Collection: Women's Watches

Women’s watches, from petite to everyday

Women’s watches here run from 16 mm Bulova Goddess of Time cases up to 38 mm, across Citizen, Bulova and Caravelle. Almost all are quartz or Citizen Eco-Drive, so they keep time without being worn, and the real differences between them are size, shape and finish.

Pick a size first

• Under about 24 mm: jewellery-sized watches such as Bulova’s Goddess of Time and Sutton rectangles, the 18.4 mm Citizen Fio and Caravelle’s Petite Oval. They’re gathered on small women’s watches.
• About 26 to 32 mm: the everyday middle, with the 27 mm Citizen Corso, Bulova Rubaiyat and many Citizen L models.
• 33 mm and up: a bolder look, such as the 37 mm Citizen Calendrier with its moon phase, the 36.5 mm Citizen Promaster diver and the 34.5 mm Bulova Sutton automatic.

Steel, gold-tone or mother of pearl

Match the watch to the jewellery you already wear: gold-tone with yellow gold, steel with silver or white metals, two-tone if you wear both. Women’s gold-tone watches holds the warm side of the range. Mother-of-pearl dials turn up in all three brands, from Bulova Sutton and Rubaiyat to Citizen L and Caravelle, and they’re collected on women’s mother of pearl watches.

Bracelet, bangle or strap

A steel bracelet is the most practical choice for every day, and it’s sized by removing links until it sits with about a finger’s width of room. Leather is softer and dressier, and suits a watch you’ll keep dry. A few designs blur the line between watch and jewellery, such as the 23 mm Citizen Axiom, a crystal-set case on a slim steel bangle.

Movement and water

Most women’s watches here are quartz, and a large share are Citizen Eco-Drive, which charges from any light and never needs a battery. A few are automatics, such as the Bulova Sutton with an open heart that shows the balance beating.

Many dress watches are rated 30 metres, which covers splashes and rain, so take them off to swim. If the watch will go in the pool, look for 50 metres or more: the Citizen Corso and Bulova Prestige are rated to 100, and the smaller Citizen Promaster divers to 200.

Questions

Can I see one brand at a time? Yes. Citizen watches for women and women’s Bulova watches each go through that brand’s lines in more detail.

What if it’s a gift? Look at what she wears now. The metal of her jewellery and the size of her current watch get you most of the way.

Will I need to change a battery? With quartz, every few years. Citizen Eco-Drive never needs one, and an automatic has no battery at all.