{"id":48448,"date":"2026-07-09T01:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T01:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/48448\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T01:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T01:39:10","slug":"bangle-watches-are-back-with-versions-from-cartier-gucci-chanel-bulgari-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/48448\/","title":{"rendered":"Bangle watches are back, with versions from Cartier, Gucci, Chanel, Bulgari and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watchmaking and jewellery have long overlapped, but nowhere more so than in the bangle watch, a rigid bracelet that incorporates a timepiece, often concealed behind a jewelled clasp or hinged panel.<\/p>\n

The chic design has existed in various forms since at least the early 20th century, and right now it\u2019s having a major moment, with the likes of Cartier, Chanel and Van Cleef & Arpels all releasing new iterations.<\/p>\n

\"CartierCartier Baignoire. Photo: Handout<\/p>\n

One of the most storied examples is Cartier\u2019s Baignoire, introduced by Louis Cartier in 1912 with a rounded oval silhouette, that was later refined in 1958. The Baignoire takes its name from the French word for \u201cbathtub\u201d \u2013 though some historians suggest it draws from the VIP seating bays of the opera, also called baignoires. Either way, it was a noticeable departure from the round cases dominating watchmaking at the time, and its defining details \u2013 Roman numerals, blued steel hands and sapphire cabochon crown \u2013 have remained largely constant across the decades.<\/p>\n

In time, Cartier extended the line with the Baignoire Allong\u00e9e, which stretched the oval into a more dramatic vertical profile, and the Crash, a deliberately distorted variant pinched at the sides and kinked in the middle that became one of the most singular silhouettes in horological history. The latest Baignoire releases show how much room the design still has to experiment \u2013 one model comes scattered with brilliant-cut diamonds in a polka dot arrangement, while a white gold version features a bezel set with aquamarines, sapphires and emeralds and a dial pav\u00e9d entirely with diamonds.<\/p>\n

\"GucciGucci Play. Photo: Handout<\/p>\n

Not every bangle watch is built around precious stones, however. Gucci first introduced its U-Play in the mid-1980s, known for its playful interchangeable coloured plastic bezels. A reissue \u2013 now known simply as the Gucci Play \u2013 was launched late last year with an enlarged 28mm case and six ceramic bezels, including one in the Florentine house\u2019s signature green-and-red colourway, that clip on and off just like the original.<\/p>\n

\"ChanelChanel Premi\u00e8re Galon. Photo: Handout<\/p>\n

Chanel\u2019s Premi\u00e8re Galon bangle watch is also rooted in the fashion archives. Debuting in 1987, the Premi\u00e8re was the French maison\u2019s first watch, designed with an octagonal case modelled after the stopper of the No 5 perfume bottle, a jet-black dial and a chain-link bracelet interlaced with leather inspired by the 2.55 bag. The Premi\u00e8re Galon gives the design a bangle twist, taking its name from the French word for braid and the trim that founder and perennial muse Gabrielle \u201cCoco\u201d Chanel used to finish her tweed suits. Offered in solid yellow gold, semi-pav\u00e9 and fully pav\u00e9 versions, a sculptural bangle is used in place of the original chain bracelet, fitted with the model\u2019s signature black lacquered dial.<\/p>\n

\"GraffGraff High Jewellery diamond and ruby watch. Photo: Handout<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Watchmaking and jewellery have long overlapped, but nowhere more so than in the bangle watch, a rigid bracelet…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12776],"tags":[14010,11637,11638,2096,16259,6551,12860,16829,31983,4955,16513,18803,31984,12767,11642,31985],"class_list":["post-48448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bulgari","tag-audemars-piguet","tag-bulgari","tag-cartier","tag-chanel","tag-graff","tag-gucci","tag-jewellery","tag-kendall-jenner","tag-love-story","tag-lvmh","tag-patek-philippe","tag-rolex","tag-sarah-pigeon","tag-tiffany-co","tag-van-cleef-arpels","tag-watchmaking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}