Debate: Round vs. Square

[ringer]

The eternal question.

Which shape is preferred for a watch case: square/octagonal, or round?

[embelton]

Listen to the words of a very wise man(Huey Lewis!).
-It?s hip to be square.

I believe that says it all.

[redled]

Do you mean all watches or digital watches?

I believe form should follow function. For an analog watch, round is the correct form. For a digital watch, square is the correct form.

Of course there's room for variation and artistry, but I prefer a digital watch to tend towards square, and an analog watch to tend towards round.

[richard_uk]

The only reason I buy round LED watches is to rob them of their modules for fixing up square ones, I have piles of empty round LED watches

[rewolf]

Answer is easy for me:
SQUARE! No doubt. For digital AND analog.
Analog watches are only acceptable if sqare and minimalistic (like the o.d.m. uncompromising TA07) - round analog watches are the most boring thing on earth.
IMHO, of course :wink:
PS: please don't tell me that my avatar watch is almost round - I know :wink:

[Led007]

I prefer square for any LED and LCD watch it just looks cooler, and fits the type of watch it is...... There is only one led watch that is borderline roundish, that is the Pulsar Bigtime with it's huge crystal..... I have this watch and love it, remember it's a Pulsar Time Computer!!!!!!

[gjlelec]

It didnt occur to me that i had a preferance until i read this thread but when i checked i dont have one round led/lcd only analogue watches!! I dont really know what group my Junghans Mega 1 falls into- odd shape perhaps :D

[retroleds]

Square, hex, anything but round unless it's something special(Breitling Navitimer?) or has a particularly nice case design. I'm with Richard_Uk- round watches are put to their highest use by robbing their brains for something better.

And for ladies watches: it darn well better have a interesting shaped display AND an interesting case or you are just wasting your time,IMO. You know how hard they are to please. 8)

[richard_uk]

Here's one round LED that I think most of us wouldn't say no to :)


Photo 'borrowed' from http://www.theledwatch.com I'm sure Lloyd wont mind :D

[richard_uk]

I'm not feeling the Navitimer, IMO I think it's fugly! It looks like they took an analogue watch and just ripped the hands off and stuck an LED display in the middle, which is probably basically what they did.

[rewolf]

...I dont really know what group my Junghans Mega 1 falls into- odd shape perhaps :D

75% sqare :wink: When it came out in 1990 I found it plain ugly, but in the meantime it's one of my favourites (wearing one at this very moment :))

Here's one round LED that I think most of us wouldn't say no to

IMO it's almost as fugly as the Navitimer - its rareness doesn't make it look better, the buttons always remind me of warts :wink:

[retroleds]

The Navitimer and the Uranus are BOTH fugly - LOL!! But that's part of their charm, IMO. :P

[richard_uk]

I think I like the Uranus because I drooled over it in the home shopping catalogue when I was a young boy, it cost ?99 back then, which seemed like a fortune at the time.

[retroleds]

I think I like the Uranus because I drooled over it in the home shopping catalogue....

I never got beyond the ladies lingerie in those catalogues...not sure if I was drooling 8)

[Fitron]

Can't believe I missed this topic. Square or hex(ish) are the only ones, I also have a soft spot for the oblong fairchilds and such like - guess they look omega ish. Drivers I have eventually come to the conclusion suck but my first real life exposure was the adidas one............ Come to think of it that wasn't so bad, bought for ?25 and sold within a week for ?85 :D Round ones must be harvested and then forgotton about.





Aside - for those with very young children ONLY WEAR JEFF'S M1. It's vomit proof as I found out yesterday and it shuts crying babies up when you're stuck with them in the back of the car WAH WAH WAH.....oh pretty blue light. 15 minutes I had to press that button - god knows what it's done to the battery life but oh the peace........bliss

[rewolf]

...Aside - for those with very young children ONLY WEAR JEFF'S M1. It's vomit proof as I found out yesterday and it shuts crying babies up when you're stuck with them in the back of the car WAH WAH WAH.....oh pretty blue light. 15 minutes I had to press that button - god knows what it's done to the battery life but oh the peace........bliss

I second that! My 2 year-old nephew almost went crazy with the blue M-I, he wanted to press the button all the time once he had spotted the display :D
I haven't checked M-I vomit-proofness yet - but regarding battery life I can say the blue one sucks about 45mA@4.2V (that's where the 6 Volts go when the LEDs are on - measured after newphew's attack), and CR2016 capacity is 90mAh. Roughly estimated, 15min *constantly* on would cost 13% battery capacity. Worth the peace :wink:

[redled]

Amazing, I didn't think it would be this unanimous, but I agree. I always considered it nothing less than stupid for a digital watch to be round - there's no functional or logical reason for it, it's based on an unthinking reflex that 'watches are round'. It's conventional, boring, cowardly, conservative, and offensive.

[retroleds]

Well, it's apparent YOU GUYS think of your watches from a "bling" standpoint - haha. 8) ME too.

I wouldn't say that all round faced watches are trash - sometimes you want something a bit conservative(and cheap and practical). I'm thinking the round face does serve a very practical design function - your eyes instantly center on the greater display area, quickly focusing on the actual readout. The Roger Tallon Lip is a good example - assymetrical case, with a circle imposed upon it to draw one's eye to the correct area quickly and reflexively. IMHO many of the most recent watch designs are just a pain to read, because of a lack of appreciation for this simple design neccesity - two assyemtrical design features is one too many. :?

[redled]

double

[redled]

No, if a circle is used as part of a design, such as in the LIP, I usually have no problem with it. In fact it can add that poetic element to a visual design. But if it's just a 'round damn watch' because, you know, all watches are round, it's a waste.

[collector]

IMO depends on the watch brand / technology. Absolutely no round on any brand of LED / LCD watches. On the Bulova Accutrons round is good, especially on the spaceviews.

[Fitron]

Round is no, non, niet, nein.......even on analogue anything else is better. I give you............


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SPACEMAN-AUDACIEU ... dZViewItem



or better still anyone remember that 70's style flyback that looked like a car speedo from "Duel"......drool. Sorry Ed even the lip leaves me cold - now can I expect some 'lip' from you :wink: