The majority of wristwatches that sell on the primary and pre-owned markets are bought by men and tend to attract particular types of buyers — collectors, jocks, status seekers, investors. When it comes to ladies’ watch designs, the default has been to create something as obviously feminine as possible: flower and butterfly motifs, plenty of color, and lately a heavy leaning toward metiers d’art. Of these, gem-setting has evolved to become the highest expression of female-focused watch design, the equivalent of creating a grand complication for men — not just because of the gems’ intrinsic value, but because of their design potential.
It has taken a while for the watch industry to express that potential fully. The six finalists in the Jewellery Watch category of the 2025 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie Genève (GPHG) — the annual Academy Awards of watch design — demonstrate how much their craft has evolved since the awards began 25 years ago.
For decades, it was conventional to line a watch bezel with diamonds, pave the dial likewise, and call it a jewelry watch. The makers of gem-set watches have come a long way in the past five years, however, mostly by taking a page from the jewelry designer’s sketchbook and using more imagination, more innovative setting techniques, and a wider palette of gemstones.
As a member of the Academy of the GPHG (though not a final judge), I don’t remember seeing a better set of finalists for this category than this year’s contenders. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Geneva on November 13. In the meantime, here’s a closer look at the six finalist entries.
Bulgari Serpenti Aeterna
The Serpenti is Bulgari’s strongest ladies’ watch collection and its largest platform for showcasing the brand’s in-house design and gem-setting prowess. The Serpenti has been the basis of a high-jewelry collection since the 1940s, but this latest design shows a more stylized depiction of the serpent than in the past — no ruby eyes or overlapping scales,
letting the gemstones serve as the stars of the show. The motif is adaptable to a wide range of price segments and design interpretations, with the Serpenti Aeterna at the high-jewelry end of the spectrum. This entry contains 263 emeralds and 535 diamonds, totaling nearly 10 carats.
Chopard Swan Lake
I’m just going to say it: Caroline Scheufele, copresident and artistic director of Chopard, is one of the greatest jewelry and watch designers of our era. Her latest masterpiece stands as an example of how jeweled watch designs have evolved to express a narrative and how, like jewelry, they can convey movement. Much like the en tremblant, nature-themed jewelry classics that depict birds and animals on the move or roses in mid-bloom, this secret watch shows a swan in flight. The fully diamond-set swan sits on a blue titanium base affixed to the strap. When the head turns, it triggers a mechanism that activates the wings, which move in three articulated sections to reveal the watch dial.
Dior Montres La D de Dior Buisson Couture
Those of us vexed by some brands’ seemingly strong conviction that a ladies’ watch is not a ladies’ watch without the presence of flowers will find that this one presents a whole new way to look at the floral motif. Rather than representing an unimaginative attempt to convey femininity, this embroidery motif composition goes well beyond the cliché, combining skilled gem-setting with intense yet subtle creativity. It contains 13.79 total carats of diamonds, pink sapphires and tsavorites, representing hundreds of hours of setting work. The diamond-set hands are a wonderful twist. You can barely see them — but is that really the point?
Piaget Swinging Sautoir
Piaget is having a lot of fun with its sautoir series, which takes inspiration from the brand’s archival watch-pendant designs of the 1960s. But fun doesn’t necessarily mean easy or flippant. Piaget has boldly gone the semiprecious route, combining diamonds with spinels, ruby roots, and white opals. This watch hangs on a hand-woven chain with gem beads. For those of us who look at hundreds of pictures of watches in a given year, this is the shot of color we all need right now — not just as relief from the sea of vintage-style, minimalist men’s timepieces, but from the grim US tariffs casting a shadow over the industry.
Simon Brette Chronomètre Artisans Joaillerie
Although this entry represents a more traditional application of gemstones — with a lineup of baguettes along the bezel and a pavé dial containing 300 diamonds — it gets points for its gender neutrality. Simon Brette is an up-and-coming independent watchmaker whose work is a hit with mostly male collectors. This 39-millimeter piece starts with an artisanal
hand-wound movement, which is a draw for aficionados. Here it is packaged in a case and dial that together hold 3 carats of emeralds and diamonds. It could be a jewelry watch for male collectors who dare to go beyond typical adornment, or for a female aficionado who loves great movements but wants more than the traditional finishing of an indie watch. Either way, it works.
Van Cleef & Arpels Cadenas
The Cadenas made its debut in 1935, before the Cartier Panthère or the Bulgari Serpenti. This could easily make it a contender in the Iconic category as well as the Jewellery Watch one; the GPHG defines the former as “an emblematic collection or model that exercises a lasting influence on watchmaking history and the watch market for more than 20 years.” It’s a category that rarely features a ladies’ watch, but the Cadenas’s padlock-inspired design, with a double snake-chain bracelet, has stood the test of time in various iterations. The latest interpretation boasts nearly 10 carats of gems, with a yellow-gold bracelet, a case paved in snow-set diamonds, and a row of princess-cut sapphires.
Main image: A close-up of the gem-set dial on the Dior Montres La D de Dior Buisson Couture watch. (Dior)
