A TV-screen case is a rectangular watch case with rounded corners and slightly bowed sides, wider than it is tall. It takes its name from the screen of a 1970s television set. Collectors now count it among the most wanted vintage case shapes.
What does a TV case look like?
The shape sits between a circle and a square. Its outline is a rectangle, but the corners are rounded off and the sides bow outwards a little. The cushion case works on a similar idea. It is another way of blending round and square forms in a single case. Proportion is the thing to check: a TV case is broader from side to side than from top to bottom. The screen idea is not limited to cases. It also turns up on dials. Dennison’s ALD collection, for example, uses a rounded TV-screen dial.
Where it comes from
Omega made a Seamaster Automatic with a TV-shaped steel case in 1969. The shape reached its peak in the mid-1970s. Seiko’s reference 4130-5240 from 1976 is one example. It pairs a TV case with the quartz calibre 4130. After that high point, the TV shape all but disappeared from brand catalogues.
Are TV cases still made?
Yes. Mido has made TV-shaped watches three times. Its first came in 1973, followed by others in 1980 and 2000. The modern Mido Multifort TV Big Date takes the theme further than the case. Its dial is brushed in horizontal lines to look like the lines on the screen of an old cathode-ray tube television. The finish runs across the dial from side to side.
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