Gazing Into The Crystal Ball

Men's Folio gazes into the crystal ball to make predictions for Watches & Wonders 2025

- Asaph Low and Stuart Danker Illustration Nabihah Nizam

Asaph Low (AL): Hey Stuart, have you ever wondered why watches are mostly round?

Stuart Danker (SD): I was about to ask you that. It seems to be the most efficient way to measure time, and is the easiest shape for watch hands to traverse across. But the more important question now is, are form watches seeing a resurgence? And why?

AL: It’s thanks to Patek Philippe and its polarising Cubitus. I've never seen such levels of furore over a release. Obviously, there are aesthetic similarities to the Nautilus, but the collective impact has firmly put form watches back on the radar. However, let's not discount the fact that brands like Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Van Cleef & Arpels and MB&F, to name a few, are already strong in this field.

SD: Agreed. You're speaking to someone who's already a fan of form watches from the past, especially of the four-sided variety. What newer form watches have caught your attention? I've been intrigued by the Reflection de Cartier.

AL: Staying on Cartier, the Baignore, Coussin, Pebble and Tortue are other prime examples that demonstrate the wealth and richness of its design archives.

SD: Cartier really embraces the form watch, doesn't it? Almost every design does not adhere to the traditional round or circular dimensions. The Crash is one outstanding example. Then again, the zanier designs from recent years have also been quite the eye-openers.

AL: Such as?

SD: Hublot Murakami Rainbow. We've seen the flower designs on the dial, but I personally have not seen a flower-shaped case before.

AL: That was a jolt in the system and points towards how conventional watchmaking has been and continues to be. Hublot's other projects with Samuel Ross and Daniel Arsham, while not in the same vein as the one with Murakami, are highly avant-garde too, especially when we thought we'd seen it all in watches.