show, and rectangular dress watches now appear on red carpets so regularly that nobody really questions them anymore. Square watches were once the weird alt. Now, they're positively sensible. So, what comes next? Triangles, obviously! Proper pointy watches with three sides, freaky proportions, and absolutely no interest in blending quietly with rest of your fit. There aren't many of them out there, but the good ones make a very strong case that there should be. The Anoma A1 is the best recent example. Its smooth, rounded triangular case was inspired by a free-form table designed by Charlotte Perriand in the '50s, which sounds like a strange place to begin making a watch until you actually see it. The new Angles Triscope and Nectere Eclipse are both worth a shout-out, too. And then there are the OGs. The Hamilton Ventura, designed by American industrial designer Richard Arbib, arrived in 1957 as the world's first electric wristwatch. It looked futuristic then, and, almost 70 years later, it still does. Around the same time, Gilbert Albert designed the triangular Patek Philippe ref. 3412, an 18-karat gold watch so odd that only a few were ever produced. As watch expert Meighan Johnson puts it: “The future is a big investment when it's 18-karat gold.” So, why did circles win? Annoyingly, because they just… work. “Rectangular watches are about form, whereas round watches are about function,” says Andrew Morgan, founder of Andrew Morgan Watches. “The path of the longest hand from the centre dictates a practical shape: a circle.” Nabil Amdan, editor at Hairspring, agrees. “The circle won because it is the most neutral shape for a watch,” he says. “It's inherently symmetrical, easy to manufacture, works naturally with a circular movement, and sits comfortably on the wrist.” People got used to round watches, brands kept making them, and everyone just got on with their lives. Squares and rectangles weren't such a huge leap. “They still have a very clear visual order,” says Amdan. “The horizontal and vertical axes make them relatively intuitive, whether you look at something like the Cartier Tank or the JLC Reverso.” Triangles come with more admin. They have a point, a direction, and a very obvious way of sitting on the wrist. They can also be harder to attach to a strap, organise a dial inside, and seal properly at the corners. Basically, they start causing problems before you've even tried selling one. Timing didn't help, either. By the time the Ventura and Patek's experiments arrived in the late ’50s, people were dressing more casually. “The ’50s and ’60s saw a shift away from the stiff upper lip and stuffy suits of the previous generation, replaced with a more casual approach inspired by workwear,” says Morgan. “T-shirts, denim, and steel sports watches were the new trend. The triangular watch had no place in that.” Those early triangles never grew into a proper category. The Ventura became its own icon (helped by Elvis Presley wearing one in Blue Hawaii ), while Albert's Pateks remained ridiculously rare. “Triangular watches have always been more art object than tool,” says watch writer Vivian Morelli, “and the industry was mostly selling tools back then, not works of art for your wrist.” That's less of a problem now. “People claimed that smartphones would kill the industry,” says Johnson. Instead, she argues that having a more accurate way to tell the time has made people less worried about pure function. Your phone can change time zones by itself and tell you the weather in Tokyo. Your watch can be a triangle. There's also a new generation of people who got heavily into watches during the pandemic and have seen enough round steel sports watches to last them a whole lifetime. “But now they've caught up and they're more familiar, they're looking for something new and interesting,” says Morgan. He also points to unusually shaped pieces from Cartier, Piaget, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe making noise at auction. Once you've seen those, a plain circle can feel a bit boring. “After the hyped sports watch era during the pandemic, I think people want individuality again,” says Morelli. The Anoma A1 gives them exactly that. It's accessible compared with the vintage gold watches inspiring much of this convo, but it still feels properly sculptural – and it doesn't look like everything else in your watch box. Amdan thinks people are also buying watches for slightly different reasons now. “The conversation around watches has become very focused on specs, complications, finishing, provenance, and brand hierarchy,” he says. “But I believe there is an appetite for watches that simply have a strong visual point of view.” The A1 isn't trying to be the perfect dress watch or the perfect sports watch – it's just a very nice object that just so happens to tell you it's lunchtime. Smaller brands have played a big part in all of this. Johnson points to Dennison and Toledano & Chan as proof that indie labels are making avant-garde watch design more accessible. “The thrill of following these new independent microbrands is one of the most exciting aspects of it,” she says. Big watch brands have committees. Small ones can apparently just decide to make something weird. Of course, drawing three lines around a normal watch doesn't automatically make it good. “A good triangular watch designs the dial around the shape instead of just cramming a round layout into a triangle,” says Morelli. The hands, crown, dial, movement, and strap all need to work with the case. “When a triangle watch is already a flamboyance, getting it right and balancing fun and seriousness is difficult to achieve,” says Morgan. That's the challenge, but it's also the entire appeal – nobody needs another watch that looks like six watches they already own. And the experts already have requests. Amdan wants Cartier to make something thin and slightly softened in platinum or white gold. Morelli wants Ming to “take a swing at it,” while Johnson would like watchmaker Carole Kasapi-Forestier to create a skeletonised triangular wonder. Morgan nominates Universal Genève and imagines a reversible model that pivots to reveal an entirely different dial. So there you go, watch industry: four ideas, completely free of charge. Circles have had a very good run. Squares aren't surprising anyone anymore. It's time to give triangles a proper go.