Gold Watches for Women: The Bracelet a Queen Ordered in 1810

On June 8, 1810, Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, placed an order with Breguet for a watch to be worn on the wrist. Breguet's own archive calls it the first wristwatch ever known: watch number 2639, an exceptionally thin, oval repeater on a wristlet of hair and gold thread. Gold watches for women, in other words, did not start as a trend. They started as a woman's request for something small that she could wear like a bracelet.

 

I like that origin because it sets the right test for the whole category. A good gold watch should read as jewelry first and a timekeeper second, which is why I look at the proportions before I look at the dial. The original is lost, but the shape on record is thin and oval, and a lot of what is below follows that idea.

 

Start with the bracelet watches, because October is when they come out of the drawer. Picture her in a gray knit and a camel blazer, sleeve pushed up. I would go small: the Bulova Jackie at 18mm is a tiny square on a slim link bracelet, and the Coach Mara is a 15.5mm by 19mm rectangle on C-links. The Tory Burch Eleanor has a cream dial in a 25mm by 34mm rectangle, and the Michael Kors Petite Essex is a slimmer take.

 

For a round face, the Citizen Ceci has roman numerals at 32mm and runs on Eco-Drive solar. The Seiko Essentials at 25.5mm adds a day-date window, the Fossil Everett is a soft rounded square, and the Movado Bold Evolution square has that white museum dial. Size the bracelet so one finger slides between clasp and wrist, with links removed evenly from both sides.

A strap changes a gold case more than people expect. On leather, only the case shines, and the watch suddenly belongs with jeans and a sweater. If bracelets feel too dressed up for a Tuesday, I would look here.

 

Black is the sharpest option. The Coach Elliot is a 36mm round gold case with a black dial on a black strap, and the Coach Reese is a 24mm rectangle that sits closer to the wrist bone. The Michael Kors Essex has a gold dial and a croc-embossed black strap in a 26mm by 36mm case, and the Fossil Raquel is a small 18mm rectangle with a white dial on black, which I would pair with a black turtleneck.

 

Tan and brown read warmer and softer. The Michael Kors Slim Runway is a 38mm round case with a white dial on luggage leather, the Bulova Jackie on tan is the same tiny 18mm square from the bracelet edit, and the Skagen Hagen is a 22mm rectangle with a white dial on a tan strap. The Timex has roman numerals on a brown croc-embossed strap, and it says quartz in the name. Quartz is the more accurate movement, according to Longines.

 

Before you buy, check the strap width against the case and bend it in the store or at home: a strap that is stiff at the lugs will sit away from your wrist.

 

What I would skip: a leather strap for rainy commutes and swim days. Leather and water do not get along, and the bracelet versions are better for that.

The shape most of these watches borrow was drawn in 1917, when Louis Cartier looked at Renault FT-17 tanks and designed a watch with a tight square case and lugs at all four corners. Cartier's first six Tanks reached the shop in late 1919 and were gone by mid-January of the next year. I mention it because a small gold square is still the quickest way to make a watch look deliberate.

 

The smallest ones are the most jewelry-like. The Bulova Marc Anthony Harmony is a 14mm square on a gold bracelet, almost a charm, and the Tory Burch Kira is 18mm. The Bulova Sutton is a 23mm square with a champagne dial, and the Timex Addison, also 23mm, has roman numerals.

 

The Olivia Burton soft square is a 28mm case with rounded corners and a champagne dial, and the Coach Cass at 28mm has a cream dial. For something closer to the Tank's rectangle, the Movado Heritage Series 1917 is 25mm by 34.1mm with a white dial, and the Citizen Bianca is a 29.4mm by 21.5mm rectangle with roman numerals.

 

Test the legibility before you commit. Hold your wrist at the angle you see it at a desk and check that you can read the time in one glance. Then look at the lugs: on a small wrist, the case should not overhang the sides.

 

What I would skip: the very smallest square if you read the time all day. At 14mm it is a lovely detail, and a fiddly way to check a meeting.

Check the product page before you check the shine. The FTC's consumer guide says solid gold is karat gold that is not hollow, and that gold plate is a layer on a base metal that eventually wears away. Gold-tone describes a color, not the metal, so I read the words around it. I went deeper on a related idea in Gold Chain for Women: Read the Karat Stamp Before You Fall for the Shine.

 

Two-tone is the sensible answer to that, because the gold sits in the bezel, the center links or the case, and the steel does the rest. The Michele Deco Park is labeled 18K gold plated, with roman numerals in a 23mm by 29mm case. The Raymond Weil Tango has a gold bezel around a silver dial at 30mm, and the Movado BOLD Evolution is a 34mm round white dial with a gold case.

 

For something smaller, the Tory Burch Eleanor is a 19mm rectangle with a gold case on a two-tone bracelet, and the Bulova Classic Sutton has a mother-of-pearl dial in a 21mm by 31.5mm case. The Seiko Essentials is a 22mm tonneau with roman numerals, the Citizen Corso is a 28mm round with a date on Eco-Drive, and the Skagen Mellem Lille is a stainless rounded square with a silver dial.

 

Two-tone also plays well with the rest of your jewelry: silver rings and gold earrings both look intentional next to it.

 

What I would skip: a two-tone watch where the gold is only a thin line on the case. If you want warmth against your skin, the gold should be a big enough section that you can see it from across a table.

In 1868 a Hungarian countess, Countess Koscowicz, asked Patek Philippe for a jewel to set on a bracelet, and what she got was a miniature timepiece. Patek Philippe says it was the first Swiss wristwatch, and it is in the museum in Geneva. A watch that doubles as a bangle is the oldest idea in this edit.

 

The Movado Bold Bangle has a hinged open cuff around a 28mm round face, and the Museum Bangle is an oval white dial, 22mm by 26mm, on a slim gold band. The Ferragamo Gancini is the smallest, an 18mm square dial on a hinged bangle that I would wear alone, and the Fossil Sloan has an oval cream dial on a hinged gold bangle at 25mm.

 

For more sparkle, the Citizen Eco-Drive bangle has a round black dial on a twisted gold band set with crystals. The Calvin Klein Twisted Bezel is a 24mm oval gold dial in a slim open bangle, and the Michael Kors Georgie is the one with a wide gold mesh cuff and a 22mm square dial. The Coach Cadie, at 17.5mm by 28.5mm, is the chain-link option for anyone who likes the bracelet effect.

 

A bangle has no links to remove, so the wrist test matters more. Measure your wrist before you shop, then slide a hand through the way you would to take it off, and check that the hinge closes without pinching. For the chain-link Cadie, the one-finger rule still applies.

 

What I would skip: a wide cuff with a long sleeve you need to push up every few minutes. It will catch on knit cuffs, which is most of October.

I would go in this order. Pick the strap first: link bracelet for a dressed look, leather for jeans. Then pick the case shape, and a small square or rectangle is my pick, because it looks like jewelry on a wrist.

 

Read the label next. Gold-tone, plated and karat gold mean different things, so I would buy the one whose page says plainly which it is. Then decide on the movement: quartz for accuracy and no fuss, or an automatic only if you are happy to service it every three to five years.

 

Last, size it with one finger. If a queen could order a wristlet to measure in 1810, you can have a few links taken out. Keep the little gold square, and wear it with a knit and a blazer.