Patek Philippe has been creating refined watches for men since 1839, but even from its earliest days it has also had women in mind – and not by merely “shrinking and pinking” versions of men’s pieces, but by producing serious mechanical watches with sophisticated complications matched by graceful and stylish feminine design.

In fact, the first three watches recorded in the company archives (trading as Patek, Czapek & Cie) were sold to a fortunate “Madame Goscinska” in its founding year.  These would have been pendant watches, as much decorative jewellery as timekeepers, set with precious stones and maybe featuring the popular Genevan craft of miniature painting.

Another characterful client was the fashionable Countess Koscowicz of Hungary – an early influencer and style icon – who was the first to wear a timepiece fastened around her wrist after purchasing Patek Philippe’s debut wristwatch in 1868. Significantly made for a woman, this is a highly elaborate rectangular case containing a baguette movement, on a yellow gold bracelet, now in the Patek Philippe museum collection.

Almost two centuries later, women continue to play an important role. The Swiss company offers women the full range of complications, from harmonious minute-repeaters to useful dual time zones, moon-phases and annual calendars. And for 2025, Patek has introduced a perpetual calendar – one of the brand’s most emblematic Grand Complications – to the Twenty~4 line.

The Twenty~4 was launched in 1999 as Patek Philippe’s first exclusively feminine collection. The original model – still available – with its Art Deco-inspired “manchette” or cuff design, features a double-shafted, rectangular cambered case that smoothly follows the wrist’s contours for maximum comfort, powered by a quartz movement.

Then, in 2018 a contemporary reinterpretation was released, a round rose gold 36mm case and bracelet with discreet diamonds encircling the bezel and bold Arabic numerals, driven by an automatic movement. Now the collection is enhanced by the Ref. 7340, which features the rose gold case and bracelet and a perpetual calendar with – despite all the functions the timepiece offers – an elegantly slender silhouette, thanks to the ultra-thin self-winding movement.

Available in two versions, one with silver-tone dial, distinguished by its vertically and horizontally satin-brushed finish, references shantung silk fabrics, while the other’s sunburst olive-green dial complements the rose gold robing. With its day/date/month displays by hands and a poetic starry-eyed moon-phase aperture, it’s remarkable how there is so much going on, yet the dial remains uncluttered and highly legible. It’s typically Patek in its engineering over-delivery and design understatement.

Patek Philippe was the first watchmaker to create a perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1925 and has continued to include them in many of its collections. The perpetual calendar is guaranteed to run accurately until the year 2100 when the leap year will be skipped, meaning that the watch will require a slight adjustment – but that’s three-quarters of a century off. In the meantime (and beyond), owners can admire their beautifully crafted wrist machine capable of calculating the most complex mechanical algorithms.

£102,940; patek.com