With a few days before Mother’s Day, there is still time to place timekeeping on mom’s wrist. Luckily there are more choices than ever as watch companies have expanded their offerings to women in some serious ways, as we have noted in coverage of SIHH and Baselworld during the previous months.
In this continuation of the list we began yesterday, below are a few watches we’re confident the mom in your life will enjoy. As usual, we’ve considered a wide range of price options when devising our suggestions.
Citizen
Silhouette Crystal
She’ll never have to replace a battery with this light-powered Eco Drive watch. The on-trend two-tone model is 29mm in diameter and flecked with Swarovski bling on the dial and set into the bezel. Note the relaxing rippling wave pattern on the dial, all set under a sapphire crystal. The watch offers a rich look for a great price ($295).
Breguet
Tradition Dame 7038
Women cheered last year when Breguet added a 37mm jeweled white gold Tradition with a feminine design. This year Breguet encores with this rose gold model that echoes that earlier debut with an offset, beautifully engraved white mother-of-pearl dial. The bezel is set with 68 brilliant-cut diamonds, while a watch jewel decorates the crown. The piece is powered with Caliber 505SR with a hammer-shaped rotor (inspired by the early automatic winding mechanism invented by Breguet), lever escapement with silicon pallets and a Breguet balance-spring, also made of silicon. Price: $38,100
Frederique Constant
Classic Ladies Carée
A classic rectangular watch says chic on any wrist, and this nicely priced Swiss-made model is a solid choice. Not too large (it measures 23mm by 21mm), the watch adds a bit of luxury with rose gold plating on steel, and its silver-colored dial, guilloché decoration and printed Roman numerals will retain their glamor under a convex sapphire crystal. It looks best with a burgundy leather strap, though Frederique Constant also offers a steel-cased version with a blue strap or steel bracelet. Prices: $895 (gold-plate), $795 (steel case/steel bracelet) and $695 (steel case/blue strap).
Casio
B640
Straight from the Casio Vintage Collection comes a timepiece that never goes out of style. It works on almost any size wrist and it says a lot about the wearer’s reverence for the classics. The B640 combines style with a backlight and a 1/100th second stopwatch. Price: $65.
Chopard
Happy Ocean
New this year, this effervescent new take on Chopard’s famed Happy Sport is said to showcase its dial-side floating diamonds like ‘the oxygen bubbles that accompany divers in their discoveries.’ OK. It is a deep diver, with 300 meters of water resistance, and it does sport a nice diver’s bezel. The hands and hour-markers light up in various colors – green for the top dive mark and minute hand and blue for the remaining timing markers and hour hand. Powered by Chopard automatic movement 01.01-C, the 40mm Happy Ocean watch also introduces a NATO strap, a big first for Chopard’s ladies’ watch collections. Price: $8,780 in steel. White gold & jewelled models: $49,980 and $61,130.
Seiko
Crystal Collection
With plenty of affordable bling, this 28mm model from Seiko’s light-powered Crystal collection will gleam on any mom’s wrist. Swarovski crystals are set as markers, line the bezel and make the two-tone steel bracelet glow with reflected light. Seiko’s own light-powered quartz caliber will operate for twelve months when fully charged by a few hours of natural or artificial light. In addition to this on-trend two-tone model ($350), Seiko also makes an all-steel model ($323) and a gold-plated version ($350), each with a matching bracelet.