From the C-suite to the on a regular basis shopper, the world of luxurious watches has historically been a boys’ membership. However that is shortly altering: “2025 is the yr that we see ladies’s watches go from being an afterthought for many manufacturers to a professional a part of their catalogs that obtain the eye and care that they deserve,” Joshua Ganjei, CEO of European Watch Firm, advised Who What Put on.
The “shrink it and pink it” advertising technique not cuts it. “It’s all about private style, however ladies don’t all the time need one thing smaller or daintier,” TAG Heuer ambassador Alexandra Daddario advised me. “A lady’s watch is something a girl desires to put on. We’ve seen trend evolve a lot over time, and girls have the liberty to point out off their very own private wealth and to decorate how they need.”
All sides of the trade are evolving. Greater than ever, for example, ladies are calling the photographs in govt positions, together with Ilaria Resta at Audemars Piguet, Caroline Scheufele at Chopard, Ellen Sorensen at Zenith, Marie-Laure Cérède at Cartier, and Catherine Rénier at Van Cleef & Arpels.
To discover the previous, current, and future of girls’s watches, I pored by means of books and archival imagery and enlisted the assistance of CEOs and social media stars alike. Hold studying for my findings.
Previous
Fancy a trend historical past lesson? To kick off this story, I am delving into the fascinating evolution of girls’s watches. After consulting consultants and doing hours upon hours of my very own analysis, I’ve compiled a short however informative historical past of the subject, together with an inventory of enjoyable information organized by statistics.
(Picture credit score: Vacheron Constantin; Getty Pictures; Christie’s; Jaeger-LeCoultre; Audemars Piguet; Van Cleef & Arpels)
Let’s begin on the very starting—earlier than ladies’s watches have been even a factor. “Traditionally, the query of whether or not a watch is female or masculine has not all the time been related,” Audemars Piguet defined on its web site. “Within the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, timepieces have been hardly ever designed with one particular gender in thoughts. They have been distinguished primarily by their rarity and excessive worth. They have been hardly ever worn, and once they have been, each women and men often wore them round their necks.”
Nonetheless, this modified with the invention of the world’s first identified wristwatch, which was commissioned by a girl. “In 1810, [Breguet] started an unprecedented creation for the Queen of Naples: a watch designed to be worn on the wrist,” Breguet defined on its web site. “The oblong-shaped creation with an engine-turned silver dial was very delicate and included a number of issues: a repeater, a moon-phase indicator, and in addition a thermometer.”
By cleverly hiding their dial, these elegant and creative items allowed their wearer to inform time with discretion
Van Cleef & Arpels
In fact, non-royals have been quickly capable of get pleasure from this new invention. Vacheron Constantin was an early adopter of girls’s wristwatches and designed the watch I featured on the high of the collage above. “The watch is held by a carefully engraved and finely labored mounting on a powerful bracelet that includes two winged goddesses, whereas the dial is encircled with a setting of diamonds,” Vacheron Constantin defined on its web site.
The Twenties noticed the invention of so-called “secret watches” for ladies, spearheaded by Van Cleef & Arpels. “By cleverly hiding their dial, these elegant and creative items allowed their wearer to inform time with discretion, making each second a secret,” the model defined in a press launch. Van Cleef & Arpels continues to design “secret watches” to this present day.
(Picture credit score: Shutterstock)
Afterward on this article, I will clarify how watch manufacturers primarily use well-paid celebrities to market to ladies. These illustrated classic adverts depict a wholly extra low-key technique, but one fixed stays: the wedding of kind and performance. A 1930 advert described Rolex as “leaders of trend and precision,” proving that the model knew early on that ladies weren’t solely in appearances but additionally in utility.
Current
To discover the current state of girls’s watches, I got down to reply two major questions: What do ladies need, and who’s influencing these wishes? Nonetheless, as when coping with any multifaceted topic, these easy queries spawned about 20 extra subtopics. What do insiders debate about? What’s essentially the most controversial ladies’s watch development? So to the touch on these wider matters, I made a decision as an instance this part with yearbook-style superlatives. These bite-size nominations will enable you shortly get the lay of the land in relation to the ladies’s watch world proper now, whereas skilled quotes will present deeper context on just a few of the themes.
(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures; Bulgari; Chopard; Hermès)
What Girls Need Now
Versatility and variation are two qualities ladies need when buying watches proper now, in response to Zenith President of the Americas Ellen Sorensen. “Our Defy Skyline is so versatile attributable to its quick-change bracelet,” Sorensen advised Who What Put on. “You possibly can change the strap to a different coloration by your self in seconds. With one watch you’ll be able to have a number of appears with totally different straps. That is very interesting and appreciated.” The new Hermès Lower watch, which debuted at this yr’s Watches and Wonders in Geneva, is one other noteworthy timepiece that boasts interchangeable metallic and rubber straps in all kinds of colours.
In terms of most popular watch sizes proper now, my consultants acknowledged that the pendulum is continually swinging forwards and backwards. Some identified that dainty designs reign supreme, whereas others have been insistent that supersize types are the look du jour. In different phrases: XS versus XL is the most popular debate of the second.
It’s empowering to decide on a watch based mostly on what I would like it to do, not simply the way it appears.
Ocean Ramsey
What else do ladies worth in a watch? Spoiler alert: It isn’t simply appearances! Girls are very a lot into extremely technical, purposeful watches corresponding to these made for diving, yachting, piloting, and racing. For perception, I tapped a watch lover with a novel perspective on the topic: Ocean Ramsey, a free diver, marine conservationist, and ambassador for Bremont.
I requested Ramsey for her ideas on the stereotype that ladies all the time need smaller, frillier watches. “This false impression suggests that ladies’s watches are supposed to be extra decorative than purposeful, which does not align with the realities of what a watch must do for me,” she advised me. “Within the diving world, a watch is a lifeline—it must be sturdy, dependable, and straightforward to learn in difficult circumstances. It is empowering to decide on a watch based mostly on what I would like it to do, not simply the way it appears.”
Precision is one more high quality ladies search for in watches. Nobody is aware of this higher than alpine ski racer and Longines ambassador Mikaela Shiffrin. In her sport, “actually hundredths of a second will be the distinction between a victory and fourth place,” Shiffrin advised Who What Put on. As for Shiffrin’s watch of alternative? The Longines Conquest. “It is my go-to watch as a result of it is so versatile—whether or not I am coaching or going out, it has the right mix of class and performance,” she stated.
(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures; @nicolapeltzbeckham; @nicoleakhtarzad)
Girls of Affect
Who has the ability to form ladies’s wishes? Prefer it or not, the reply is usually celebrities and athletes, which is why watch manufacturers shell out huge bucks to work with sure stars. In my interview, Omega CEO and President Raynald Aeschlimann acknowledged that superstar endorsements do not all the time present a right away return on funding—nevertheless it’s all a part of the plan. When Kaia Gerber wears an Omega watch to the Met Gala, for example, “it is greater than a message about model,” Aeschlimann stated. “It is about aligning your self with a trusted and honorable model. Prospects won’t rush out and purchase an Omega watch immediately. However they may see us being worn by respectable artists, they usually’ll make that connection of their minds. We then develop into an aspiration and a long-term purpose for his or her wrist.”
I personally know a factor or two about being influenced by celebrities, as my dream watch is Princess Diana’s gold Cartier Tank Française, now worn by Meghan Markle. No Instagram development, TikTok hashtag, or advert marketing campaign may have sparked my curiosity fairly just like the late Girl Di. Such is the ability of a star endorsement. Talking of royals, I dubbed the present Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, the watch world’s most loyal unpaid ambassador. Why? Not like her jewellery, sneakers, and luggage, which she alters out every day, she’s completely worn one timepiece for the final decade: her Cartier Ballon Bleu. To say her seal of approval is effective can be the understatement of the yr—there is no telling simply what number of ladies’s wrists she’s impressed.
Future
What’s subsequent? My steady of consultants kindly shared their ideas on the watch traits that shall be well-liked with ladies in 2025. None of them coordinated their responses, however a number of of their solutions aligned completely with these of different consultants. When trade insiders agree, you’ll be able to guess I am all ears. Proceed studying to search out out 4 timepiece traits set to take over subsequent yr.
Colourful Watches
Three of my consultants concurred: colourful watches for ladies will surge in 2025. “I anticipate our colorized actions and rotors will proceed to be particularly well-liked within the coming years,” Sorensen advised me. “Coloured dials and coloration ceramics that you’ll find throughout our collections—Chronomaster, Defy, and Pilot—promote very nicely.” Caroline Scheufele, co-president and inventive director of Chopard, agreed. “Colourful stone dials like malachite punctuated with diamond-set bezels have develop into extra well-liked recently,” Scheufele advised me. “Stone dials will not be a brand new development, however they’re having a little bit of a comeback just lately—it possesses a classic really feel, but feels new once more.” As the right instance of this development, watch skilled Trang Trinh (aka, @ladies.o.clock) cited Audemars Piguet’s Code 11.59 watch in eggplant and child blue.
Audemars Piguet
Code 11.59
Zenith
Chronomaster Sport
Chopard
L’Heure du Diamant
Oversize Watches
Watch skilled Zoë Abelson (aka, @watchgirloffduty) predicts we’ll see loads of ladies put on XL timepieces subsequent yr. “With The Row fever, we’re seeing everybody screenshot and mood-board the Olsen twins’ model greater than ever,” she advised Who What Put on. “We’d see a resurgence of sporting oversize males’s watches like we see within the paparazzi photographs of them casually sporting a 40mm Rolex Daytona or a 39mm Audemars Piguet Royal Oak hanging off their wrist (together with a beat-up Birkin). If this occurs, you heard it right here first.”
Trang agrees. “In a world of mini watches, I discover myself craving for the return of the unabashed sports activities watch,” she stated. “My watch is usually the ultimate step in constructing my ensemble, and I depend on it so as to add some visible weight to my simplified uniform that comfortably carries me to and from my laptop computer to conferences and again. Consequently, I believe we’ll discover ourselves craving an even bigger assertion timepiece as the brand new yr rolls round.”
Seiko
Necessities Stainless Metal Bracelet Watch 40mm
Michele
Deco 18k Gold Diamond Watch 37mm
Longines
Spirit L3.810.4.73.6 40mm
Rolex
Datejust Oystersteel and White Gold 41mm
Omega
Constellation Globemaster
Piaget
Piaget Polo Date Watch 42mm
Jewellery-like Cocktail Watches
Magnificence is the secret in relation to this development. “I believe jewelry-style watches will proceed to be well-liked,” Aeschlimann advised Who What Put on. “Discovering that steadiness between watch and accent is one thing that many ladies are trying to find. Assume diamonds, charming colours, and exquisite bracelets. The Speedmaster 38mm assortment that Omega launched this yr is an effective instance of this.”
Ganjei CEO of European Watch Firm is on the identical web page about this development. “I predict manufacturers will roll out gemset, jewelry-like watches alongside the traces of the Bulgari Serpenti and the Cartier Baignoire that shall be marketed particularly to ladies,” he advised me.
Van Cleef & Arpels
Folie des Prés Watch
Piaget
Piaget Treasures Watch
Tiffany & Co.
HardWear Watch
(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures; @badgalriri; Breda)
Past the Wrist
Brace your self: The watch necklace development is coming. “Within the age of smartphones, why should not we put on our watches anyplace however our wrists?” Trang advised Who What Put on. “Originating from playful superstar styling moments like Rihanna’s and Emma Chamberlain’s watch chokers, the assertion watch development has taken the web—and types—by storm.”
Trang went on to quote some latest examples within the luxurious area. “Chanel reimagined its Première watch into a flexible necklace that doubles as a belt, and Piaget revisited its Swinging Sautoir—the watch pendant will be unclasped and worn on the wrist with a satin strap,” Trang stated. “As watch manufacturers proceed to push the boundaries of creativity and performance, the wedding of watches and jewellery is about to redefine accessorizing within the digital age.”
In the event you ask Abelson, there is no purpose we should always restrict watches to our wrists and necks. “Enjoyable truth: Have you learnt that the primary wristwatches have been made for ladies?” she stated. “Nonetheless, it was thought-about ‘mauvais ton’ (bad-mannered) for a lady to verify the time, so watchmakers obtained inventive with watch brooches, watch necklaces, and watch lighters. I also have a home key with a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch in it! These items are so enjoyable to gather, and also you get double the aim.”
Van Cleef & Arpels
Secret Pendant Watch
