To say we saw a lot of watches at BaselWorld 2013 is to say nothing at all, but there are always a few that really stick with us.  And with more or less a straight fifty-fifty split between boys and girls at the office, we’re not apt to ignore ladies’ watches either.  A couple of the ladies who work at Revolution actually have a marked preference for men’s watches (Rolex Daytonas are a big favorite) and the guys, including myself, love seeing a watch designed for women that’s more than just a men’s watch that’s had a few diamonds slapped on it and been left in the dryer too long.

One of the nicest women’s watches we have seen in years was presented by Omega –the Ladymatic Diamonds and Pearls high jewelry watch.  The Diamonds and Pearls watch is a seriously sophisticated and slinky piece of no-holds-barred luxury watchmaking –certainly, if you’re looking for a mechanical ladies’ dress watch with an in-house movement (the COSC certified chronometer co-axial escapement calibre 8521, with silicon balance spring) you’re going to be hard pressed to find one more horologically interesting.  (Any self-respecting watch enthusiast, male or female, owes it to themselves to have at least one watch with a co-axial escapement, and with a Roger Smith going for high five figures and the late lamented George Daniels no longer accepting commissions, Omega’s the way to go.)

The regular production Ladymatic watches are already head and shoulders above most of the rest of their competition, but what really puts this one over the top is the bracelet –it’s an incredibly elaborate construction, with 52 Akoya pearls, and 310 round brilliant diamonds mounted in cylindrical bracelet elements of 18k red gold, all interlinked in a way that allows the bracelet to feel as substantial yet supple in the hand as a bolt of Shantung silk.

I can’t imagine a woman who loves watches not loving this one.  Heck, I can’t imagine a guy who loves watches not loving it.