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New feminine creations from Patek Philippe underline its impressive track record and savoir faire in creating watches for women

- Patek Philippe

Battle of the sexes? Sorry guys, but the score is even as far as Patek Philippe is concerned. Almost a decade ago in 2009, Patek Philippe debuted its much-anticipated in-house chronograph movement—not in a men’s watch which everyone expected, but in a new collection created exclusively for women.

Although connoisseurs will tell you that the chronograph’s interval time measurement feature is pretty much a “masculine” function; or that its movement construction is highly technical (and hence, again, more of a “guy thing”), Patek Philippe blindsided everyone with the appropriately named Ladies First Chronograph Ref 7071.

And it was a beautiful watch, too. Five years in the making, the in-house chronograph movement was a gorgeous mechanical labyrinth inside. Inspired by classic chronograph architecture, the hand-wound calibre CH 29-535 PS boasts six patents that enhance the feel of the chronograph activation. Each of the movement’s 269 components is painstakingly hand-finished, and it is now regarded by collectors as one of the most exquisite chronograph movements in modern history.