The top 10 women’s watches from Baselworld 2016

Courtesy Christian Dior

Courtesy Chopard

Courtesy Fendi

Courtesy Georg Jensen

Courtesy Graff

Courtesy Omega

Courtesy Zenith

Courtesy Gucci

Courtesy Patek Philippe

The watch world received something of a shock last year: the Swiss reported their first downturn since the blackness that was 2009.

Admittedly, it amounts to a mere 3.3 per cent drop in export value – or 460,000 fewer watches leaving Switzerland than 2014’s mind-boggling 28.6 million – but for a sector rather taken by its own ability to defy the global financial crisis with spectacular year-on-year growth, it was a shock nonetheless.

And sure enough, the watchword at Baselworld (if you’ll excuse the pun) was undoubtedly “caution”. The trade fair’s cavernous halls of gleaming, multistorey brand pavilions thronged as usual with the bold, the beautiful and the downright glamorous, but the timepieces ticking away inside their spotlit vitrines were more about consolidation; evolution rather than revolution.

Which is to say that new mechanical movements and case shapes – the two aspects of watchmaking requiring the biggest investments – were in scant supply. Instead, we were treated to core-collection novelties, updated with cool, high-tech materials (titanium and carbon were everywhere), funky new straps (the nylon “Nato” military strap is still a fabulous trend), and rainbows of colourways (blue and garish dial luminescence, especially).

The larger-than-life head of Tag Heuer, Jean-Claude Biver, has found himself as spokesman for his fellow watchmakers in recent years, and in a pre-Basel interview judged the slowdown as a short-term dip driven by global economical factors, stretching from Ukraine to China. In his words: “…and we did just minus 3 per cent? I say that’s fantastic! I say to everyone in Switzerland, you are all brilliant guys, bravo.”

And judging by the variety and imagination of the watches themselves, we say bravo, too.

Women’s watches:

1. Bvlgari Serpenti Incantati Tourbillon Lumière Skeleton

The serpent has been an icon for Bvlgari since the 1940s, when the brand first experimented with twisting its sinuous form into jewellery, using a method based on the tubogas technique (a way of twisting twine for decorative purposes used by the Romans). Usually seen coiled up the arm, the latest watches to bear the Serpenti name now have the snake’s scaly form curled, in all its jewel-encrusted glory, around the watch’s bezel. There are smaller versions, but this is the anaconda of the collection. Being the first Serpenti to have a complication, Bvlgari has gone all out and given it a tourbillon, while the decoration on the skeletonised movement emphasises the serpentine nature of the watch. Temptation has never looked so good.

2. Dior Kaleidiorscope

When it comes to decorative dials, Dior rarely disappoints. This is the brand that tracked down the only woman in France who could do a particular kind of lacework for one of its Dior VIII Grand Bal inverse rotors – to say it doesn’t cut corners is an understatement. Its Kaleidiorscope may be one of its most breathtaking undertakings to date. For each of these unique timepieces, a piece of embroidery from the archives is viewed through a kaleidoscope. The resulting geometric patterns are then picked out on the dials in precious stones such as lapis lazuli and chrysoprase, with bezels set with diamonds, sapphires or tsavorites. As if to subvert all this opulence, you can opt for a denim strap, which just makes you adore Dior even more.

3. Chopard Happy Diamonds 40th Anniversary

The most surprising thing about this watch is not that it’s 40 years old, but that it was originally conceived as a man’s timepiece. Granted, it didn’t have the diamonds on the bezel, just the ones inside the case, but it would still have been a bold choice for even the most peacocked lounge lizard from the 1970s. This anniversary edition, however, is most definitely for women. The cushion-shaped case has been made smaller and the number of diamonds has increased, while the dial is a softly iridescent mother-of-pearl, rather than the black of its predecessor. It is a much softer version of the original, and almost feels like the watch Chopard should have launched 40 years ago.

4. Fendi Policromia

Keeping things in the family, Fendi’s latest watch collection has been designed by jeweller Delfina Delettrez Fendi, the daughter of co-creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi. And its inspiration is similarly close to home: the layout of the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, where Fendi has its headquarters. Delettrez was apparently inspired by the play of light and shadow in the Palazzo, which was commissioned by Mussolini and is considered one of the most representative examples of Fascist architecture. Called Policromia, the watch features white diamonds, lapis lazuli, blue mother-of-pearl and, for an extra touch of luxury, all the alligator leather straps are made in the Fendi workshops.

5. Georg Jensen Vivianna

Like many things in Georg Jensen’s current collection, the Vivianna bangle watch has its roots in the brand’s past. This design was created in 1962 by sculptor and jeweller Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe (known as Torun), who was internationally renowned for her sober, minimalist style. Torun was reported to have said that she didn’t want to design jewellery for the wives of wealthy men to keep locked up in private. She chose instead to make what she termed anti-status pieces. This elegant version of the Vivianna in black PVD is a tribute to that ethos. It does have diamonds on it, but it still manages to retain that wearability of which Torun would have approved.

6. Graff Snowfall

The copious amounts of diamonds would be impressive enough, but it is when you handle this watch that you really appreciate the work that has gone into making a stone-set strap of rare fluidity. The 300-joint lattice design was only possible thanks to 3-D printing. By creating the three-dimensional model, the team at Graff was able to accurately piece together the myriad joints and collets so that, when it came to build the finished timepiece, first in London then in Geneva, there was no need for margins of error. It’s an exquisite piece of craftsmanship that only a brand with Graff’s superior jewellery knowledge could realise.

7. Omega DeVille Trésor

Last year, Omega announced the launch of its Globemaster and the revival of its beloved old

“pie-pan” dial. This on its own would have been

news enough but, overshadowing even the addition of Golden Globe-winner Eddie Redmayne to its roster of ambassadors, was the announcement that Omega had worked with the Swiss Institute of Metrology to establish a new certification for its watches. Any watch that had been subjected to these rigorous tests, including ensuring that it was anti-magnetic to 15,000 gauss, would bear the moniker “master chronometer”. Which is exactly what is on the Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial of this DeVille Trésor, proving that Omega isn’t just reserving this technology for the boys’ toys.

8. Zenith Elite Lady Moonphase

This version of the Elite has become a bit of a Zenith calling card, and for 2016 it has been streamlined. The first thing that is noticeable is the size – it’s gone up three millimetres to 36mm. The rather refreshing reason for this is to make the dial easier to read, because no one ever wants to admit that watches do have a job to do. In further pursuit of legibility, the indices have also been elongated, which makes the tapered hands look even more elegant. Combined with the mother-of-pearl dial and diamonds around the bezel, the overall impression is of a very grown-up and sophisticated timepiece.

9. Gucci Le Marché des Merveilles

Bees are big news in fashion at the moment. You’ve got J Crew designing T-shirts for Buglife, the United Kingdom’s registered charity dedicated to the conservation of bugs and insects, and over at Gucci, new creative director, Italian fashion designer Alessandro Michele, has the winged insect swarming all over his ready-to-wear, and watch and jewellery collections. The bumblebee motif features heavily around Rome and is a symbol of the Barberini dynasty, who were powerful in the 17th century. Michele has taken this symbol of power and given it a more romantic feel by stitching it on to a watch dial. The bumblebee motifs are also in keeping with Gucci’s spring/summer 2016 runway collection and line of women’s evening wear. This colourful series of timepieces features textured dials popping in green malachite, blue turquoise and red coral tones. Certainly beats the ubiquitous double G the brand has relied on for so long.

10. Patek Philippe Calatrava Ref 7200-200R

Rather than innovate with its movements, this

year Patek Philippe chose to experiment with its stone settings. The new process is called Flamme

and has been registered to Patek Philippe as a completely new gem-setting technique. Before the diamonds are set, hand incisions shaped like a flame are made above and underneath the holes in order to cast as much light as possible onto the stones, to make them sparkle. Because the gold is cut in this way, there are no claws holding the diamonds in place, making the bezel smooth to the touch and preventing the top of the stone from being partially obscured by metal. All of which makes for a very beautiful, very sparkly, timepiece.