Baselworld 2017: Five Well-Designed Women’s Watches
Various timepieces, across multiple price points, that are more than just pretty
More often than not, women’s watches tend to condescend to the consumer base—throwing in a delicate or funky colorway or adding some gemstones atop a fairly normal timepiece without much to its core. With the amount of innovation and craftsmanship dedicated toward men’s watches, it’s refreshing to find women’s wristwatches produced by the same effort. At this year’s Baselworld watch fair, we saw many brands introducing out-of-the-ordinary timepieces for women. The following five (some of which are pieces, others collections) stood out for their design nuances. And with prices ranging from €190 to tens of thousands of dollars, there’s aa array of luxury levels here.
Bulova Rubaiyat Collection
One hundred years after its debut, the Rubaiyat collection returns to Bulova. This isn’t a nostalgia-piece lacking contemporary developments. Of course, the stand-out feature happens to be a 12 o’clock cabochon-crown placement, but each of the 12 watches in the collection feature hand-set diamonds and the option to shift from precious metal-toned cases to genuine leather straps. It’s the elegance of the concentric circles of the case that reinforce its commitment to modern design. The Rubaiyat collection starts at $550.
Nomos Glashütte Campus Collection
Many of us who have followed the watch world for years felt a sense of joy when Nomos Glashütte revealed the three-piece Campus collection. Designed for students or graduates, it’s at a new entry level price for the brand ($1,000-1,500). That said, it maintains their signature design language across all three models (the Club Campus, pictured; the Club 38 Campus; and the Club 38 Campus Nacht). Ranging between 36-38mm, these are smaller pieces with refined detailing. And a superluminova finish on the hands, numerals and indexes provides value at night.
Tudor Clair de Rose
A truly refined stainless steel automatic timepiece, Tudor‘s Clair de Rose is beautiful outside and technologically-advanced within. Featuring a self-winding mechanical calibre 2824 movement, the watch builds a 38 hour power reserve. Flourishes from the blue spinel cabochon to the opaline dial convey importance of detail. The piece is available in 26, 30 and 34mm case sizes and six styles, with prices ranging from $1,900 to $2,300. It will be available in limited quantities this September.
Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Collection
Being the smallest brand in the vastly successful Swatch Group has its perks. This positioning allows Jaquet Droz to produce pieces defined by wonder and artistry. The expansion of their Petite Heure Minute collection embodies this. Here, tiny paintings (made by hand) of a lion, flamingo and koi carp stand out against black Grand Feu enamel. This is a case study in magnificence, and the brand has not neglected the watches’ insides. Each of the 28 pieces in the three lines has a self-winding mechanical movement and features a 68-hour power reserve. Due to the labor behind each piece, prices range from $30,000-40,000.
Welder Moody Collection
With Welder Watches’ new Moody Collection one can’t help but think of vibrant mood rings of the ’70s. Here, however, the dial color doesn’t change with one’s mood; it always glows thanks to photochromic glass, and changes color based on the way light strikes it or what’s around it. These are inexpensive, bright and fun pieces developed by Italo Fontana, founder of the haute horlogerie U-Boat watch brand. Watches come in three different case sizes with three different strap options: leather, mesh and Nato. Pricing begins at €190.
Images courtesy of respective brands
