If you are disappointed about missing out on the Geneva Watch Days 2024 which has now closed its curtains, there’s good news: some of the top timepieces for women that debuted this year happened outside of it. So, while you may want to look out for all the new pieces that made their grand entrance at the show, you should cast your net wider for even more exciting options.
Need help getting started? Here are some timepieces established brands and independent houses released this year that are perfect for every woman and her horological needs, be they a love for the classics, or a desire for a more complicated device.
Égérie by Vacheron Constantin
Since the launch of Vacheron Constantin’s ‘One of Not Many’ campaign in 2018, it has worked with its carefully chosen group of creatives to produce limited timepieces that beautifully encapsulate what it stands for.
The latest timepiece born from this initiative is a 2-in-1 collection: Égérie The Pleats of Time and Égérie Moon Phase. Both timepieces for women were developed in collaboration with one of its ‘One of Not Many’ talents, Yiqing Yin.
The Pleats of Time is a singular concept timepiece that marries haute horlogerie, haute couture and, for the first time, haute parfumerie. Measuring 37mm, its case is a pink gold, diamond-embellished affair that contrasts nicely with a powdered lilac, hour marker-free dial, so that every gaze can appreciate the pleats pattern that completely covers it. The brand’s name sits pretty at 8 o’clock, opposite the moon phase and crown at 2 o’clock.
Attached to the case are straps covered by silk threads and uneven pearl shards in a pattern Yin says is reminiscent of “the fragility of shed snakeskin and the elegance of abstract lace.”
But perhaps, its most surprising feature is a fragrance encapsulated in each component of the strap that is released as it rubs against the wearer’s skin. Developed in partnership with master perfumer Dominique Ropion, the fragrance contains, among other scents, notes of lavender, orange blossom; honeysuckle, tuberose, ylang-ylang, orange, lemon and oud.
The Égérie Moon Phase timepiece is quite similar to its concept cousin. Its diamond-decked case also measures 37mm, and its moon phase and crown sit at 2 o’clock too. Its hour-marked dial however is different, and buyers can choose one that is completely smooth or decorated with the pleats motif.
Only 100 examples of this timepiece will be made, and they come with the option of three interchangeable straps: lilac alligator leather for an elegant tone-on-tone effect, night blue satin-effect calfskin or powder pink grained calfskin leather.
Armin Strom Dual Time GMT Resonance First Edition
Tourbillons, Chronographs and Perpetual Calendars are common complications in watchmaking. But Resonances? Nope, not so much. Which is what makes the newest member of the Armin Strom Dual Time Resonance collection extra special and a must-have.
Per Time and Tide, a Resonance is “the synchronisation of two balance wheels placed close together, affecting each other’s frequencies and regulating each other for improved chronometric performance.” So essentially, you have two movements working in sync in one timepiece.
The Armin Strom Dual Time GMT Resonance has two sub-dials sitting side-by-side in a 37mm, 18k white-gold case. The sky-blue dials, which can be independently set to two time zones, also feature a day and night indicator, useful because of the two different times the piece displays. They are powered by the Armin Strom Caliber ARF22 with a 42-hour power reserve.
This First Edition Dual Time Resonance is restricted to 25 pieces only and comes with either a matte grey alligator strap with sky-blue stitching, or, a light grey alligator strap with pearl-grey stitching.
Audemars Piguet Mini Royal Oak
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak needs no introduction, and even its latest mini variant isn’t all that new if we take into consideration the 1997 20mm Mini Royal Oak. However, the 2024 iteration of the Mini is slightly different, and very much suited for its time.
First off, it measures 23mm which is smaller than all the others on this list but no less impressive. The top of the bevel as well as the bracelet and case top all feature frosted gold finishing, while a trio of sandblasting, satin brushing, and polishing are the techniques utilised for the other parts of the timepiece.
The Audemars Piguet Mini Royal Oak comes in white, pink or yellow gold, and is powered by the Calibre 2730 quartz movement with a seven-year+ battery life. It is also water resistant up to fifty metres.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel Monet
Again, another timepiece that needs no introduction.
The sliding technology of the Reverso has bestowed upon it the unique title of the ultimate customisable timepiece. That blank canvas it presents when it is slid over means that anything from a family’s name and crest to the engravings of a historical event can be applied to it. And when Miklos Merczel had the bright idea of using the case back as a canvas for enamel paintings back in the 1990s, the potential for customisation exploded.
As part of its Venice Series, Jaeger-LeCoultre has released three a 3-piece collection featuring the works of French impressionist painter, Claude Monet.
The Reverso Tribute Enamel Monet ‘San Giorgio Maggiore’ depicts the painting of San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk while the ‘Grand Canal’ shows Monet’s painting of an afternoon view across Venice’s Grand Canal. The last, The Doge’s Palace, also reproduces one of Monet’s paintings of landmarks in the city of Venice.
Each of the variations in this series has dials resembling the artwork on their case backs and is limited to ten pieces each.
H.Moser and Studio Underd0g Passion Fruit
Collaborations are always a great thing, and while most usually involve getting a third party to re-imagine an old design or work together on a singular new design, H. Moser decided to take a slightly different part.
Working with a central theme with the passion fruit as the primary one, both houses – who on the surface appear to be on opposite sides of the horologie spectrum – chose a specific model from their range of timepieces and worked the theme into them.
For H. Moser, the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar presented the perfect canvas, while Studio Underd0g chose its 03Series Monopusher Chronograph. Both houses chose the vivid purple and yellow colourways for their dials and attached the steel cases to black leather straps – black alligator leather for H.Moser and black Epsom calfskin for Studio Underd0g.
It is not immediately clear if either brand had anything to do with each other’s design other than running with a brief and comparing results: what is clear is that this isn’t specifically a timepiece for women. However, with the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Passion Fruit measuring 42mm and the 03Series Passi0n Fruit having a smaller case at 38.5mm, it is the perfect pair for a couple, especially as this project is only available as a pair.
But if you believe this is the timepiece for you, you’d have to hurry: priced at $64,900, the H. Moser x Studio Underd0g Passion Fruit is limited to 100 pieces.