Stunning Women’s Watches to Gift on Valentine’s Day, From Cartier, Hermes and More.

In an era that has forced us all to dial in on how, and with whom, we spend our time, a watch feels like an appropriate and perfect gift. And with February 14th around the corner, there are plenty of Women’s Watches for Valentine’s to honor what is behind us and what lays ahead. Among the best are watches that offer new twists on historic design codes, along with versatility and striking dial or case constructions.

Why should men have all the fun when it comes to timepieces? Women also deserve beauty and high-end mechanics. In the past few years watch companies have been meeting this need with new models for ladies in all price ranges that combine precious materials and fine design with high-end movements.

Keeping this in mind the watches being featured in this article are more than just a pretty face. Nearly all are also matched with serious mechanical and automatic movements, which until a few years ago would have been rare in a ladies’ timepiece. The more expensive models have advanced complications with feminine appeal.

If you are looking to start the year off with a bang, few timepieces have a wow-factor like Cartier’s Baignoire. Its oval dial is said to have originally been inspired by the shape of a bathtub (as its French name suggests) when it was first designed in 1912, but the Baignoire Allongée adds extra emphasis to the idea by stretching fully across the wrist. Rows of pavé diamonds cover the dial and bezel for an extra splash on what is, arguably, one of the best women’s watch designs of the 20th century.

The classic Happy Sport concept, inspired by drops of water splashing from a waterfall, has been around since the 1970s. It involves setting diamonds in gold bezels and placing them between two sapphire crystals where they float freely with the movement of the wrist, catching the light as they move around the dial. This red-hot version positions seven diamonds in front of a textured mother of pearl dial in an 18-karat rose gold case with an automatic movement.

Vacheron Constatin, its design is heightened by an intricate guilloché pattern on the inner dial and along the edge that can only be created via a single antique machine that dates back to 1904. Adding to its bragging rights is the fact that the company’s new Égerie collection, released last year, is its first new line of ladies’ watches in almost two decades.

The Reverso started out as a sports watch for polo players who wanted to protect their watches by flipping the dials toward their wrists during play, but Jaeger-LeCoultre has created ladies’ versions since the beginning. This beet-red Reverso One with a quartz movement was inspired by a 1931 design. The color is the result of firing multiple layers of lacquer over a guilloché base. The 26 diamonds on the gadroons at top and bottom are grain-set to allow more light return. And, as an added bonus for the season of love, the reverse side is blank, so it can be personalized with an engraving for someone special.

While the last 10 years have seen a growing trend for larger-sized women’s watches, there is a sub-movement towards a return to a smaller, elegant style as fashion swings back to the ’70s and ’80s when petite wrist candy was en vogue. This ultra-small 17 mm Hermès Nantucket in steel is a great example. 

Its case and dial also feature a low-key nod to the French maison’s horseriding roots, accented in tastefully placed diamonds. And it will look as good in the saddle as it will in the streets.

What these watches have in common is that they engage in the aspirations of the wearer, whether romantic, professional or personal.