The best new women’s watches of 2023
Discover mechanical marvels made expressly with women in mind
Think watches are a man’s world? Think again. Sure, display cases may still heave under the weight of timepieces designed for men convinced their commute between Clapham and Mayfair requires the same level of complication as a deepsea diver, astronaut or fighter pilot, but, look a little closer, and you’ll find a swathe of mechanical watches designed with the needs and tastes of women in mind. Think slimmer profiles, smaller diameters, softer materials and a precious stone or two, all backed up by the same technically-sophisticated calibres as their more masculine counterparts. Here’s our guide to the best new watches for women in 2023.
Grand Seiko x Watches of Switzerland 62GS Nova Purple
Based on Grand Seiko’s classic 62GS design, which was first introduced in 1967, this Nova Purple special edition is one of three new unisex additions to the collection for winter 2023. Powered by a Hi-Beat 36000 calibre 9S85 movement housed inside a sleek 40mm stainless steel case, each new addition is inspired by the ancient rock formations and breathtaking night skies above Japan’s Jōdogahama Beach, with clean, fuss-free dials that allow the vibrant hues and radiating mosaic patterns do the talking.
£6,300, goldsmiths.co.uk
Bulgari Serpenti Misteriosi
Bulgari’s high jewellery expertise meets its horological mastery in two new additions to the Roman house’s iconic Serpenti collection. Astonishingly, each is powered not by a quartz movement, but by Bulgari’s in-house calibre BVL 100, nicknamed Piccolissimo (Italian for ‘very, very small’), the thinnest mechanical movement currently available on the market. Add to this a choice of black lacquer and navette-cut diamonds on rose gold or full pavé diamond set in white gold, along with emerald eyes and Bulgari’s unique flexible coiled bracelet and you’ve got heirlooms in the making.
POA, bulgari.com
Panerai Luminor Due Pastello
Another unisex design in which women will find as much to love as the boys, Panerai's new Luminor Due design features a 38mm stainless steel case perfect for smaller wrists. In a first for the brand, all three pieces feature pastel-hued dials in shades of blue, green and pink, each subtly adorned with Super-Luminova numerals, a date window and small seconds subdial. Behind the face lies a calibre P.900 automatic movement boasting a 72-hour power reserve but you'll need to be quick to get your hands on one - each colour has been made in a limited edition of just 500 pieces.
£6,800, panerai.com
Van Cleef & Arpels Ludo Secret Watch
Inspired by a classic Van Cleef & Arpels creation dating back to 1934, and with a name playing on one of the house's founding members (Louis Arpels was known as Ludo to his friends and family), the stunning Ludo secret watch takes its curvaceous lines from the silhouette of a belt. Made with a flexible yellow gold mesh bracelet which weaves its way through two guilloché gold discs, the sunburst-style dial is crafted from guilloché mother-of-pearl for ultimate vintage glamour.
£85,500, vancleefarpels.com
Ralph Lauren Stirrup Petite-Link
Great things come in small packages and, with a case measuring just 23.3mm by 27mm, they don't come much smaller than the Ralph Lauren Petite-Link watch. Which isn't to say, of course, that anything in the way of style has been sacrificed. Indeed, the clever folks over at Ralph Lauren have even managed to squeeze a row of diamonds around the edge of the equestrian-inspired case and given you the choice between a diamond-set link bracelet or leather strap. Oh, and did we mention that the whole lot comes in at just over £4,000? Can't say fairer than that.
From £4,050, ralphlauren.com
Cartier Santos-Dumont Skeleton
What were we saying about properly complicated complications? Allow us to present a case in point. For 2023, Cartier has taken its Santos-Dumont watch, an emblem of the house since 1904, and stripped it back to the bare bones, courtesy of a new calibre 9629 MC automatic movement. While not specifically a women’s watch, the square case measures in at a dainty 31mm and is available in rose gold, yellow gold or steel, while Cartier has also deployed traditional jewellery-making techniques alongside its matchmaking expertise. Note, for example, the miniature Demoiselle plane created in homage to the watch’s namesake, aviation enthusiast Alberto Santos-Dumont.
POA, cartier.com
Dior Grand Soir Automate
Dior’s new Grand Sior Automate watches are more akin to tiny artworks than traditional timepieces. Created as a collection of seven new additions to the Grand Sior range, which was introduced in 2012, each features an incredibly detailed dial that, at the touch of a button hidden in the crown, springs to life in an animation of around 30 seconds. Each dial takes inspiration from the life of Christian Dior, including his love of gardening and his famed belief in lucky charms. Available in limited editions of between one and 28 pieces, precious metals, lacquer and diamonds have been used throughout.
£28,000 - £31,000, dior.com
Grand Seiko Elegance White Linen
If quiet luxury is more your thing, allow us to point you in the direction of Grand Seiko and its understated Japanese approach to fine watchmaking. A small package (literally, the diamond-set case is just 27.8mm in diameter) promising seriously good things, the new Elegance White Linen features an in-house calibre 9S27 manual-wound movement and a dial hand-etched to resemble linen, a fabric created using a hemp plant sacred to Japanese culture.
£8,250, available from August, seikoboutique.co.uk
Gucci G-Timeless Moonlight
A brand better known for its horsebit loafers and handbags might not be the obvious choice for a fine new timepiece but Gucci’s 2023 collection is stuffed full of some of the most technically-difficult complications in watchmaking. Alongside designs featuring flying tourbillons and jumping hour mechanisms, there’s the G-Timeless Moonlight: a made-to-order watch centred around Gucci’s sophisticated calibre GGV838.MP moonphase movement.
Each piece is custom-made, with gemstones depicting the birthday planets’ position and their associated zodiac signs according to the wearer's date, place and time of birth around the edge of the dial. An internal ring can also be etched with up to five letters of characters, while an oscillating weight displays the wearer’s personal constellation. Starry-eyed indeed.
POA, gucci.com
Slim d’Hermès Cheval de Légende
Introduced in 2015, the classic silhouette and clean lines of the Slim d’Hermès watch has seen it become something of a blank canvas for the artistic ambitions of Hermès' watchmakers. This year, the designers have taken the house’s signature horse motif, specifically one lifted from a 2010 scarf by artist Benoit Pierre Emery, and transposed it onto the dial via 1,678 tiny, individually-placed enamel beads and framed by 52 baguette-cut diamonds. Talk about devotion. Don’t think that this commitment to aesthetics means things beneath the dial have been forgotten, though. Inside the 39.5mm white-gold case you’ll find an in-house H1950 self-winding movement.
£69,000 - £79,000, hermes.com
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Secret Necklace
Likely one of the most unique timepieces you’ll see this year, Jaeger-LeCoultre has melded the worlds of haute horology and high jewellery in its Reverso Secret Necklace. Paying homage to the Art Deco style of the 1930s, when the house’s innovative Reverso design debuted, the cordonnet textile bracelet seen on these original models has been reimagined as a chain of onyx beads and diamond-set links from which dangles an exquisite diamond and onyx pendant. Worn one way, and you have a timeless necklace. Swivel the pendant, and you’ll reveal a geometric watch face powered by an in-house calibre 846 manual-wound movement. You didn’t think JLC would settle for quartz, did you?
POA, jaeger-lecoultre.com
Bulgari Octo Roma Tourbillon
His and hers Bulgari tourbillon watches? Talk about couple goals. The Precious Naturalia (men’s) and Precious Tourbillon Lumière (women’s) represent two of four new tourbillons being added to Bulgari’s uber-popular Octo Roma collection this year – and they look great together. The latter of the two features a 38mm rose gold case and matching skeleton tourbillon movement. Although that may be tricky to tell given that every single square millimetre has been paved in diamonds. Well, Bulgari never did do things by halves.
£175,700, bulgari.com
Piaget Limelight High Jewellery Cuff watch
At Watches & Wonders 2023 Piaget presented a series of pieces loosely connected under the umbrella term ‘Extraleganza’ – a nod, the maison says, to its most lavish, lively designs from the 1960s and 1990s. This series of three high-jewellery cuff watches takes its cue from Piaget’s 1969 21st Century collection, which was inspired by the Parisian catwalks and sketched directly onto fashion magazines to ensure the watches blended seamlessly with the styles of the day. Featuring oval turquoise and opal dials, a gem-set white or yellow gold case appears as if hatching from a flexible cuff band engraved using a series of techniques exclusive to the house.
POA, piaget.com
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Self-Winding
The Vacheron Constantin Overseas has long been a go-to for those in need of a smart, sporty, modern timepiece that stands up to everyday wear – and now those with smaller wrists can get in on the action. Introduced this year in 34.5mm and 35mm case sizes, the four new references come in steel or pink gold with sunburst blue or lacquered pink dials and optional gem-setting. Also more slender than its predecessors, powering everything is a Calibre 1088/1 movement, while each reference comes with two additional leather and rubber straps that can be easily swapped at home. If you’re after a dependable, workhorse watch that you can rely on day after day, this is it.
