EMAIL TO A FRIEND  

VIEW GALLERY

FEATURE STORY

Patek Philippe photo

Patek Philippe Annual Calendar watch for women

Ladies Watches

The world's finest watchmakers are paying more attention to women

After several years - no, make that decades - of watching with envy while men's watches got all the bells and whistles, women are now in a position to become afficionados of mechanical watches that flaunt functions rather than just frills. Not that frills are unimportant. But we no longer have to give up mother-of-pearl and diamonds to wear a decent dive watch, dual timer or chronograph.

         Omega's Speedmaster Planet Ocean Jewellery is a case in point. The Omega "Speedy" has enjoyed cult status among male watch connoisseurs, but the watch is big, and very masculine in design. The just-released ladies' is scaled down to 37mm, and glows with a bezel set with decent-sized diamonds totaling just under two carats. Not only is it a dive watch - water-resistant to 2000 feet - with an automatic movement, but it is available in a chronograph version as well. The chronograph, by the way, ranks as the most sought-after complication (anything other than hours, minutes, seconds) for women's watches.

         Patek Philippe, the watch world's ultimate manufacturer of mechanical movements, was one of the first to produce a mechanical watch designed especially for ladies about a decade ago. The classic Annual Calendar (Ref. 4937), is set with just over a carat of diamonds in the 18k rose gold case and lugs. The dial is mother-of-pearl. Patek has now introduced the spectactular Ladies First Chronograph (Ref. 7071), its first chronograph for ladies. The Roman numerals and subtle minute and hour totalizer subdials, add dress-watch feel to what is considered a sport-watch function. The 136 diamonds set into the inner bezel make the watch thoroughly feminine yet not too showy.

   Of course, complications don't come cheap. The timepieces featured here are priced between $10,000 and $35,000.

   But if you are looking for a quality watch from one of the world's top manufacturers, here are some more to consider:

• The Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms, with unidirectional rotating bezel (to time dives) and mother-of pearl dial
• The Chopard Happy-Sport Chrono Mark II, with floating diamonds between sapphire crystals
• The Ulysse Nardin Lady Diver, with a magnificent wave pattern engraved on the dial and in the molded rubber strap
• The TAG Heuer Lady Monaco with date window, small seconds subdial and diamond markers
• The Girard-Perregaux ladies Chrono with a peek-a-boo dial that shows the inner workings of the movement
• The Audemars Piguet Ladies Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph
• The Lange & Sohne Moonphase with large date window