I’m a watch expert, and this is the biggest problem I have with women’s watches

I’ve covered watches on T3 for several years now, and I think I’ve finally identified the biggest problem with women’s watches.

There’s a big distinction between men’s and women’s watches. Where men’s timepieces are filled with intricate complications, like chronographs, moonphases and perpetual calendars, women’s watches are typically void of all these things.

That’s not to say women’s watches aren’t technically brilliant in their own right. But the chances are pretty high that you won’t see a women’s watch with chronograph subdials – but you will see an abundance of diamonds.

The majority of women’s watches are adorned with colourful, sparkly gemstones, making them extremely beautiful and luxurious. The main reason for this is watches for women are seen as jewellery rather than being practical, although I’d say the excessive amount of bling has actually gone against the desired effect.

Gemstone and overly sparkly watches have their place of course, and I do think it’s clever to integrate watches within bracelets and cuffs as a playful 2-in-1 design. Bulgari is a great example of this, especially its Serpenti line which has a watch that features a hidden dial within a diamond-encrusted snake’s head.

And don’t get me wrong, I’d love to wear a Bulgari Serpenti jewellery-watch hybrid, but I highly doubt any woman would be seen walking down the street wearing a watch covered in diamonds. The modern woman likely doesn’t want this and might not be able to afford it, and this also gatekeeps a large majority of women from indulging in watches.

But back to the technicalities – something that women’s watches seriously lack. A large majority of women’s watches use a quartz movement instead of mechanical, automatic movements which you see featured in men’s watches. While a quartz movement is precise and reliable, they’re simply not as technical.

Speaking of, if a dial on a women’s watch isn’t covered in gemstones, chances are it’ll be extremely simple. Men’s watches tend to showcase fun complications as a standard while women’s tend to just have hour markers and hours, minutes and seconds hands – maybe a date window if we’re lucky.

Another area that irks me is colour. If you do eventually get a women’s watch without all the bling, it’ll likely be pink – surprise surprise. It’s a classic example of the ‘Shrink it and Pink it’ phrase coming into fruition, where fashion houses and watch manufacturers add pink to make women-related products more ‘obviously’ feminine.

The ‘shrink it’ part of the phrase is also true with watches, as women’s watches tend to be a lot smaller in size. Of course, women do have smaller wrists so a watch over 40mm can feel uncomfortable and look a bit ridiculous. However, the shrunken size means we don’t get as many of the technical features that you get with bigger timepieces as there’s just not enough space.

Having said this, the rise in non-binary and unisex watches have made a difference to how women’s watches are seen and made. TAG Heuer and Nomos are good examples of this, as their women and unisex line-ups are both technically and visually beautiful.

This year, I hope to see more women’s watches that focus on the movements and complications. Brands like Bulgari and Chanel are already doing this, particularly the former which has introduced more manual and self-winding movements to its women’s collection, and set world records for the ultra-thinness of its movements.

We’re only at the start of the year and there are many exciting watch events coming up, so I’m looking forward to seeing what women’s watch trends will look like in 2026.