Still not sure what you are going to buy her this year? Make it something that will last beyond the fleeting satisfaction of cashmere or perfume and consider the gift of time. Here are six watches for six different personalities with price points for all pockets.
Bulgari Lucea Moon Phase
Women are being seriously courted by Bulgari again this year with this dreamy pink gold Lucea model fitted with a Moon phase complication. Depicted with craters and all, the Moon completes its cycle in a graceful arch with a rich plum coloured hard ruby sky. The hour markers picked out in diamonds scintillate like stars while the white mother-of-pearl dial provides a cloudy backdrop.
Cartier Panthère Medium
Cartier turns back the hands of time to the 1980s and dusts off its Panthère watch collection with a wide range of references and price points. Not much has changed from the 1983 precursor, and this pink gold model with diamonds features the same square case with eight screws on the bezel, the classic Roman numerals and railway minutes track, the Cartier logo hidden in the numeral 10 as the original, including the quartz movement. The articulated gold bracelet features rounded links for a supple experience and was designed to imitate the sensual slinky movement of a panther.
Chanel J12 Intense Black
When the first all-black ceramic J12 watch hit the market back in 2000, it caused quite a stir. A best-seller, Chanel's watch is an artful mix of masculine and feminine traits decked out in high-tech ceramic. Sleek, sporty and ideal for everyday wear thanks to the impressive scratch-resistance of ceramic, the J12 is revisited 17 years down the line in a new, extra small and feminine case size of 29mm.
Bovet Amadeo White Poppies Grand Feu Enamel
One of the greatest Grand Feu enamellists of all time, Russian jeweller and artist Ilgiz Fazulzyanov collaborated with Swiss watchmaker Bovet to create a series of exquisite enamel dials. Bovet’s versatile Amadeo Fleurier white gold watch case – which can be transformed from a wristwatch into a pocket watch and a table clock – was the canvas chosen for the artist’s particular interpretation of these beautiful white poppies.
Hermès Nantucket
Contrary to its name evoking the upmarket summer resort in Massachusetts, the Nantucket is a très Parisian watch and features design cues – like the anchor chain used to attach the strap to the case or the stylish numerals -that could only have been dreamed up in the magical ateliers of Hermès. Revisited in a smaller case size of just 17 x 23mm, there is a practical stainless steel model with a classic Hermès double natural Barenia calfskin strap.
Harry Winston Avenue Classic Cherry Blossom
The ephemeral beauty of the cherry blossom tree is delightfully recreated on the dial of this Avenue white gold watch by Harry Winston. Designed to celebrate the Japanese sakura season, when the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom, the pale green mother-of-pearl background recreates the sensation of clouds on a blustery spring day. The flowers and petals of the cherry tree – some still attached to the branches, others floating gently to the ground - are picked out in white diamonds and pink sapphires.
