Cigar Watch
Square up
Looking to add some class & style to your look while at the lounge or just looking for a more classy & sophisticated vibe? A watch trend that I predict making a resurgence is the Tank style watch. Tanks are more elegant watch that are square/rectangular in shape. The original version, the Cartier Tank, was designed by Louis Cartier in 1917. He drew his design inspiration from the Renault FT-17 tank used during WW1. Throughout history tank watches have been famously worn by both men and women like Princess Diana, Truman Capote, Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali, Jacky Kennedy and Andy Warhol. Despite being a more popular style for women the last few decades, a recent resurgence of smaller watches and the common square watch shape of Apple/smartwatches common on wrists, I see the Tank style watch due for a renewed popularity and an easy crossover to the classier end of square watches.
So below are ways I suggest to get aboard at different price levels. Cartier is king in this domain, but you will find some other brands that are lovely tank style examples and you can find them available at different price/quality levels. Mostly by searching keywords like “tank square watch”
Amazon/Aliexpress Shitters
While you can find some decent but weirdly named XYZ Chinese shitboxes here. I would suggest skipping right by them and focusing on the next category. I only mention these because they are good for a cheap fit to wear on your wrist to see if the style even suits you. I have done this myself as a way to test drive a watch style before spending hundreds more on a quality name brand. Still I would skip past these for an option mentioned below as some can be had for only a bit more in price.
Vintage Tanks
This is where the fun is…There are lots of vintage squares on ebay, thrift stores, estate sales, flea markets and the sorts. The plus is you can find some really nice watches that people just want to get rid of and throw on a nice alligator strap on it to complete an upgraded million dollar look. The downside is there are a good amount of fakes, as well as overpriced ones that people bought cheap, threw an alligaotor band on and want to capitalize on the aforementioned million dollar look.
-Citizen, Bulova and Seiko are your best options for a deal. IMO, Bulova has a huge vintage market in squares and there are deals to be had there. I recently bought a Bulova for next to nothing that was part of someone’s grandfather’s old watches they were selling. I put a nice band on it and now it exudes class! I would also suggest to check out Seiko’s Dolce line, but beware that there are a lot of fakes (Fiekos) but not a huge deal as they are usually well made and only entry level stuff that no one will question…Best way to avoid that is to only buy one that lists a model number and google search it to verify it’s a production watch.
My aforementioned classy Bulova
-Hamilton and Omega are the next tier in the used market. Hamilton has a deep history in square and odd shaped watches…While there may be some old models to find at a steal, most will start in the $250 and go up. For whatever reasons, most Hamiltons are patina’d quite a bit (aka beat the hell up). The Omega De Ville is the looker here but more likely around $500 and up.
Omega De Ville
-Cartier… Cartier is king. If you want a piece of the crown, look for a vintage Must de Cartier or similar. But be prepared to spend over a grand for a worn piece. Beware of fakes and make sure you note the size (you want a men’s size if you’re a man as even they can be small)
Vintage Must de Cartier
Buy New
Again, you will find the same names here with a few additions. Not a whole lot of new options as there may not be a renewed market for squares and/or the ones we’ve mentioned have the market cornered (no pun intended).
-Casio is a new name here. Even though I skipped over them in the vintage section, they have plenty of used options out there, but they recently released some low cost new gems. The Casio LTP-V007L-9EUDF is the aforementioned cheap date in the $30-$40 range. They also released a newer LTP-B165L (EU) that is trending to the point that as I am writing this it is sold out in a lot of places and double the original $60 price in other places…It’s a ladies watch but large enough to be trending on men’s wrists. Seiko and Bulova also have some classy offerings at the entry level of $150ish with the Seiko SWR049 (which I own) and Bulova 96B107
The most popular of budget Tanks Seiko SWR049
-Hamilton and Longines are the mid tier here. With the lovely Hamilton American Classic Boulton offerings (Classic and Indiana Jones versions) just under $1K. They also fringe on the Tank/Tonneau shape case (more on that below). Or the upper mid tier for around $2K is the severely underrated Longines Dolce Vita.
Longines Dolce Vita
-Cartier…Again, the king! To get a piece of the crown new, it will start you at $3500 and up with a lot of sizes, style, dials, metal and bracelet options. As well as the Santos de Cartier.
Cartier Tank
Tonneaus
Tonneau or barrel cases are pretty much tanks with rounded sides. While they have a history almost as deep as tanks, they were later popularized by Franck Muller and the most popular today is the exuberantly priced Richard Mille. A few options at increasing order are: The Tissot Heritage Porto with a Dali Melting Clock vibe under $500 (not as much as a vibe as the Cartier Crash though). Secondly, I’ll throw in a microbrand that I love and recently purchased in the Lorier Zephyr! This stunner has a lovely guilloche pattern dial, auto movement and sapphire crystal for $500. In this range are also some nice Seikos in the SARY111 and SRPD05 but they can be tough tracking down the JDM markets for. Then we have some lovely offerings at a $1K+ jump with Longines Evidenza offerings. Lastly, you guessed it, Cartier! However, their tonneau offerings are a HUGE jump in cost, especially if you consider the Cartier Crash a tonneau…I pretty much only mentioned their tonneaus to drive home that they are the king of this watch style.
Lorier Zephyr Cartier Crash
