The Relationship Between a Watch’s Case, Crystal and Dial

A watch’s appearance comes from how its parts work together. The case gives the watch its outline, the crystal covers the dial, and the dial presents the time and other displays.

The Carter Farrago Heartmatique product pages list a 40mm case, 12.8mm thickness, 20mm lug width and 48mm lug-to-lug measurement. They also specify applied Obus hour markers and an open-heart aperture at 7 o’clock. The Noir Onyx product-page FAQ places its small-seconds display at 5 o’clock. The pages reviewed do not specify the crystal’s material or profile.

How the case, crystal and dial relate

The table separates what the product pages state from what they do not specify.

The case sets the outer dimensions

The Heartmatique product pages list the case as 316L stainless steel and give the same core dimensions: 40mm diameter, 12.8mm thickness, 20mm lug width and 48mm lug-to-lug.

Each number describes a different measurement. Diameter is across the case; thickness is its listed depth; lug width is the space between the lugs; lug-to-lug measures from one end of the lugs to the other.

The listed dimensions give a consistent basis for comparing the Heartmatique references. They do not, on their own, establish how a watch will fit or feel on a particular wrist.

The crystal covers the dial

A watch crystal is the transparent cover over the dial and hands. Its material and profile are separate specifications: sapphire describes a material, while flat or domed describes a shape.

The Heartmatique product pages reviewed do not list either detail. The published information therefore does not confirm whether the Heartmatique uses sapphire, a domed crystal or another crystal specification.

For a general explanation of crystal materials and shapes, see Horopedia’s watch-crystal entry. Its English page notes that it is machine-translated from French.

The dial brings the displays together

The Heartmatique product pages list applied Obus hour markers and an open-heart aperture at 7 o’clock. The Noir Onyx product-page FAQ places the small-seconds display at 5 o’clock. The collection page describes the range as featuring small seconds.

The open-heart aperture reveals part of the movement through the dial. The small-seconds display presents seconds separately from the main hour and minute hands. The product pages also list a 24-hour marker as a function, but do not state its position.

These are distinct displays on the dial. Their locations and descriptions should be read from the specific product information rather than assumed for every watch using the same movement.

What “dial depth” can mean

“Dial depth” is often used informally to describe the impression of layers or visual separation on a watch face. It is not one of the Heartmatique case measurements listed by Carter Farrago.

For the Heartmatique, the published details that can be described directly are the open-heart aperture, the separate small-seconds display and the applied hour markers. The product pages do not provide a measured dial-depth specification or enough detail to describe the physical height of every dial component.

Shared case, distinct references

The live collection page lists ten Heartmatique references. Their individual colours and product details vary, while the listed case dimensions are shared across the range. Check each product page for its current configuration and description.

• Oxford Blue

• Pèarla

• Mulberry

• Noir Onyx

• Havane Rosé

• British Green

• Mayfair Green

• Cacao

• Blush Royale

• Carmin