In 2023, when Cartier reintroduced its Baignoire watch—a design that dates back to 1912—it didn’t just relaunch a watch as much as reignite a category. The New York Times reported on the ensuing frenzy: the new Baignoire Mini bangle had a waitlist before it even hit stores in June, and by mid-August that year it was completely sold out. Consider it the horological equivalent of a quiet luxury It bag.
But the Baignoire isn’t a lone revival act, nor is it the only bangle watch worth talking about. These elegant hybrids that blur the line between jewellery and timepieces have been hiding in plain sight for decades. Now, they’re back in rotation and on top of the conversation.
Take Bulova’s American Girl ‘K’ watch from the ’50s, which prominently featured in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit as a graduation present to Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor-Joy). After the show, it was reissued as part of the American watchmaker’s Archive Series. While the limited-edition gold-tone watch is sold out (only 2,000 pieces were made), a silver-tone version—the ‘M’—is currently up for grabs. Fun fact: it was also on season three of Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Television, apparently, has great taste in watches.
Gucci, too, has been leaning into nostalgia. Last November, the Italian house re-issued its Play watch from the 1980s, which allowed wearers to change the look of their watch with interchangeable bezels. The new version comes with six ceramic bezels in green, red, pink, white, black and navy, plus the house’s signature green-and-red stripe, all anchored by a gold-plated stainless-steel case and bangle.
Modern, minimal, and sleek, pieces such as the Baignoire, of course, and Movado’s bangle, featuring the iconic Museum dial designed by industrial designer Nathan George Horwitt in 1947, lend themselves perfectly to layering and stacking with other bracelets. Another minimalist option is Danish silversmith Georg Jensen’s Vivianna watch in stainless steel, originally designed in 1969. This one’s bezel is studded with a row of brilliant-cut diamonds that feel refined rather than flashy.
For something more textured, there’s the new Chanel Première Galon. Its twisted, braided 18-carat gold bangle feels like jewellery first, watch second. The black lacquered dial makes it perfect for sophisticated evening events, but there’s also a version with a white gold dial set with diamonds if you’re feeling extra bougie.
Speaking of bougie, there’s the high-jewellery end of the spectrum. Vacheron Constantin’s 2024 Grand Lady Kalla can shapeshift from bracelet to brooch to watch to necklace. Van Cleef & Arpels’s Perlée Toi & Moi secret watch hides a dial beneath a sliding gemstone. Jaeger LeCoultre’s Calibre 101 looks like a river of diamonds on a wrist, until a discreet hidden button reveals the mother-of-pearl dial. Even Bvlgari’s Aeterna, an open bracelet, offers a subtler alternative to the Serpenti’s coiled drama.
For those who want the look without the investment-piece price tag, Swarovski’s Curiosa bangle delivers sparkle via triangle- and fancy-cut crystals.
The takeaway? Bangle watches have slipped back into relevance not by trying to be louder but by being smarter: fluid enough to sit alongside bracelets, elegant enough to pass as jewellery, and just practical enough to remind you what time it is.
