New Delhi, Nov. 15 -- When we think of wristwatches, we tend to think of circle. A watch is round, and thus shall it always be. Right? Wrong. While a majority of watches are indeed round, square and rectangular shapes are hardly novel. After all, the most popular smartwatch out there-the Apple Watch-is a rectangle.

However, an unconventional shape like this only works if the watch is thoughtfully designed, as Patek Philippe recently found out to it's detriment, when it released the poorly-received Cubitus, the heir to the watchmaker's legendary Nautilus. In a way, the outrage around the Cubitus reinforces the point that watch shapes that are a square or a rectangle-when designed well-can be winners.

And when it comes to maisons that hav...