Barreling Forward With Tonneau-Shaped Watches

The standard shape for pocket watches was round; therefore, when the progression to wristwatches started taking hold, it was only natural for wristwatches to follow the familiar silhouette Louis Cartier was not a man to follow norms and made a name for himself and his family's business by championing non-round watch designs, also known as "Shaped watches." Hot on the heels of the square watch made for Alberto Santos Dumont in 1904, Cartier debuted the Tonneau watch in 1906 Named after the French word for "Barrel," tonneau-shaped watches have long since been adopted by other brands.

Whether elegant, sporty, or industrial, here are a handful of different approaches to tonneau-shaped watches In keeping with the brand's graceful design approach, the new Cartier Privé Tonneau watches are exceedingly elegant-retaining the essence of the original Tonneau model The Tonneau Large watches feature cases that measure 461mm long and 262mm wide, with a slim profile at 88mm thick.

Most of Richard Mille's catalog is comprised of tonneau watches, including this RM 11-03 Le Mans Classic. . Source