By Jovan Krstevski
We usually find it quite uncomfortable to wear square watches mainly because of the design itself but things are about to change with the new Tiffany & Co. Square watch. This is a mechanical watch from a well-known jewelry maker and we expect Tifanny to move forward in the world of men’s mechanical watches or haute horology over time.
Getting a square watch to sit comfortably in a wrist is a challenge but Tifanny seemed to have solved the problem by using a common sense design – a smaller and slimmer profile. Looking back at Tifanny’s history, the brand had made a few releases in the industry but it was only in 2015 that they officially returned with their Tiffany CT60 collection. And this current release actually serves another purpose which is to celebrate the brand’s 180 years of existence. It is remembered that Charles Lewis Tiffany opened his store on Lower Broadway in New York in 1837. So it is about right to release a square watch with an in-house movement based on a 1920s model.
The Tiffany & Co. Square watch sports a 27 mm 18k yellow gold case. Its rectangular profile is enhanced by its shortened lugs and its polished sloping sides adds the needed contrast to the 6.9 mm brushed case side. The crown is almost imperceptible but looks very nice and appropriate for its design. For a formal watch, 50m of water resistance is not bad at all.
The dial we believe is what makes this jeweler’s watch a true masculine watch. The design is poignant with a subtle manly character. This is because of its retro style distinguished by its cathedral hands and classic Arabic numeral hour markers. Using yellow “aged” color for the Super-LumiNova is also a brilliant idea. Enhancing the retro theme is the outer railroad-style minute track (in black) which really stands out from the shades of gold and yellowish tint. The small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock is also an added bonus but perhaps in the future the brand will provide a movement with date function.
Tiffany uses sapphire for both the front and back faces and rightfully so because the caseback is literally dedicated to showing off the watch’s beating heart. It’s wonderful to look at and at this size, it’s really fascinating, it’s mechanical after all. The movement appears to be very similar to the ETA 7001 but Tiffany calls the hand-wound movement in-house so we only have their word. We do not know the other details of the watch yet like its frequency but it’s believed to have simple time-only movement sporting 17 jewels and a 42 hour power reserve.
Tiffany used to source movements but it is also worth noting that the New York based company also had a history of producing watches in Switzerland for a long time. It was in 1874 when they first opened a large watchmaking facility in Geneva so going “in-house” is probably a hint that Tiffany & Co. is really aiming more upmarket and for more enthusiast recognition.
The new Tiffany & Co. Square watch is only available in 18k gold and in-line with the brand’s 180th birthday, there will only be 180 pieces retailing $18,000 USD a piece. For more info, please visit tiffany.com
