Patek Philippe’s Grand Exhibition has officially opened its doors in Milan, and in addition to the more than 500 timepieces on show, as well as archival and artisanal wonders, there’s a suite of new additions to the catalogue in the form of the Patek Phillipe Gondolo Ladies First.

The Gondolo is a model with a long history in Patek Philippe’s archives, and an equally long influence. It’s also a model with a surprising point of origin — Brazil. A far cry from the quiet suburbs of Geneva, Brazil was home to the significant retailer Gondolo & Labouriau. Wristwatches bearing the Gondolo name first appeared in 1910, rectangular and tonneau-shaped Art Deco-inspired designs made for the Brazilian market. Fast-forward to 1993, and Patek Philippe formally established the Gondolo collection in its own right, as a selection of shaped watches — with strong geometry and a range of offerings covering everything from the comparatively simple through to the gloriously complex (such as the legendary Ref. 5200G) and opulent, like the curvy Gondolo Serata. More recently still, the worlds of opulence and complexity combined in the 2009 Gondolo Ladies First, a high-end chronograph made with the woman’s wrist firmly front of mind.

Today, the soft, rounded edges of the square Gondolo case return in a series of design-led jewellery watches that, according to Patek Philippe, are the result of “President Thierry Stern’s desire to offer women an easy-to-wear jewellery watch perfectly aligned for an age of informed and mindful choices”. It’s another solid string to the watchmaker’s bow of women’s watches, which already includes the everyday-oriented Twenty~4 and the more extravagant Aquanaut Luce models. It also coincides with a new campaign “I AM. I WEAR”, which centres women in the narrative of Patek Philippe.

But how about the models? The six new references are divided into three models: Ref. 7043G-001, Ref. 7043R-001 and Ref. 7043GR-001 with gem-set dials, and three Joaillerie models,  Ref. 7043/250G-001, Ref. 7043/250R-001 and Ref. 7043/250GR-001.

Regardless of the reference, all models are made for real-world wrists, measuring 31 by 34.8mm, sitting 8.03mm off the wrist, and, as is now typical, rated for 30M of water resistance. Cases are a variety of gold, depending on the model, and all watches display hours and minutes and are powered by the quartz E15 calibre, fitting the brief of easy-to-wear.

For all these watches, but especially the Joaillerie models, the case and calibre serve as a platform for the decorative art of stone-setting. The Joaillerie pieces are all fully set, case and dial, with 687 brilliant-cut diamonds, with trapezoid-shaped hour markers of blue topaz (Ref. 7043/250G-001), green tsavorite (Ref. 7043/250R-001) and purple amethyst (Ref.7043/250GR-001). Of those 687 diamonds, 253 are on the case and lugs, while 108 sit on the flange of the dial, and the remaining 303 are set in a concentric spiral in the centre dial section. All these watches are beautiful, but Ref. 7043/250R-001is particularly noteworthy. With a white gold centre case and rose gold articulating lugs, and a matching two-tone dial, it adds some design drama to the sheer weight of the diamonds. Interestingly enough, these three references join two previous Haute Joaillerie models, released in 2016, which have bracelets made from Akoya pearls and diamonds.

Toning down the diamonds, but not completely doing away with them, are the white gold Ref. 7043G-001, the rose gold Ref. 7043R-001 and the rose and white gold Ref. 7043GR-001. These follow the same formula as their more highly set siblings, but offer a more casual approach, with only the dial flange diamond-set and the inner dials in blue grey, chestnut, or white opaline, respectively. The straps are more everyday too;: the bright glossy alligator is replaced with calfskin in Patek Philippe’s now-customary denim pattern or, in the case of the silver opaline two-tone model, full-grain calf in a buttery beige tone.

These six new additions to Patek Philippe’s women’s assortment do an excellent job of honouring the Gondolo’s rich legacy, while offering an attractive, highly decorative yet functional watch. Not everything needs high complication and drama. Sometimes wearability smothered in hundreds of diamonds is enough.