Explore the 5 Best Affordable Analog Square Watches for Men

Watches come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The most common and prevalent shape by far is the circle. The vast majority of watches are indeed circles. This is clearly because an analog clock with moving hands is most easily displayed on a circular dial. All that being said, square watches have their own unique place in the watch market.

Sometimes it is nice to change it up a little. A watch with a square or rectangular shaped face has its own personality and list of benefits over the famous circle. In this article, we will discuss the advantages of square watches before going over the five best models you can buy today on a reasonable budget.

Why Square Watches?

A square faced watch can be a nice addition to your watch collection. It will add some variety and flair to your fashion sense, since it isn’t just the same old shape as every other watch (not that the traditional circle is bad of course).

Square watches also work really well as dress watches. The square, or rectangular, shape leads to a more understated look when on the wrist. It often hugs your wrist better, leading to that beautiful sleek look. This is exactly what you want in a dress watch that is meant for formal wearing. You will see that a few of the models we will cover make for great fancy dress watches.

Square watches are also ideal options for those of us with smaller wrists. The typically shorter case width makes for a comfortable and snug fit on even small wrists.

Some icons within the square watch game are the TAG Heuer Monaco racing watch and the Cartier Tank dress watch. These are not “affordable” by any means, but you can mimic their sharp (literally) style with the budget options given below.

Best Square Watches for Men

Now, it is time to get into the list. Please note that we will be focusing on models that are specifically targeted for men. Square watches are usually more common among women’s brands, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t amazing masculine options too.

Bulova Square Options

Bulova is an originally American watch brand that offers some stunning rectangular dress watches as part of their lineup. The first one is from their Men’s Classic Collection. This watch fits the bill with a vintage and classic look that will never feel out of style. Like most square watches, this Bulova is nice and thin at just 29mm wide.

It has a complete silver tone stainless steel case with a similar matching dial to pair. These matching colors add to the watch’s sleek design. It has a partial Roman numeral dial with a date display at 6 for extra functionality. The time markers are super detailed and beautiful. It comes fitted with a genuine leather strap, completing that classic look. At just $225, this watch is great value.

The second option is the more expensive one at around $400. It is the Frank Sinatra My Way by Bulova. For the extra cash, you get better materials, with a sapphire crystal instead of mineral. The dial itself is highly detailed, and it highlights the watch’s namesake with Frank Sinatra’s signature proudly displayed. It has a sub-dial for the second hand, adding some uniqueness. Flip the watch around and you will see an engraving of Frank Sinatra’s signature fedora.

Swatch What If?

Back in the day, Swatch had made a prototype for a fun and playful square watch to be their first ever watch. In the end, they decided to release the circular version instead. This modern model from the ever lighthearted and creative Swatch brand pays an homage to this piece of their history. What if they had decided to release the square? Well, it all worked out since now they have both.

The aptly named Swatch What If really is an actual square, unlike the other imposter rectangles on this list. It has a 33x33mm case that features super sharp turns on each of its four corners. The watch is made of Swatch’s famous Bioceramic material. This material has mixed reviews with some claiming that it feels plasticky. It is lightweight and relatively durable, though there are definitely stronger watch materials out there.

Swatches are supposed to be light and playful (which would explain the build). This watch is no different. There’s a certain character to it that makes it attractive to many watch buyers. It has a simple dial with a day/date display. It also has an integrated strap, which is very trendy nowadays in the watch world. The strap is made of bio materials just like the case.

Seiko Essentials ‘Tank’ (SWR049)

This model from Seiko is pretty clearly an homage to the Cartier Tank we talked about above. In fact, this watch has been nicknamed the “Seiko Tank” after its inspiration.

Similar to the much more expensive Cartier, the Seiko’s dial features full Roman numeral hour markers and an inner rectangle for the minute markers. One thing I love about that feature is that it makes the time easy to read at a glance. Some may dislike square watches since watch hands naturally move in a circle, so it would be easier to read the time on a circle. However, this small detail on the Seiko and Cartier models really does solve this issue.

This watch also comes with a cabochon crown, yet another nod to the Cartier. This adds another touch of elegance to an already dressy watch. This Seiko really is one of the best overall dress watches you can buy at this price point, at just $150. To power this beauty, you have a reliable quartz movement from Seiko.

Casio MQ27

It’s hard to go through any list of affordable watches without talking about Casio. Most of Casio’s analog models are circles, but they do offer the MQ27 for those of us who want to change it up. It’s a pretty small watch at 37.2mm tall and just 26.5mm wide. You can choose the easy to read Arabic numerals on the dial, or you can opt for the classier and simpler hour indices instead.

By far, this watch’s biggest draw is its ultra low price. The Arabic numerals version is just $15. The other one is a bit more at a whopping $20. For this price, you get an accurate and reliable Casio quartz movement.

Although Casios are usually pretty durable, you shouldn’t expect outstanding build quality at this price. Not that this watch is poorly built, but you get what you pay for. The watch and strap are both made of resin, making it super lightweight. For such a low price, we can’t really expect anything better. Casio continues to impress with their low prices and decent quality.

Megir ML2061G

So far, we have stuck to only the big name and well established brands. In an effort to show the little guy some love too, we present you with this square watch from Megir, a Chinese brand.

This watch is at least lightly influenced by the TAG Heuer Monaco, although there are some clear differences design-wise. This watch comes equipped with a chronograph function that measures up to 1/10th of a second for superb accuracy. It also has a date display uniquely placed at about 4:30, which is nice to have.

The case may be a square, but there is a circular dial hiding within which makes for easy time reading. The large and bold numbers add to this. On the side of the watch, you will find a large rotating crown and large pushers to control the chronograph stopwatch.

The watch is fairly large for a square, measuring in at 41mm wide. It seems that buyers of this watch were generally pleased, as it has 4.3 stars and 2,700 reviews on Amazon. It’s good to see so many reviews since you’ll definitely want to do your research before buying from a lesser known brand like Megir. At just $40, at least it isn’t too much of a risk.

Conclusion

Square watches are often overshadowed by their circular competition, but they really shouldn’t be. They serve the very important purpose of adding variety to a watch collection. Even if you don’t own several watches, it can be a good idea to buy a square model for those times you want to go for the understated and classy look. The point we want to drive home is: circles are good, but don’t forget about the square.