Five Creative Jewelry Watches Unveiled At Watches & Wonders 2023

Women who work in the watch industry have earned an appreciation of men’s watches. Because of this they often try to challenge watchmakers to produce women watches that are more reflective of their male counterparts, with large men-styled dials and robust complications. While there are more watches being produced in sizes made for men and women to wear, watch brands continue to produce timepieces for women that are more feminine with a focus on elaborate designs and gem-set artisanship.

These traditional jewelry watches must sell or these companies wouldn’t make so many of them. While men’s watches rule the outpouring of timepieces at Watches & Wonders, jewelry watches still attract attention for their artistry and craftsmanship.

In a bit of a twist, smaller, gem-set watches are becoming more popular with men.

The luxury brands at Watches & Wonders that have both fine jewelry and watch expertise are the most prolific in producing these watches. They include Cartier, Chopard, Piaget and Van Cleef & Arpels. Meanwhile, the high fashion brand, Chanel, put its own unique spin on these timepieces.

La Panthére de Cartier Watches

New releases from the French high jewelry brand wouldn’t be complete without a new expression of its most iconic animal figure. This panther watch features a fierce sculptural panther head with a closed jaw over a black lacquer dial. Everything is designed in three dimensions: nose, cheeks, eyes and pointed ears. This architectural approach to the panther is based on Cartier jewelry pieces launched in 2005. This rigorous design extends to the in-house jewelry bracelet that is fully articulated and flexible with no visible hinges. The watch is available in yellow or rose gold speckled with black lacquer with tsavorite eyes or in diamond-paved white gold with emerald eyes.

Chopard Haute Joaillerie Watches

Among its many introductions this year, the Swiss jewelry and watch brand unveiled two high jewelry watches encrusted with diamonds and colored gems that also showcase its commitment to ethical sourcing of these precious materials.

The first is a Fairmined-certified ethical 18k white gold model set with more than 28 carats of round- and pear-shaped diamonds studded with 21.65 carats of octagonal-shaped emeralds. The dial is topped with 12 pear-shaped diamond hour-markers in a rosette design.

The second is a Fairmined-certified ethical 18k white gold model featuring two fancy vivid yellow pear-shaped diamonds at 12 and 6 o’clock, totaling 4.16 carats. They are framed by more than 14 carats of pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds. The dial is paved with round diamonds and completed with a grey satin strap.

Piaget High Jewelry Sautoir Pendant Watches

Piaget continues to explore its history as a fashion trendsetter during the latter half of the 20^th century. The Swiss watch and jewelry brand released two handcrafted one-of-a-kind sautoir watches that reveals its expertise in both disciplines. The elaborate necklaces are fashioned from twisted gold chains. The gold chain starts as a single strand of wire that’s wrapped around a mandrel to create a coil, then hand-twisted one by one and shaped into links, before final assembly. The entire process takes no less than 130 hours, with each chain being unique. One tassel-style sautoir is set with a 25.38-carat oval cabochon Zambian emerald to match an oval-shaped dial, a signature Piaget shape from the 1960s. The other encircles twisted gold around the dial, further enhanced by Piaget’s Palace Décor gold technique that produces etched lines within the gold setting.

Van Cleef & Arpels Perlée Secret Pendant Watches

The French jewelry house produced several “secret” timepieces, where the watch dial is discretely hidden within a precious metal case, often covered with colorful gems. It includes six watches that are worn as pendants. The curved and colorful watches are inspired by 17th century pocket watches. They are worn on a long necklace. To discreetly check the time, rotate the bejeweled motif to reveal the dial.

Three of these timepieces used a gem-encrusted 18k gold case. Rubies are used for rose gold, while sapphires and emeralds are used for yellow gold.

The other three timepieces are covered with a solid disc of colored gems: chalcedony, with its blue-grey to light-blue hues is for a white gold case; rose quartz with its pastel color is paired with rose gold; and the violet-tinged blue gem, sodalite, is set in yellow gold.

Chanel Mademoiselle Privé Pincushion

This is a collection of five watches with dials that employ five different jewelry making techniques all inspired by a dressmaker’s pincushion. Totally on-brand for the only high fashion company exhibiting at Watches & Wonders. Crafted from precious metals, diamonds, mother-of-pearl or onyx, each design reflects the brand’s signature motifs.