The Best Octagonal Watches For Every Budget

While the octagonal watches in the contemporary imagination are closely associated with the sports-luxury genre, the unique, angular shape has actually been a fixture of horology since watches were still in pockets. Though there were plenty of brands producing octagonal watches throughout the early 20th century, in 1972, a certain prolific designer would help to reinvent the eight-sided wheel, so to speak, for the contemporary age. We’re all living in the post-Genta era, and his influence has inspired a myriad of brands, from those residing in the highest echelons of luxury to those targeting mass-market appeal, to embrace some architectural funkiness. Down below, we’re breaking down a quick and dirty list of the best octagonal watches on the market today, and I’ll be throwing in some additional complex and angular watches for good measure.

[toc-section heading=”True Octagonal Watches”] 

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 

Case: 41mm Profile: 10.5mm Material: Steel Movement: Calibre 4302 automatic Water Resistance: 50 meters Price (at time of writing): $31,900

It only feels right to get things started with the octagonal watch that started it all, at least in the iconic sports luxury niche that we so associate with this type of geometry today. It was the Genta-designed Royal Oak launched in 1972, with its compelling mix of an ultra-thin profile, sleek integrated bracelet, and, of course, octagonal bezel with signature exposed screw design (that was inspired by a divers helmet), that changed watchmaking as we know it today, and kicked off what I think we can safely call Genta’s own holy trinity of watch designs, followed up by the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the IWC Ingenieur SL. While, allegedly, the design of the Royal Oak was first sketched in under 24 hours, with all the essential design codes fully intact, its legacy is sweeping, and over 500 iterations of the Royal Oak design have followed, from perpetual calendars to openworked flying tourbillons and frosted minis and beyond. Pictured above, I’ve gone with one of the most classic takes on the collection, with a 41mm self-winding iteration with a blue “Grande Tapisserie” pattern dial.

G-SHOCK GA2100 Series

Case: 45.4mm Profile: 11.8mm  Material: Resin Movement: Quartz Water Resistance:  200 meters Price (at time of writing): $110

While it’s easy to think that octagonal watches are only limited to the luxury sphere, with G-SHOCK’s GA-2100 series, we have a truly affordable octagonal watch icon on our hands. A streetwear staple since it hit the scene in 2019, the GA-2100 is defined by its mixed ana-digi display, lightweight build, and, most importantly, its angular octagonal bezel. There’s now just about every color combination you could dream up available, and super premium MR-G renditions of the design that spike the price point up to the thousands, but the most classic GA-2100 models still remain largely under $150. Another key benefit of this watch is that it is packed with not only a suite of timers and alarms, but also is capable of taking a beating with its quintessential G-SHOCK tough build, which typically involves an inner carbon core guard structure for impressive resilience against drops and general wear and tear. 

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Girard-Perregaux Laureato

Case: 39mm Profile: 9.8mm Material: Steel and gold Movement: GP4800 automatic Water Resistance: 150 meters Price (at time of writing): $28,300

Pivoting back to the luxury end of the price spectrum, the Girard-Perregaux Laureato remains a somewhat underrated take on the integrated sports-luxury category, in my humble opinion. Making its start in 1975, it was a product that completely reflected its times, going so far as to embrace the advent of quartz that throttled the industry at the time, with the Maison going so far as to make the quartz battery module completely in-house. The design has evolved since its mid-1970s debut, including a marked shift to prioritizing automatic movements and revising the bracelet design, and it remains a pioneer of the sports-luxury category writ large, octagonal bezel and all. The Laureato FIFTY featured in the above image is the two-tone steel and gold limited edition launched for the line’s fiftieth anniversary, but the larger Laureato universe offers case sizes ranging from tiny 34mm all the way to 44mm chronographs. 

Citizen Series8

Case: 42.6mm Material: Steel Movement: 9051 Automatic Water Resistance: 200 meters Price (at time of writing): $1,425

Citizen’s Series8 has been a part of the brand’s repertoire since 2008 (though as a JDM focusing on mechanical movements), but the 2021 global relaunch of the collection solidified it as the brand’s sports-luxury-performance-oriented offering. In the past years, the brand has expanded the Series 8 offerings’ robustness and performance, dabbling in more dive-oriented specs and design language for extensions on the collection like the 890 series (pictured above). With its refined finishing on the case and H-link bracelet, interior bi-directional dive bezel, and impressive 200-meter depth rating and boosted antimagnetism (resistant up to 16,000 A/m), the Series8 890 is a best-of-both-worlds kind of watch, not veering too far in the sporty dive direction while still offering that utility for when you really want it.

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Bulgari Octo Finissimo 37mm

Case: 37mm Profile: 6.45mm  Material: Titanium Movement: BVF 100 Finissimo automatic Water Resistance: 30 meters Price (at time of writing): $16,600

Bulgari has been putting a lot of energy behind crafting ultra-thin watches, and its Octo Finissimo has become a vehicle for the brand to prove its chops since the first models launched in 2014. Recently, Bulgari launched what might be the most versatile take on the line yet (though the thinnest is still the Octo Finissimo Ultra) with a duo of 37mm models in titanium and all yellow gold. Until this launch, one of the big trade-offs with the standard time-only Octo Finissimo models was its case size, which was 40mm in both width and length, which turned some people off of the watch completely. Shaving off just those 3mm makes a world of difference, opening up the design to wearers who felt its size was previously off-putting. The “Octo” is right there in this watch’s name, though Bulgari goes in a little bit of a less expected route, mixing a smooth, round outer bezel overlaid atop an octagonal bezel shape, which enhances the design’s complex architectural feel. 

D1 Milano Ultra Thin Linen

Case: 40mm Profile: 6mm Material: Steel Water Resistance: 50 meters Movement: Miyota 1L22 Quartz Price (at time of writing): $375

On the microbrand front, Italian independent D1 Milano has put its weight behind producing almost exclusively ultra-thin octagonal watches at a competitive price point, infusing its designs with the brand’s signature irreverence along the way. While the brand offers Polycarbon watches under the $200 mark (including this model that looks like a cartoon come to life), its Linen Ultra Thin is where its attention to detail shines brightest, pairing a brushed silver-tone dial that echoes the finishing of the case and bracelet. Measuring 40mm in diameter and just 6mm thick, this watch is powered by Miyota quartz and is paired with an articulating H-link bracelet with a butterfly clasp.

Swarovski Millenia Watch

Case: 22.2mm x 15.9mm Profile: 6.35mm Material: Crystals and Steel Movement: Quartz Water Resistance: 50 meters Price (at time of writing): $500 

Taking a brief pit stop into jewelry watch territory, the collection of watches inspired by Swarovski’s Millenia jewelry line is a completely different expression of the octagonal watch genre compared to others on this list. Though the brand actually has several octagonal case watches in its lineup, I’m going with this one over the others because not only is the case an octagon-shaped crystal, but each link in the bracelet is also a perfect octagon as well. Available in a rainbow of hues including pink, purple, blue, and green, there is something almost edible about the clarity of the crystals used throughout the design, like a handful of hard candy. Unsurprisingly, this line is quartz-powered, but it is equipped with a deployant clasp, which is a nice touch. 

Seiko ‘Rotocall’ Reissue

Case: 37mm Profile: 10.6mm  Material: Steel Movement: Digital quartz Water Resistance: 100 meters Price (at time of writing): $550

In 2025, Seiko brought back an octagonal icon from its own heritage catalog with the Rotocall A829 reissue across three distinct references. With this watch, the octagon bezel shape isn’t merely a stylistic choice, but a key part of its performance. Each side of the bezel denotes a different function, which automatically changes the functional mode as the bezel is rotated. This simple yet novel way of switching functions proved to be so useful, even astronauts started favoring the original Rotocall. While the original trio, which carries on the beloved design quite faithfully, has become a little bit tough to track down, the brand did recently release an all-silver and gold-tone follow-up duo with the HFL002 and HFL003, which might be a touch more straightforward to find (at least, at the time I’m writing this now). 

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Beda’a Angles 

Case: 37mm Profile: 5.8mm Material: Steel Movement: ETA 7001 hand-wound Water Resistance: 30 meters  Price (at time of writing): 1245 CHF (~$1,524 USD)

A preeminent independent brand coming out of the Middle East, Beda’a has an entire collection dedicated to octagonal watches with the Angles line. Typically relying on relatively streamlined dial design to let the unique case architecture take the spotlight, the brand recently launched the Angles Mecaline London limited edition, which infuses the piece with a touch more Art Deco-inspired flair. For this piece (which is limited to only 50 pieces), the dial channels one of London’s most frequented sights with its dial inspired by Big Ben’s clock face on the Elizabeth Tower. This comes through with the interplay of the Victorian Gothic numerals set against an intricate relief pattern that calls to both Big Ben and the stonework on the tower itself. If you are interested in something even more out of the ordinary, the brand also launched a Guichets take on its octagonal Angles collection, which nixes the typical watchface entirely in favor of two apertures. 

Gerald Charles Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin

Case: 39mm width x 41.7mm length Profile: 8.7mm  Material: Steel Movement: GCA2000 automatic Water Resistance: 100 meters Price (at time of writing): $18,900

Founded by Gèrald Genta himself after selling his ownership of the Gèrald Genta brand trademark to Bulgari, one of the designer’s last creations serves as the foundation of the Gerald Charles identity. Though the notably baroque architecture of the asymmetrical case combines sharp angles with curved, almost smiling lines, I think we can still classify this as an octagonal watch in a technical sense (which is made more evident when you flip the watch over). The Maestro collection has become the brand’s signature and most expansive offering, though the brand has, quite recently, introduced an integrated bracelet design to its repertoire with the Masterlink collection. Still, the Maestro is the collection that the brand is most well known for, and has been mini-fied into a 29mm size and given a sports-performance upgrade with the 5G shock-resistant Maestro GC Sport, which is actually resilient enough for tennis players to wear on the court. The latest generation of the collection is the Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin, which, as its name suggests, has been reengineered to achieve a case profile of just 8.7mm, and sits quite close and snug on the wrist, as the lugs and the strap flow in one smooth, continuous line. 

[toc-section heading=”Bonus Round”] 

Christopher Ward The Twelve 40 (Ti)

Case: 40mm Profile: 8.95mm Material: Titanium Movement: Sellita SW300-1 COSC Automatic Water Resistance: 100 meters Price (at time of writing): $2,295

For our first piece in our bonus round, I’m rocking with a crowd favorite from independent heavyweight Christopher Ward with The Twelve collection. In this case, we’re going beyond the octagon into dodecagonal territory with the bezel here, which, as its name implies, has a total of twelve sides. The brand has put concerted effort into expanding its 70s-inspired integrated bracelet sports watch collection, including into titanium construction, which, with the colorful ‘Pic’n’Mix limited edition collection, has gone down to its smallest case size yet at 36mm. For the purpose of this roundup, I’m going with the more classic 40mm size in titanium, which adds even more dynamism to the pyramid patterning with a gradient along the dial’s perimeter. 

Zenith Defy Revival A3643

Case: 37mm Material: Steel Movement: ELITE 670 automatic Water Resistance: 300 meters Price (at time of writing): $7,800

This one is a little bit of a murky one for this roundup, as the case itself is actually octagonal, but the 14-sided bezel blurs the lines here. Which is precisely why I’m putting the Defy Revival in our “Bonus” section. The uniquely complex case architecture here is a direct homage to the first DEFY watches circa 1969, as is the ladder-style bracelet, 37mm sizing, and overall dial design. While any of the faithful reissues in the Defy Revival collection would suffice, here, I’m going with one of the newer members in the lineup with the monochrome silver A3643, which, like its siblings, is powered by the automatic ELITE 670 manufacture movement and packs in an impressive 300 meters of water resistance. 

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Baume & Mercier Riviera 

Case: 39mm Profile: 10.21mm Material: Movement: Baumatic Manufacture Automatic Water Resistance: 100 meters Price (at time of writing): $4,300 

Another watch on this list that’s roots date back to the integrated bracelet boom of the early 1970s, and, designed by Jean-Claude Gueit, has been known for its dodecagonal bezel since it hit the scene in 1973 (yes, one year after the Royal Oak). The most recent overhaul of the Riviera collection, which solidified its identity as the brand’s staple sports-luxury offering, came in 2021, with the brand introducing its first in-house caliber into the line with the Baumatic and bringing quick-change strap versatility into the equation. The brand has put concerted effort into refining the fifth generation of the Riviera. In my opinion, the models with the transparent smoked sapphire dials continue to be the most compelling iterations, like the green-hued 39mm Riviera 10770 pictured above. 

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Audemars Piguet Code 11.59

Case: 41mm Profile: 10.6mm Material: White gold and ceramic Movement: Calibre 7139 automatic Water Resistance: 30 meters Price (at time of writing): $150,200

Since we kicked this roundup off with the Royal Oak, it’s only fitting to close things out with another AP with the Code 11.59. When it hit the scene in 2019, it was a huge moment for the brand, and the first true collection family to be added to the AP repertoire since the Royal Oak. Though at first glance, the Code 11.59 just looks like your typical round watch, the case architecture is much more complex than meets the eye, with an octagonal middle case creating an inside-out Royal Oak effect. While there are certainly more tame Code 11.59 models in the current lineup, for a little fun here, I’m going with the first openworked perpetual calendar model to hit the collection, which made its debut at this year’s Watches & Wonders, and notably uses just a single crown to set all functions. Measuring 41mm, the case uses a combination of white gold with ceramic for the middle case, which highlights the unique play with geometry even further.