If that of watchmaking is considered one predominantly male passion, it is curious to think that the first wristwatch was a model for women. The lucky lady in question was a countess who bought a Patek Philippe decorative watch from 1868, mounted on a bracelet: the oldest still in existence today.
Alongside a feminine taste, we are seeing a greater demand on the market for watches with decidedly trendy or unisex shapes and models, with larger dimensions than the more classic ones. Watches that are often worn by international stars of cinema, fashion or music (see photo at the bottom of the page) which are certainly influencing this precise trend decidedly oriented towards the modern, and better towards some specific brands such as: Audemars Piguet, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Bulgari, Frank Muller and others.
Note the Rolex brand – which holds the leadership on the market also in the versions with diamonds – which offers decidedly precious watches and models also for women. These are generally expensive watches, such as the Rolex Ladies Masterpiece White Gold is in 18-karat white gold, 29 millimeters in diameter and a bezel set with 116 diamonds and with automatic movement. The Datejust special edition yellow gold, 34mm diameter elband set with diamonds, the movement is always automatic.
The Oyster perpetual Lady Datejust Pearlmaste White gold, 29 mm diameter in 18-karat white gold, as well as the strap. There bezel has 32 diamonds set and on the dial the hours are also set in diamonds. Finally, the Datejust Ladies Platinum, 26 mm in diameter. She has an domed bezel studded with 24 diamonds.
In the case of Audemars Piguet, the diamond versions of the model are interesting Royal Oak, both in gold and in steel
The brand is absolutely successful Cartier with its timeless model Tank Francaise, also in the steel version with diamonds. Tank Française, quartz movement, steel case adorned with 24 brilliant cut diamonds. Case dimensions 25 x 20 mm.
It enjoys a new interest too Bvlgari, the historic Maison which in the 40s created for the first time in jewelry a snake-shaped bracelet-watch with the dial set in the head, studded with gems and with the golden strap that wraps around the wrist. A watch loved by icons of the world of fashion and cinema, such as Elisabeth Taylor who wore it in 1962 in the filming of the film Cleopatra. But also, Marilyn Monroe, Anna Magnani, Lauren Bacall, Sophia Loren, Soraya, Claudia Cardinale, Nicole Kidman, Susan Sarandon, Catherine Zeta Jones, Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie, to whom Bulgari has dedicated a unique piece to all of them. Of Bvlgari as a watch-jewelry brand for women, we must remember Diana Vreeland, the New York fashion judge, who loved to wear her double-wrap Bvlgari python belt as a necklace. Vreeland was so fascinated by the seductive power of snakes that she wrote in a 1968 memorandum to her editorial staff: "Don't forget the snake…the snake should be on every finger and around every wrist and everywhere”. Hence the union the fusion between the snake and the Tubogas bracelet, two iconic values that characterize the Maison. A watch with a bracelet designed in the 50s that is still a favorite of a historic design today.
It is not excluded that in the short term, interest will further increase and that women's watches could become a valid investment to pursue, as is now happening for men's watches, which seem to have no more price limits, thus entering – even some women's models – in the "asset class" segment of collectors who aim at revaluation on the market in the short term for the modern and in the medium-long term for the quality vintage. What we must consider in the event of an investment purchase is the price, which in the case of the vintage gold watch with diamonds, gold and leather strap, may be more interesting in anticipation of a revaluation, in fact there are opportunities to be able to win the favorite object at a decidedly affordable cost. For the modern, despite the fact that the price is decidedly higher due to a whole series of growth factors in the luxury market, it still represents a good investment.
