9 best women’s watches to make an impact in 2024: from Rihanna’s weighty Jacob & Co. to Michelle Yeoh’s undying loyalty to Richard Mille, celebrities are making gender distinctions a thing of the past
- From Chanel’s Mademoiselle Prive ‘secret’ necklace watch and Tiffany & Co’.s Bird on a Rock pendant, to Bulgari’s Serpenti Tubogas Infinity coiled bracelet, timepiece forms have been playfully rethought for the modern woman – or man
- For those preferring a traditional wristwatch, maximum impact can still be made with bold choices, from the Arnold & Son Perpetual 38 Mintnight or Richard Mille RM 07-04 to the elegant Longines Mini Dolce Vita
It’s hard not to look back in awe at the sheer variety of watch types that the industry has targeted at women in recent months.
Timepieces across the board are becoming more unisex, with smaller case sizes in vogue, already increasing the options for more slender wrists. Meanwhile, celebrities – like Rihanna with her Jacob & Co. watch choker, Michelle Yeoh’s undying loyalty to Richard Mille on every red carpet and Hong Chau becoming the first woman to wear a Panerai at the Oscars – were but symptoms of a larger movement in the opening up of watch options.
As we enter a new year, these are our editor’s pick of nine new release guaranteed to make time stand still.
1. Chanel Mademoiselle Privé Sautoir Lion
Chief among these developments was the return of the sautoir, or secret watch – born from an anachronistic era when checking the time was seen as unseemly for a woman. Necklace forms led the way, with luxury brands such as Chanel led the charge with their Mademoiselle Privé Lion sautoir.
2. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Secret Necklace
From the high horology side, Jaeger-LeCoultre gave us a sautoir necklace rendition of the Reverso, complete with diamond set necklace links and case. With this design, it seemed almost inevitable that one of the most enduring watches with a hidden feature (traditionally for polo) got a sautoir edition for the neck.
3. Van Cleef & Arpels Ludo Secret Mystery Set Emeralds
Van Cleef & Arpels gave us sautoir pieces in both necklace and wrist versions via the Perlée secret pendant watch and Ludo Secret Emerald Mystery Set. The latter sautoir wrist piece particularly caught our eye as the emerald pave motif reveals a hexagonal mesh dial of mother-of-pearl. The design is so elegant as to have been nominated as a finalist in the jewellery category for this year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG).