The Best Women’s Watches from Watches & Wonders 2024
While we’ve already covered a slew of women’s watches released at Watches & Wonders from the likes of Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Tudor, it’s worth having a closer look at brands that primarily focus on watches for women. Some examples that come to mind are Hermès, Chanel, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Piaget. While these companies focus heavily on other luxury products such as fine jewelry, leather goods, and ready-to-wear, they all have some pretty serious watchmaking divisions within their hallowed halls too. From the outrageously opulent to the sleek sporty chic, here’s an overview of some of the best women’s watches 2024 has to offer.
Chanel J12 Automaton Caliber 6 Watch
At Watches & Wonders 2024, Chanel unveiled the Couture O’Clock watch capsule collection, featuring a range of timepieces dedicated to founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s atelier on Rue Cambon. Inspired by dressmaker tools or iconic Chanel motifs, there are scissor-shaped hands, measuring tape bracelets, camellia flowers, tweed and quilted patterns, and, of course, plenty of black and white spread across the watches.
The standout model of the collection is the Chanel J12 Automaton Caliber 6 watch, featuring an animation of Coco cutting a design in her Mademoiselle Privé workshop that comes to life with a press of a button. The automaton watch is powered by the new in-house-made Caliber 6, comprising 355 parts and visible through the sapphire caseback. Everything is housed inside a matte black ceramic case, topped with a diamond-set bezel and paired with a matching black ceramic bracelet. The Chanel J12 Automaton Caliber 6 watch is limited to 100 pieces and the retail price is currently unavailable.
J12 Automaton Caliber 6 Watch Specs
| Model | Chanel J12 Automaton Caliber 6 |
| Case | Matte black cermic 38mm diameter 13.65mm thick including the sapphire glass box crystal |
| Bezel | Black-treated steel bezel 48 baguette-cut square diamonds |
| Bracelet | Matte black bracelet Triple-folding clasp |
| Functions | Hours, Minutes Automaton |
| Movement | Caliber 6 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz) 72 hours of power reserve |
| Limited | 100 pieces |
Hermès Cut Watches
Hermès debuted a new women’s watch collection at Watches & Wonders 2024 called the Cut, complete with sporty cases, integrated bracelets or straps, and in-house automatic movements. The case’s shape, which borrows design cues from the popular Hermès H08 watch, is distinct, somewhere between cushion and round, topped with a circular bezel and featuring a crown at 1:30.
The Hermès Cut watches are available in steel or two-tone steel and rose gold, with or without diamonds on the bezel. The dials are clean and legible but, as expected from the house of Hermès, highly stylized with large applied Arabic numerals, inner minute tracks, and a skeletonized minute hand. The integrated bracelets, available in steel or two-tone, are beautiful with rounded supple links that mix finishes. Thanks to an easy-to-use interchangeable system, the bracelets can be swapped out for rubber straps, available in eight familiar Hermès shades. Thoughtfully designed and bearing one of the most coveted names in luxury, I do not doubt that the Hermès Cut women’s watches will be a hit.
Cut Watch Specs
| Model | Hermès Cut |
| Case | 36mm Steel or two-tone steel/rose gold |
| Bezel | With or without diamonds (56 diamonds) |
| Dial | Opaline silver-toned Applied Arabic numerals Super-LumiNova |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds |
| Movement | Caliber 6 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz) 72 hours of power reserve |
| Bracelet | Interchangeable system Steel bracelet Rubber straps: White, orange, gris perle, gris étain, glycine, vert criquet, bleu jean or capucine Steel butterfly clasp |
| Water Resistance | 100 meters |
| 2024 Retail Price (MSRP) | $6,725 to $21,900 |
Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Jour Nuit Watch
Known for their poetic complications (which are characterized by movement on the dials, such as the famous Lover’s Bridge model) Van Cleef & Arpels is a master at making extraordinary women’s watches. At Watches & Wonders 2024, Van Cleef & Arpels introduced a new Lady Arpels Jour Nuit timepiece with a gorgeous day/night display. It took three years to develop and the effort was worth it.
The dial of the Lady Arpels Jour Nuit is the stage for the show, featuring a diamond-paved moon, diamond-paved stars, and a snow-set sapphire sun, all set onto a 24-hour rotating disk made from Murano aventurine glass. The disk continuously revolves, half hidden by a guilloched mother-of-pearl shroud, allowing the sun or moon to reveal itself to indicate whether it is day or night.
The dial and movement that powers it are housed inside a 38mm white gold case, further embellished with diamonds on the bezel, flanks, lugs, and winding crown.
Lady Arpels Jour Nuit Watch Specs
| Model | Lady Arpels Jour Nuit |
| Reference | VCARPBKG00 |
| Case | 38mm White gold Diamonds on the case flanks, bezel, lugs, and crown |
| Dial | Dial in aventurine glass, mother-of-pearl, white gold, yellow gold, diamonds, yellow sapphires |
| Functions | Hours, minutes Day/night indicator |
| Movement | Self-winding mechanical movement (Valfleurier) Equipped with 24h module 36-hour power reserve; |
| Strap | Blue shiny alligator Interchangeable Ardillon buckle |
| Water Resistance | 30 meters |
| 2024 Retail Price (MSRP) | $119,000 |
Piaget Swinging Sautoir Timepieces
Similar to Vacheron Constantin’s Grand Lady Kalla, Piaget also presented timepieces that can be worn around the neck at Watches & Wonders 2024. The Piaget Swinging Sautoir collection includes three pieces.
All three Swinging Sautoirs have softly rounded trapeze cases, paying tribute to the original ones from the 1969 collection — two of which can be converted to be worn on the wrist. The first convertible variant includes a malachite and turquoise bead gold necklace, accompanied by yellow sapphires and brilliant cut diamonds. Dangling from the necklace are a 29.24-carat yellow sapphire from Sri Lanka, a 6.11-carat aquamarine, and finally, a diamond-paved case with a turquoise dial and more malachite and turquoise beads radiating from it.
The second variant includes a double chain, one set with diamonds, featuring an 11.68-carat white opal cabochon and a rare emerald-cut yellow sapphire. This is all paired with an extravagant tassel made of gold, diamonds, and chalcedony, as well as a gold watch case with an opal dial.
New Women’s Watches 2024: An Overview
Far from the “shrink it and pink it” approach that often plagues ladies’ timepieces, the best women’s watches at Watches & Wonders 2024 flaunt a cornucopia of mechanical automatons, masterful craftsmanship, and creative designs. And I’m here for it!
More About Women’s Watches:
Women’s Luxury Watch Gift Guide Part 1/3
Women’s Luxury Watch Gift Guide Part 2/3
Women’s Luxury Watch Gift Guide Part 3/3
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