On Her Watch: 5 most popular timepiece complications for women, from tourbillons such as Chanel’s J12 Diamond Tourbillon Calibre 5, to the practical chronograph and romantic moonphase
- In the second part of our limited monthly series, we break down five popular timepiece complications for women, how they work, and why you might choose them for your own watch
- Timepieces with moonphase indicators track the waxing and waning of the moon, but a more practical option for the jet-setter might be world time watches with multiple time zones
My earliest memory as an editor taking her first steps into the horological world many years ago was how bewildering everything was: tourbillons, minute repeaters, perpetual calendars, escapements, balance wheels, power reserves … it was almost like learning a new foreign language!
Until then, my first considerations of what a good watch should be was that it should tell the time, ideally accurately, whether it looked “nice”, and its price point. Many workshops and press viewings later, I’ve learned to appreciate the intricate craftsmanship and the huge amount of science that goes into each timepiece – and, yes, also some of the prices being asked for them!
Navigating the different watch functions, especially when you’re deciding on a first investment, can be quite daunting. My own baseline is not to consider quartz movements unless it is a fun, playful watch or it is fully paved with precious gems and will double up as a jewellery piece where time will not be of the essence.
So, quartz aside, what should you consider when investing in a timepiece? Would a simple day date mechanical watch (which shows time, day and date with an automatic winding movement) suffice or do you need to make a sophisticated point with a flying tourbillon or a minute repeater? How complicated should your complicated watch be?
The apex of traditional watchmaking is arguably the minute repeater, but unless you have a few million dollars lying around and also need chiming bells to remind you of the passing of time, a minute repeater is probably only for diehard watch aficionados.
We’ve picked five of the more popular complications that a stylish woman can consider.
1. Tourbillon
