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Timepieces in the 20th century were dominated by trends and sizing that felt decidedly male-driven, but here’s a fun fact: history’s earliest wristwatches were designed for women. Abraham-Louis Breguet crafted a women’s wristwatch in 1810 for Caroline Murat, the queen of Naples, and the egg-shaped case is still reinterpreted today. Already known for crafting pendant watches, Patek Philippe designed a wristwatch for a Hungarian countess in 1870, while Queen Victoria favored secret watches with dials disguised in bracelets, including a Patek Philippe presented to her in 1851.
Features designed with men in mind during the latter half of the 20th century seemed to indicate that only one gender took watchmaking seriously, but the recent rise of unisex styles is proving women are equally interested in function over fashion, and watch brands are paying attention. With Mother’s Day approaching on Sunday, May 12, whether you’re shopping for your mom, wife, sister, aunt or best friend, a watch is a terrific way to express appreciation while also honoring a woman’s personal style. With that in mind, we gathered eight models across a variety of styles and capped the price ceiling at $5,000. From Gucci to Chanel, Cartier to Tudor, Shinola to Citizen, there’s a watch for every woman in your life.
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Citizen Tsuyosa 37mm Stainless Steel Watch
$450 at Citizen
$337.50 at Amazon
This Citizen Tsuyosa — Japanese for “strength” — is a lot of watch for a budget price, featuring an automatic movement in a highly wearable 37mm steel case. The sunray-finished dial in ice blue pairs nicely with the steel case and bracelet, while the date window at 3 o’clock can be read with ease. The crown is positioned at 4 o’clock, meanwhile, to allow the overall silhouette to feel a bit more sleek.
Shinola Runwell 41mm Moon Phase Watch
$950 at Shinola
Among Detroit-based Shinola’s newest styles is this Runwell with Moon Phase function, a model that is indeed hand-assembled using Swiss and imported parts in the brand’s Detroit factory. A quartz movement is housed in a 41mm gold PVD case on a five-link gold PVD bracelet. In addition to the Moon Phase against the white dial, a date window is also featured at 6 o’clock.
Gucci Interlocking Watch
$2,000 at Gucci
Pink dials began trending among both women’s and men’s watches in 2024, making this Gucci Interlocking Watch a well-timed entry, pun intended. The style name is inspired by the house’s signature interlocking G’s, which adorn the small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock, while diamonds embellish the indices. This 29mm watch features a quartz movement housed in a stainless steel case on a steel bracelet.
Chanel Première Gourmette Chain Watch
$4,650 at Chanel
This bracelet watch is teeming with details rooted in Chanel’s DNA, starting with the case shape, which takes its cue from the crystal stopper of a Chanel No. 5 bottle — which in turn was inspired by the octagonal shape of the Place Vendôme, the Paris square located a block from Chanel’s Rue Cambon atelier, and also the site of the Ritz, where the couturier lived for many years. The steel case houses a black lacquered dial over a quartz movement, while the steel chain is inspired by the chains of a Chanel handbag or the chains famously used to lend weight to the hemline of a Chanel jacket.
Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Watch
Purple dials were trending at Geneva’s , and among the best was the lilac dial on this automatic Big Crown Pointer Date by Oris, which immediately feels clean, classic and highly readable. In the 40mm steel case, dates are positioned on the outer perimeter of the dial, with a date hand that stands out nicely vs. the hour, minute and second hands.
Panthère de Cartier Watch
Louis Cartier commissioned the George Barbier painting Woman with a Panther in 1914, and it wasn’t long before he transferred his admiration of Barbier’s cat to a wristwatch embellished with onyx and diamonds. Fast-forward to 2017, when the house leaned in on the theme by introducing a comprehensive Panthère de Cartier watch collection, and eight years later, it’s among the brand’s most popular watch groupings.
Today’s Panthère watches are available in a variety of metals and often embellished with diamonds or, in the case of one high-wattage 2025 debut, a mix of gemstones with diamonds. But it’s possible to secure a Panthère de Cartier watch for less than $5,000, including this small-model style crafted with a 23mm x 30mm steel case with steel bracelet.
Tudor Black Bay 58 Watch
A beautiful burgundy dial with matching unidirectional rotating bezel are among the latest features on this Tudor Black Bay 58, also released during Watches & Wonders. A new five-link steel bracelet (vs. the existing three-link style) lends a bit of an elegant vibe to this Black Bay 58, which is waterproof to 200 meters (the 58 in the model name represents 1958, the year the brand introduced its first dive watch). Within the 39mm steel case, the self-winding movement boasts both COSC and METAS certification, a testament to this Tudor’s accuracy and overall performance.
Nomos Glashütte Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer Glacier Watch
For the mom who loves to travel, this worldtimer by Nomos Glashütte was among the buzziest styles at the 2025 edition of Watches & Wonders. Worldtimers can be pricey pieces, but Germany-based Nomos has created this Club Sport Neomatik, a model that blends the function with a design that exudes a vintage vibe (true of many Nomos Glashütte styles), and which doesn’t break the bank. This automatic watch features 24 time zones on the outer perimeter of the dial and a 24-hour subdial to read a second time zone. The style is offered with either a silver or navy dial, as well as six limited-edition styles in unique color combinations, such as the design seen here, dubbed “Glacier.”
