Valentine’s Day Guide: Five Watches For Her

Listen up, guys, you may not anticipate Valentine’s Day with excitement and high hopes, but women do. I urge you not to blow it—or worse, forget it—because the holiday is right up there with birthdays and anniversaries for women. And, if done right, you will reap great rewards from your significant other. Valentine’s Day must include a gift and chocolates and flowers are, well, boring and cliché not to mention gone in a flash and barely remembered. But a nice watch, there’s the ticket. Every time she wears it, she will smile and think of you and your great taste and thoughtfulness. If you’re a bit stuck on what to get your best girl, I’ve put together some ideas that are sure to put you in the catbird seat.

When it comes to sophistication and beauty, Piaget is at the pinnacle of the game. They combine their watchmaking expertise with exquisite jewelry design to create showstoppers. The Limelight collection nails it by giving the oval shape a twist. In a 32mm 18K rose gold case surrounded with diamonds, the Limelight Gala watch will add glamour to any woman’s wrist. The silvered dial is punctuated by Roman numerals and wraps around the wrist with a satin white strap. Definitely a cocktail watch but also a great accessory to add some kick to casual wear.

IWC has decided to embrace women and introduced the mid-size Portofino collection in a more feminine 37mm case and reintroduced the moon phase display referencing the one from 1984. The Portofino Moon Reference 4590 comes in a white gold case refined with diamonds and used as hour markers at the end of the baton indicators on the white mother-of-pearl dial. The romantic mother-of-pearl moon sits at 12 o’clock hovering among the stars. Inside ticks an automatic movement with 42-hour power reserve. The blue Santoni alligator strap completes this charming picture.

Jaeger-LeCoultre also enlists the seductive moon into the feminine Rendez-Vous collection with the Rendez-Vous Moon. A 39mm white gold case allows a substantial canvas to interpret the moon, which takes up about ¾ of the dial starting at 6 o’clock. The large orb of the mother-of-pearl moon is the star of the show, floating against the backdrop of a blue celestial sky. Blued Arabic numbers and a blue satin strap hearken back to the firmament. But most secretly and importantly a star-shaped hand can be set to remind of your next rendez-vous. Diamonds encrust the bezel and lugs for extra sparkle. Limited to 265 pieces, the Rendez-Vous Moon runs off an automatic movement.

In the shape of an oval the Audemars Piguet Millenary collection strays in an artistic way from the rest of the Audemars Piguet offerings, taking on a neo-classical aesthetic. Only offered for men, the Millenary, in a smaller 28.59 x 32.74mm 18K white gold case, debuts for women this year as seen in the Millenary Hand-Wound. A lot of this watch’s charm is the aesthetic choice to leave the dial opened in order to admire the beautiful mechanics. A small off-center mother-of-pearl dial with Roman numerals with an overlapping mother-of-pearl seconds counter resides at 3 o’clock. Adding pizzazz to the watch is the diamond encrusted bezel and lugs. The crown with pink cabochon provides an intimate tactile experience with the hand wind movement, while the large square scale beige alligator strap highlights the pink gold touches on the hands, dial indicators and escapement bridge.

In celebration of 260 years of existence Vacheron Constantin introduced a brand new collection called Harmony. Reaching into the archives the Harmony collection takes inspiration from a cushion-shaped piece from 1928. The limited edition Harmony pillar comes with several different complications but this one for women is called the Dual Time Small Model and it’s a real looker. Although the cushion shape is historical, Vacheron Constantin makes it feel modern too. It comes in a choice of 18K red or white gold. This 18K white gold case shimmers with diamonds and frames the white dial with blue Arabic numerals. The second time zone is easily visible yet at the same time unobtrusive at 4 o’clock and balanced by the running seconds at 8 o’clock. The Harmony Dual Time Small Model wraps around the wrist with a sky blue alligator strap. Vacheron crafted a new calibre to power this watch, the automatic 2460DT that has a lovely engraved rotor as well as “260th Anniversary” inscription engraved on the back. Limited to 500 pieces.

Okay, men, you have your marching orders. Go forth and make your women happy—and I guarantee you will be too.