4 tips on how to choose a watch for women

In the last decades, wristwatches have become more and more popular among both women and men. A fun fact: wristwatches were only worn by women before the 20th century, mainly for decorating purpose rather than timekeeping function. I guess this still somehow applies nowadays. As women mainly consider wristwatches as a type of accessory, they tend to care most about the look of the watch.

I agree that it is crucial at women choose a watch that suits your style. Your watch can then be an effective add-on to your appearance, or even can become your style signature. However, I must say the look is just one of the many criteria that ladies should consider when buying a watch. In this blog post, I am writing about 4 tips to help women choose the most suitable wristwatch.

THE MOVEMENT As a woman, I understand from my experience that not many ladies out there are interested in technical specifications of a watch. It is, however, important to understand that the movement is the heart of a watch. Without a good movement, the watch will not operate properly.

There is no doubt that Swiss movements are still the best ones. When it comes to the kind of movement, you can consider between mechanical movement or quartz movement.

Mechanical movement seems to be interesting considering the high level of craftsmanship and the premium quality of technical details. However, this kind of movement requires more maintenance efforts. If it is manual movement, you will have to remember to wind it. If the watch is “self-winding”, in other words, automatic movement, you need to wear it often or use a watch winder to assure the accuracy of the watch.

Otherwise, a quartz movement can be a smart choice. Powered by battery, quartz watches are more accurate and less expensive than mechanical watches. With this type of movement, you only need to change the battery after 2-3 years based on the manufacturer’s instructions or when the battery has been weakened.

THE FIT TO YOUR SKIN TONE Depending on your outfit and the situations, you can choose a watch dial that is most suitable to you. If you are in office clothes during meetings or casual activities, a minimalist watch with simple dial can be a great choice. On the other hand, a jewel watch decorated by precious gemstones might be most suitable to combine fancy dresses for a prestigious or special event. Just like other types of accessories, it is worth considering how the watch materials and decorations fit your skin tone. I believe choosing a watch which matches your skin will enhance your look remarkably.

1. Ways to determine your skin tone Skin tones generally fall in one of the two categories: cool or warm. You can identify your skin tone by looking at the colour of the vein inside your arms. Cool skin tones are characterised with bluish coloured veins. If you have a cool skin tone, you may notice pinkish or rosy-red undertones when looking in the mirror. It is said that most people have cool skin, including those with dark skin and tan skin. On the other hand, warm skin tones are recognized by greenish coloured veins. When looking in the mirror, a person with a warm skin tone may observe yellow or golden-apricot undertones. People with fair skin have usually warm skin tone.

2. Material of the watch case

A lady with a cool skin tone will look best wearing a watch with stainless steel, silver or white gold case. In contrast, wristwatches with gold or rosegold case will be the best choice for warm-skinned women.

3. Gemstones Cool skin tones will be a fit with diamonds and such stone shades like pink, blue, red, and magenta. Therefore, a watch dial decorated with diamonds, ruby, blue sapphire, aquamarine or emerald can be a flattering choice. Women with warm skin tones should consider gemstones with earthy shades like alexandrite, citrine, garnet or yellow diamonds.

THE DIAL

For a woman, the dial size should not be too big, but it must obviously suit your wrist size. We at Von Doren has conducted a survey for our Jotunheim Lady collection and found out that most women prefer watches with dial diameter 34-38 mm. And I guess it should be how it is, so that the watch will become a graceful detail to women’s outfit.

Another essential element that you should consider is the glass. There are three types of watch crystals, but sapphire crystal is unarguably the best choice. For more information about watch crystals, you can read another blog post of us here.

THE STRAP

There are many types of straps out there for you to choose. However, since women generally prefer various outfits, I would suggest you either have some watches or have interchangeable straps to fit all the situations.

If you are interested in having watches with bracelet bands, it would be the best to choose the bracelet material which is the same as the case material. You can also follow my guide above on how to choose the material that fits your skin tone.

Leather straps can be also an elegant choice. The colour of the leather straps for your watches should match with the other elements in your outfits. For example, if you have a black leather bag or black high-heels, it is no doubt that you should choose a black leather strap for the watch.

Additionally, it has been quite trendy to go with Nato strap nowadays. I believe this kind of strap will be suitable for casual or outdoor activities, or to combine with active clothes.

I hope this blog post are useful. Don’t forget to take a look at Jotunhiem Lady - our new collection for ladies’ watch. Maybe you will be able to find your perfect watch.

“Watch buyers today are more informed than ever,” says Brian Duffy, chief executive of Watches of Switzerland, which sells more watches in the UK than any other retailer. There are many places to look for ideas and advice, whether it be on Instagram or on specialist watch sites like Hodinkee or the blissfully jargon-free, female millennial-focused Dimepiece, both of which provide in-depth reviews and information. Perhaps you are a classic Cartier Tank girl à la Princess Diana? Or are you looking for something niche and minimalist in design, like Nomos Glashütte, or H Moser & Cie?

3. Quartz or mechanical?

The movement (also called a calibre) is the engine of the watch. Quartz movements are a relatively recent invention dating back to 1969, in which the watch is powered by a battery that sends an electrical signal through a tiny quartz crystal embedded in the circuitry. While quartz watches may lack the romance of their mechanical counterparts, they are highly accurate, and may allow you to get the design you want at a price you can afford. 

For true watch geeks however, a mechanical movement is the only way to go. “There’s been a pronounced change over the last six or seven years for women to choose mechanical over quartz,” says Duffy. Constructed of tiny components, the tradition behind these micro-engineered creations dates back hundreds of years, and they are often still made by hand by expert watchmakers. 

Within mechanical movements, there is the choice of manual (which must be wound by hand), or automatic (also known as self-winding and powered by the movement of the wearer’s wrist). Automatic watches are the more popular of the two today, as they require less effort from the wearer if they are worn frequently. Some love manual movements however, for the pure beauty of their inner workings, often visible through the watch’s reverse. Either way, a mechanical watch tends to be more expensive than a quartz, thanks to the skill involved in its creation. 

4. A question of life and style