Written by Julie de Los Rios - Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Let’s be clear: this year, watchmakers are totally in tune with women’s expectations. The minds of our quarantined time masters have wandered. The fruit of their meandering: dazzling watches that are completely in line with our current desires. Since we have been deprived of our freedom for so long, we only have one goal in mind: to shine bright on café terraces, in restaurants, in museums and even at the office! PJs and sloppy quarantine sweatpants have been tucked away to make way for a glamorous and festive wardrobe. Glitter and lamé are no longer exclusive to social events. Now it’s Saturday night fever 24/7!
And to match our wardrobe inspired by Diana Ross (who is making her comeback in 2021) or Grace Jones in her Studio 54 days, watches have become jewels to have fun with, to mark a unique look or to dress up a classic jeans & shirt outfit. So of course, the 38 participating brands at
Inspired by the 90s nightlife, Chanel(https://likeab.com/en/article/meeting-with-chanel)’s Electro capsule collection offers vibrant versions of the iconic J12. Among these 4 beauties, we’re leaning towards the J12 Electro Dream, available in white or black ceramic. It is simply exhilarating with its circular and continuous gradation on the bezel and its matching indexes made with baguette-cut rainbow sapphires.
Good news for Hublot fans. Known for its Art of Fusion and its radical aesthetics, the brand offers another version of its iconic case to better suit women’s wrists. The Big Bang One Click, made of steel or King gold with a bezel set with 36 diamonds, asserts itself in a diameter scaled down to 33 mm. And to match your watch with your outfit, you can change its look in the blink of an eye thanks to its various interchangeable wristbands.
Just as exhilarating,
With the Reverso One Precious Flowers collection, the Vallée-de-Joux-based workshop is showcasing its “Métiers Rares” (Rare Handcrafts) – engraving, enameling and gem-setting – on the Reverso’s iconic double-sided case. Our favorite among these masterpieces? The Purple Arums. Made of rose gold, it is adorned with flowers and enameled leaves. Magnified by snow-set diamonds embedded in the background, the floral motif is omnipresent, from the background to the bezel, including the smallest curves and angles.
A miniature model with a diameter of 15.5 mm, the Faubourg Polka has everything of a big watch! Like a more or less gem-set white or rose gold bracelet, this jewel that shows the time gracefully emphasizes the delicacy of women’s wrists. As a smaller version of the Faubourg watch, presented in 2014, it remains faithful to the original shape – mother-of-pearl dial in a small case. The wristband was entirely redesigned: it is a mesh of dots and oblique lines – a breath of fresh air and modernity.
In 2021, the brand is inspired by exploration – geographical of course, but also stylistic. Among the novelties for women, we could not resist the dazzling variation of its Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust. Made of yellow gold and fully gem-set, this treasure sports a 28-mm case sparkling with 158 brilliant-cut diamonds on the lugs and flanks of the caseband and 44 brilliant-cut diamonds on the bezel. And as if that were not enough, the three-link President bracelet shines with 596 brilliant-cut diamonds and its dial is paved with 291 diamonds, enhanced by yellow gold Roman numerals coated in black.
This year, the Italian brand has pampered us with two sumptuous cocktail watches, Divissima and Allegra. For your viewing pleasure, we wanted to dwell on the
Invented in 1976 by the
Do you like shaped watches? Each year, the Cartier Libre collection explores the brand’s most original cases to seduce free and refined spirits. In 2021, the Baignoire watch, designed in 1906 by Cartier and reissued in 2019, embraces one of the emblems of the brand’s bestiary, the turtle. Thus, the Baignoire model sports “shell” decorations made of white gold, diamonds, sapphires and tsavorites, mounted on an elegant navy-blue alligator wristband.
At the crossroads between Haute Horlogerie and Haute Couture, Vacheron Constantin’s Égérie collection has welcomed two new self-winding diamond-pavé models this year, in line with the brand’s theme for 2021: “Classic with a Twist”. These chic and sophisticated novelties, made of white gold and rose gold, are fully set with diamonds. Inspired by the refined world of Haute Couture, they showcase an off-center display and asymmetrical geometry – features that celebrate the brand’s heritage. The added bonus: its clever system of interchangeable wristbands – made of satin or satin-effect alligator, available in night blue or glossy brown – guarantees versatile elegance day and night.