Thousands of watch afficionados are descending on Geneva, Switzerland this week for the annual Watches and Wonders fair, where 54 watchmaking houses including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Chopard and Chanel will unveil their latest creations.
The event is where watch news is broken and trends are set or solidified. Women’s watches have undergone something of a transformation in recent years, moving beyond an outdated “shrink it and pink it” design school of thought. Today, the luxury watch offering for women is infinitely more considered, classy and ultimately covetable.
From the watches that masquerade as jewelry, to those that are designed to complement the rest of your collection, these are ten of the most desirable women’s timepieces on display at Watches and Wonders 2024.
Hermès Cut
The Cut is Hermès’ first new, in-house-designed women’s watch for 20 years — and it’s worth the wait. Sporty yet finessed, the gentle geometry of its case, its retro-futuristic numerals and the contrast of brushed and polished steel make for an instant icon. The options are myriad: it comes in steel or steel and rose-gold; with or without a diamond bezel; on a steel bracelet or rubber strap in a rainbow of colours including white, sage-green, petrol-blue and the brand’s signature orange.
Chanel Boyfriend Couture
Chanel’s Couture O’Clock capsule collection is an ode to the house’s Parisian couture atelier, and is full of witty references to its founder Coco Chanel and her dressmaking tools. The black-lacquered dial of the new Boyfriend Couture is decorated with a sewing pattern for a tweed jacket, complete with diamond buttons, while its bezel is adorned with an 18 karat gold chain — just the right balance of playful and chic.
Reflection de Cartier
Cartier’s release of a new Baignoire bangle-watch garnered significant buyer interest last year, and the solid-gold Reflection de Cartier is likely to attract a similar waiting list. The voluminous open cuff intersperses polished gold with negative space, encapsulating the 2024 trend for bold, sculptural jewelry. A subtle dial at one end is reflected in a mirror opposite. It also comes in rose gold, diamond-dusted white gold, and in two seriously special High Jewelry iterations which feature stripes of coloured hardstones.
Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Jour Nuit
Poetic storytelling takes precedence at Van Cleef & Arpels, whose new 33mm Lady Jour Nuit is as technically impressive as it is aesthetically charming. A 24-hour rotating disc means the scene on the aventurine dial shifts as the fluted yellow-gold sun gives way to a diamond-set moon and stars. An enchanting moment of time-telling that you’d never get from glancing at your phone.
Tag Heuer Carrera Date 36mm
Named after a notoriously dangerous car race, the Carrera Panamericana, Tag Heuer’s Carrera is often associated with traditionally masculine designs — but the women’s versions exude the elegant simplicity that’s a cornerstone of the Quiet Luxury aesthetic. At 36mm — the same size as the 1963 original — three new models come in steel or steel and rose-gold, with dials of mother-of-pearl or brushed copper; the ideal pairing to a wistful of mixed-metal jewelry.
Piaget
Piaget is celebrating its 150th anniversary by reimagining high jewelry watches from its archive. Three new Swinging Sautoir watches evoke the languid glamour of the 1960s and 1970s jet set class. This one sees a rounded trapezoid dial cradled within a hand-twisted 18 karat gold chain, nonchalantly knotted at the sternum. Sling it over a kaftan to keep tabs on whether or not it’s too early for a martini on your next summer holiday.
Chopard Happy Sport
Baby blue seems to be the hue for women’s watches this year, and Chopard’s new Happy Sport is a delicious example. The strap, indices and hands are all rendered in a delicate shade of duck egg, matching the three aquamarines which whizz around the watch face. They’re pursued by two diamonds; a trick that, even 31 years since the concept debuted, never fails to elicit a smile.
Patek Philippe Twenty-4
It is 25 years since Patek Philippe launched its first dedicated women’s watch, the Twenty-4, and the latest iteration still radiates polished power. The rose-gold, cuff-style bracelet is a statement jewel in itself, while the watch’s deep aubergine sunburst dial will have even the most purple-averse wondering if it’s time to embrace their royal era.
Vacheron Constantin Grand Lady Kalla
Vacheron Constantin is flexing its historic high jewelry muscle with the Grand Lady Kalla, inspired by the 1979 Kallista, which at the time was the world’s most expensive watch. A baguette-cut diamond dial is secreted within a dazzling bracelet of larger diamond baguettes; ingeniously, it can be removed from the watch and incorporated into a flapper-style pearl and onyx sautoir for pure Deco-style glamour.
IWC Portugieser Automatic 40
Many houses claim that their creations are all gender neutral; only sometimes does this ring true. IWC’s Portugieser Automatic 40 is one of those occasions. Continuing the blue theme, it eschews razzle-dazzle for a confidently chic combination of white gold and lustrous lacquer, in a newly slimmed-down silhouette. Proof that when it comes to wooing stylish wrists, less is almost always more.