Msimhamb's review of the Ralph Lauren 867 square watch offers a refreshing look at a timepiece that fills a void in the market for thin, classically proportioned square watches. This article details the author's personal journey to finding this elegant piece, highlighting its unique design elements and the reliable Piaget 430P-based movement.
I've been looking for some time, for a thin (sub 7 mm) rectangular or square watch of classic proportions (dimensions similar to classic Cartier Tank watches). To my surprise, I discovered Cartier has all but abandoned the genre of a thin, modestly sized Tank with a trendy move up in the length and width of their manually wound rectangular watches. It is not just Cartier, this is a genre that appears to be out of favor more broadly, as there are only a few options in this category today (e.g., Vacheron Ultra Fine 1968 and Piaget Altiplano Square) and even these are slightly larger larger in the length/width dimensions than what I was looking for.
I had resigned myself to a watch of recent vintage such as the Cartier Tank Obus, Tank Chinois, Classic Tank, or one of the CPCP Tanks, all of which I found delightfully restrained and tasteful. And then, by sheer chance I discovered the Ralph Lauren 867 during a visit to one of their stores. I was immediately smitten by the watch as it ticked all the boxes, and had an elegant architectural look, with a playfulness to the dial, with its mix of Roman and Arabic numerals. To cut to the chase, I ended up purchasing this watch and took some pictures in my car today while waiting to pick up my son from his tennis lesson.
The RL 867 is available in several flavors. There are two sizes, 27.5 x 27.5 mm and 32 x 32 mm in Rose or White Gold and there are options with diamonds on the bezel for the ladies as these are sized to appeal to either sex. There is also a version with guilloche on the dial and bezel. I tried out the 27.5 and 32 mm variants and was surprised by how well the 27.5 mm watch fit my 6.75" wrist, and how large the 32 mm version seemed in comparison. I ended up with the 27.5mm RG version, which is a svelte 5.7mm thick, with a movement based on the Piaget 430P powering it.
As you can see in the image below, the strap tapers down from about 24mm at the lugs down to about 16mm at the pin buckle. Notice the alternating Roman and Arabic numerals between two square outlines. The outer square has the minutes shown in 5mm increments. While one may imagine the dial to look busy, it actually adds a bit of interest at first glance from a distance. I'm surprised by how many comments I have had from strangers on this watch, as the whole idea was to fly under the radar, so speak. Bigger is clearly not always better in this regard.
The back of the watch is also deliciously shaped with the caseback held by 4 screws. There's enough space left over for engraving even after the branding (which I would had decided against) and the hallmarks. In case you are wondering what the background is, they are my polos (also RL by coincidence) with the watch resting on my thigh. The photo above was taken with the watch resting on the center storage compartment of my car. All photos were taken with an iPhone 6.
Next, I'll attempt a profile view of the watch to show the beautiful curves of the case. While the caseback is flat, the curves of the case and lugs create an impression of a fully curved watch that conforms to the wrist.
Here's another view of the watch at a slightly different angle. The numerals look flat in the picture, but in fact have significant thickness to them with a sharp glossy black contrast to the dial. The hands of the watch are black and glossy and look beautiful and well matched to the dial and case, at least to my eye.
Finally, here's a couple of wrist shots to prove that small and thin watches can punch above their weight. No one can accuse the 27.5mmx 27.5mm watch of being lost on my 6.75" wrist.
The watch keeps immaculate time, with no perceptible gain or loss of time over a week, to the nearest minute. It winds smoothly, and overall, has the look and feel of a fine watch, a feat that Ralph Lauren should be commended for. As you can see, it looks great with casual attire and one can easily imagine how elegant it would be with a suit. In my view,RL should be taken seriously for their watches and not just viewed as a fashion brand, as they have held their own with their design sensibility, even amongst the giants of Swiss watchmaking.
I hope you enjoyed this first look at this little known piece.
This message has been edited by msimhamb on 2015-10-17 17:49:36 This message has been edited by msimhamb on 2015-10-17 18:12:08 
