Every Dazzling Detail of the Newest and Best Diamond Watches
The latest incarnation of diamond watches may have shrunk but they make up for it with an added heft of diamond carat weight.
Hublot Big Bang Impact One Million Diamond Watch. (Courtesy of Hublot)
Trends for watches tend to move slowly. Perhaps because so much emphasis lies behind the face. But at this year’s Watches & Wonders fair, natural diamond watches took center stage and quickly dominated the conversation. The prevailing desire is for a leaner, but not meaner, and definitely a diamond-covered watch.
This is more than simply a “shrink it and pink it” stereotype where men’s watches get tiny, bedazzled, and pastel for the girls. No, everyone is drawn to this new dainty and sparkling timepiece. With style stars like Colman Domingo and Jacob Elordi sporting classically feminine styles, this trend is unsurprising. What might be surprising is how very wearable diamond watches can be.
Meet the Experts
Pierre Rainero is Cartier’s Image, Style, and Heritage Director. He has held the prestigious title for over two decades. Rainero has been tasked with preserving the legendary jeweler’s visual and artistic identity while ensuring its enduring relevance. He serves as a guardian of the brand, connecting Cartier’s revered history with its creative present.
Coralie Charriol is the CEO and Creative Director of the Swiss luxury watch and jewelry brand, Charriol. Charriol was founded in 1983 by her father, Philippe Charriol, who had spent 15 years working with Cartier. She began running Charriol, her family’s company, after the death of her father in 2019. She works with designers to create and refine the brand’s jewelry collections.
Cartier’s Mysterious New Diamond Watches
Craftsmanship in watchmaking and jewelry making is at the heart of Cartier’s brand. But according to Cartier CEO, Louis Ferla, the third part of this winning formula is their role as a merchant. The Maison anticipates the market again with Myst de Cartier, a play on the word mystery. Is it a bangle, a watch, vintage, or brand new? The answer is yes. Pierre Rainero, Director of Image, Style, and Heritage, explains: “The new Myst de Cartier is all about volume and movement. Its design follows in the footsteps of the jewelry watches created under the direction of Jeanne Toussaint in the 1930s, pieces that were both sculptural and flamboyant.”
The diamond watches have no clasp; they are strung together like beads. The diamonds themselves use a bead setting with varying diamond sizes to create perspective. Artisans spend over 30 hours setting the diamonds. The yellow gold version is set with 634 brilliant-cut diamonds (6.13 ct), and the lacquered dial is paved with 47 snow-set brilliant-cut diamonds (0.35 ct) surrounded by onyx. For an even icier effect, the white gold diamond watches feature 986 brilliant-cut diamonds (9.15 ct) and the dial is paved with 45 snow-set brilliant-cut diamonds (0.37 ct). Sculptural, wearable, and definitely red carpet-bound.
Chanel’s Diamond Watches Are a Secret From Mademoiselle, Herself
The camelia was a personal icon of Gabrielle Chanel, something she stole from the lapels of the dandies of her day, much like she borrowed suiting separates from the boys and tailored for herself. At the intersection of haute couture and haute horlogerie, Chanel’s diamond watches are much more than meets the eye. The collection, Noeud de Camelia, comprises four secret watches and a ring.
The cuff features black gold piping alongside the snow setting to represent the grosgrain ribbons of the Maison. The flower at the center conceals a high-precision quartz movement. The white gold dial features 68 brilliant-cut diamonds and 105 brilliant-cut diamonds surround the 1-carat brilliant-cut diamond in the center of the flower. The bow and band of the cuff showcase 986 brilliant-cut diamonds, also in a snow-setting. Not surprisingly, these diamond watches are limited to five.
Charriol: The Original Diamond Stacking Star
CEO and Creative Director Coralie Charriol is more than a typical watch and jewelry enthusiast. As a mother, photographer, producer, and even surfer, she leads a busy, layered life that informs how she approaches her craft. You’d be forgiven for mistaking the brand’s latest novelty, which seamlessly combines a tennis bracelet and timepiece, as a new launch. As timely as it is, the original St. Tropez was launched in 1989 and designed by her father, Philippe Charriol.
Ms. Charriol describes the moment, saying, “It was born from the desire to create a timepiece to match the flair and irresistible allure of French style and summertime splendor…and was really an underdog at the time, but it’s one of the watches that has stood the test of time.” Invisibly set diamonds on the watch with a full diamond tennis bracelet attached.
This year’s St. Tropez 30 is white gold, with a tennis bracelet featuring 8.5 carats of baguette-cut diamonds; 11 diamonds surround the mother-of-pearl dial, and the chain features 5 additional carats of diamonds. Ms. Charriol sums it up, stating that, “French style will always be loved, it’s as modern and chic now as it was when it launched.”
Chopard’s Hour for Diamond Watches Is Now
Aptly named L’Heure du Diamant, Chopard’s collection of diamond watches receives an update with a reference to the past. Crafted in 18-carat ethical white gold, the cushion-shaped watch pays homage to a design of the Scheufele family from the 1960s. With the current desire for vintage, the launch is right on time. The fluted gold link bracelet meets a bezel set with 27 pear-shaped diamonds. With a 30.5 mm diameter, the watch flatters any size wrist, powered by Chopard’s self-winding movement and 42-hour power reserve.
Hermès and the Trend-Bucking Cape Cod Diamond Watches
Nostalgia for the ’90s isn’t all that the Hermès Cape Cod has going for it. First launched in 1991, these diamond watches have weathered trends better than most. Long prized by both men and women for the seamless way these watches fit into a sophisticated wrist stack, the latest iteration of the Cape Cod is smaller than its predecessors, measuring 27 x 20 mm in its signature square-within-a-rectangle case. It features a single or double goatskin strap, known as Doré Chamkilight. On-trend yellow gold is accented with 46 diamonds set along the “anchor.”
Hublot’s Big Bang Lives Up to Its Name
While this brand’s price tags may preclude it from being relatable, it certainly knows how to inspire. The Big Bang Impact One Million marks the 10th anniversary of the style. The setting technique alternates between baguette and fancy-cut diamonds, radiating from the central flying tourbillon, which powers the sparkling timepiece. 500 diamonds of nearly 45 carats highlight the skeletonized movement. The watch has a 45 mm case to support the breadth of its craftsmanship, and, while extra-large from some points of view, swimming against the tide of smaller timepieces, it certainly has universal appeal. It should go without saying, this is a one-of-one for someone very lucky.
Jaeger-Lecoultre Flip and Reverso It
Brands often turn to nature for springtime launches, but the specificity of Hawaii’s tropical beauty inspired Jaeger Le-Coultre’s latest, entitled La Vallée des Merveilles™, or Valley of Wonders. Painting with layers of enamel and diamonds, a hummingbird lands on a hibiscus flower. The face reverses to showcase a mother-of-pearl dial. The watch features 719 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling over 8 carats. Each timepiece requires over 100 hours of gem-setting for the case and an additional 60 hours for the diamond bracelet version; only 2 or 3 diamonds can be set per hour due to the meticulous snow-setting. The edition of diamond watches is limited to 20 pieces.
Patek Philippe’s Nautical Elegance
The Nautilus is one of the best-loved Patek Philippe watches for collectors of any stripe. For the 50th anniversary of the model, the brand hews close to the model’s identity, launching four limited-edition versions, the one above in 41mm in white gold with diamond baguettes as markers. It features a composite strap, which emphasizes the watch’s sporty, elegant status amongst diamond watches.
Piaget’s 1960s Vibe Is the Future
A name synonymous with the swinging ’60s and sexy ’70s, Piaget and its Polo watch model have experienced a frenzy of interest in young collectors in the vintage market. The brand has deepened its commitment to this visual DNA with the Sixties, originally launched in 2025, a jewelry watch model that references the geometry of the era. Jean-Claude Gueit pioneered Piaget’s designs in the 1960s and 1970s, melding what timepieces and jewelry could mean. This year’s white-gold version is a retro-futuristic take on diamond watches.
A Big Sparkling Anniversary for Rolex
The fineness of the materials used by Rolex is famous. The brand has even prioritized ownership in gold mines to ensure the finest quality. The Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40 launched in 18 ct. Jubilee Gold, a proprietary alloy that is neither yellow nor rose: it just glows. The light green aventurine dial and shimmering diamond markers perfectly enhance its soft shine and modest scale, making it a bold but unisex choice. This year marks 100 years of the Oyster, Rolex’s first waterproof wristwatch, and judging by the traffic following its launch, another 100 years are guaranteed to be bright.
A Fairy Tale for Van Cleef & Arpels Diamond Watches
If Lady Rencontre Céleste sounds like a princess, you wouldn’t be far off. The jewelry and watchmaking Maison Van Cleef & Arpels has written many fairy tales through its savoir-faire. The lady who inspires this watch portrays a couple with their hands clasped, beneath a diamond-studded sky. The diamonds are ingeniously set in plique-à-jour enamel, an incredibly difficult and time-sensitive process that the Maison has engineered for its high-jewelry diamond watches. Layers of blue enamel in different shades, studded with diamonds, create a dimensional and romantic setting that is a fitting next chapter for the couple Van Cleef & Arpels has followed for years.
Zenith’s Passion for Innovation in Diamond Watches
Never one to take the easy road, Zenith’s latest diamond watches feature a case body crafted in tantalum, one of the most difficult metals to work with due to its extraordinary density and high melting point. The onyx central dial, with a brick-patterned guilloché outer ring, pairs with 11 baguette-cut diamond indexes. Limited to 20 pieces, each timepiece arrives with a blue nubuck alligator strap, a black alligator strap, or a grey calfskin strap, ensuring these diamond watches fit any occasion or time of day.
