There comes a time when you just feel ready. Ready to put away the watches that were gifted or handed down to you in your younger years, and finally invest in a luxury watch of your choosing. One that makes you feel confident, and powerful.
Whether a major milestone is prompting you to seek out a luxury watch, such as a promotion, or it’s ‘just because’, this guide is your shortcut to the best entry-level watches for women from the world’s most iconic brands, including Rolex, Omega, TAG Heuer, and more.
Each of the watches selected for this edit taps into the heritage of the watchmaker or maison through choice materials, iconic motifs, or subtle nods to its past. Such as the quilted leather straps used by Chanel (just like the bags), the sleek scales that underscore Bulgari’s love affair with snakes and its Serpenti Tubogas, or Cartier’s accessible homage to one of its longest-running watch designs.
These are the watches that insiders recommend; models that hold their value, blend effortlessly into a capsule wardrobe, and quietly signal excellent taste.
Rolex Datejust
When it comes to investing in a luxury watch, you really cannot go wrong with a Rolex. It is a timeless and instantly recognisable status symbol, and it will hold its value. You could go for the basic Oyster Perpetual, but our advice – if budget allows – would be to invest in the Datejust, with its date window at 3 o’clock and a chic Jubilee bracelet. And if you’re wondering what the difference between a Datejust and a Lady-Datejust is, it’s just size – the Lady-Datejust, first introduced in 1957, is smaller.
Cartier Tank Must
The Cartier Tank is perhaps the French jeweller’s most iconic timepiece. The rectangular-cased watch, designed by the maison's founder Louis François Cartier, launched in 1917 and has been a bestseller ever since. For those who want to buy into this rich history, the Tank Must is a great choice for a first Cartier watch. This iteration was introduced in the 1970s and is the most accessible of the Tank family, with subtle tweaks to the design and materials that make it more affordable than others in the range.
Chanel Boy.Friend
If the Chanel J12 is not quite your vibe (although if it is, do check out the new Bleu editions released this year to mark 20 years of the iconic design) then allow us to introduce you to its quieter but very attractive sibling, the Boy.Friend. Like all great boyfriends, this watch is amenable to your desires. Keep it super simple with a stainless steel case, minimalist numberless dial, and black quilted leather
Longines Dolcevita
If you are looking for a watch that looks far more expensive than it is, then we would highly recommend checking out the bi-colour Longines Dolcevita. With a solid stainless steel case and bracelet with 18-karat rose gold accents (including the crown, which is a great touch), a flinqué silvered dial, blued hands, and painted Roman numerals, this timepiece offers brilliant value for money at less than £2,000.
TAG Heuer Carerra
You don’t need to be a motor head to appreciate TAG Heuer, especially when it comes to the effortlessly wearable TAG Heuer Carerra. This is a smart everyday watch that will still catch the appreciative eye of watch afficionados – including Ryan Gosling, who created a short film about this collection. What makes it even more enticing is the new dial colours (electric pink, minty green, lilac, peach), accented with 11 diamond hour markers and a date window.
Piaget Possession
Personalisation is a big trend in watches at the moment, and the Piaget Possession offers a quirky twist on this. As well as being fitted with an interchangeable strap that can be switched up to suit your mood, you can also twist the rotating bezel on the round steel case, which is set with a diamond. Doing so allows you to move the position of the diamond to create different looks, or to remind you of a favourite time of day – twist it to clocking out time, for example, and keep track as the hour hand gets ever closer to your diamond moment.
Hermès Cape Cod
Looking for a blend of luxury, fashion and timekeeping? The Hermès Cape Cod could be the perfect watch for you. The unusual dial takes inspiration from the luxury brand’s Chaîne d'Ancre (anchor chain) motif, with a Barenia calfskin strap attached that wraps around the wrist twice – and why not, when you are buying from a world-renown leatherworker? And should you tire of the natural look, then you can easily switch out the strap for something more vibrant.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso One
Now you see me, now you don’t… this is the joy of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso collection, which is famed for its cases that can be flipped to reveal an intricate enamel work or even a second watch dial. The Reverso One is the line’s entry-level model, and as such has a plain steel case on the other side, but this too has its merits. If you get distracted by constantly looking at the time, flip it. Or, if you want to remember something, or someone, important, then have the caseback engraved with a special message.
Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori
Bulgari is famous for its serpentine watches that have slithered around the wrists of the rich and famous, but if you are looking for a more wearable and accessible watch that still nods to this rich history then check out the Serpenti Seduttori in stainless steel. The alluringly different dial is shaped like the head of a snake, with a bracelet inspired by snake scales, and the crown is tipped with a rubellite cabochon.
Chopard Happy Sport
It would be impossible to oversell the joy of watching diamonds slide across a watch face like skaters on a lake, as you tip your wrist back and forth: it is truly addictive. The inventor of this spectacle is Chopard, and you can find it within the Happy Sport collection. You can choose to attach your dancing diamonds to the wrist by way of a sporty rubber strap or a colourful double-wrap leather strap. Just be warned that you may lose more time than you keep thanks to these mesmerising diamonds.
Omega Constellation
On the caseback of Omega Constellation watches you will find an image of an observatory, which marks it out not only as a long-lasting style icon but a beacon of precision. The decorative detail refers to world records that the Constellation set during time trials at the Kew-Teddington and Geneva observatories in the 1950s. The Constellation is aesthetically striking, too, with a bold industrial case and strap, set off by a minimalist dial.
Gucci G-Timeless
The bee is a favourite motif of Gucci’s and you will finding it buzzing around the Gucci G-Timeless collection in a number of ways: as an hour marker, a dial decoration, or engraved into a balance weight visible through a sapphire caseback. The bee gives a fashion twist to this classically styled line of dress watches, and should you wish to amp it up a little more, our suggestion is to go for a colourful dial, or a hardstone dial that sets the Gucci bees atop discs of lapis lazuli or malachite.
