Engagement watches: celebrate the moment with a gift

Left, Tank Louis Cartier watch in yellow gold, £11,170, by Cartier and right, 5905R-001 watch in rose gold with brown sunburst dial, £59,050, by Patek Philippe. Set design throughout: Gemma Tickle

(Image credit: Peter Langer)

By Hannah Silver

published 4 December 2022

in Features

As the big white wedding falls out of favour, so the marking of a matrimonial moment takes an untraditional turn. More and more couples are eschewing the symbolism of an engagement ring for something a little more functional. In a romantic riff on a lifetime of love, an engagement watch is both a practical and chic token, with the added bonus of making for a sensible investment in a shared future. The sentiment is encapsulated by a host of watch brands that have woven romantic references into their 2022 releases, bringing contemporary elegance to classic forms with dials in unexpected hues, off-centre markings and modern silhouettes.

Engagement watches for the apple of your eye

Breguet watch beside apples — Classique Calendrier 7337 watch in rose gold, £39,300, by Breguet

Cartier has brought a traditional design up to date in this year’s Tank Louis Cartier model, using new engraving technology to sketch a classic geometric pattern on the dial. The pattern, which first debuted in the 1980s, creates an optical illusion of depth and colour, adding a dash of deep red to a morning suit. Icier tones are the order of the day in the Bell & Ross BR X5, with its frosty new hue and arresting case architecture making it a sporty accessory for a winter wedding. There’s a bold freshness to Omega’s new Aqua Terra collection, which casts dials in a rainbow of colours. Crafted from brass, the sun-brushed terracotta dial is as dazzling as a diamond, an effect given a hypnotic twist in Patek Philippe’s 5905R-001, where the glossy brown of the sunburst dial fades, almost imperceptibly, to black.

Jaeger-LeCoultre watch beside a row of knives and an apple — Reverso Classic Duoface Small Seconds watch in pink gold, £20,700, by Jaeger-LeCoultre

If something blue is still calling, Tudor’s sporty Royal model is imbued with the traditional hue, while Gerald Charles colours the distinctively shaped dial of the Maestro GC 3.0 chronograph in an inkier tone. For nuptial novelty, look no further than Vacheron Constantin’s Malte Manual-Winding watch, which nods to a century of watchmaking heritage with its tonneau-shaped case. For those who want to switch it up between ceremony and reception, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso Classic Duoface flips between two options, its art deco aesthetic staying faithful to the characteristic design of the original 1931 piece. The classic clean face is also rethought by Breguet, which has imbued the Classique Calendrier 7337 with a poetic practicality, a moonphase symbolising the perfect marriage of function and form.

A version of this article appears in the December 2022 Entertaining Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

watches and apples — Malte Manual-Winding watch in 18k pink gold with alligator strap, £25,200, by Vacheron Constantin

Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers, viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels.