COLOUR TAKES SHAPE IN THE PATEK PHILIPPE GONDOLO LADIES FIRST

The Patek Philippe Gondolo Ladies First returns with six new jewellery watches, revisiting the rounded geometry of the 2009 Ladies First Chronograph, Reference 7071. The collection pairs an Art Deco-inspired cushion-shaped case with diamond-set opaline dials or diamond pavé and coloured gemstone hour markers. A quartz calibre keeps the proportions slim and provides the convenience of a watch that requires no winding, while the articulated lugs help the case follow the wrist.

The Ladies First name carries a particular place in Patek Philippe’s recent history. In 2009, the Manufacture introduced its first in-house, hand-wound chronograph movement in a watch designed for women. The new collection takes its visual cues from that reference, retaining the relationship between a softly rounded square case and the circular arrangement of the dial. Its focus shifts to a two-hand display, with gem-setting and colour giving each version its character.

The Gondolo’s wider history provides the context for these forms. Associated with Patek Philippe’s designs for the Brazilian market during the Art Deco era, the family has encompassed cushion, rectangular, square, and tonneau cases. A ladies’ Gondolo from the 1990s also informed the design of the Twenty~4. The new models continue this exploration of shaped watches, with fully polished gold cases measuring 31 x 34.8 mm and 8.03 mm thick. Rounded contours and articulated lugs are intended to improve wearing comfort, while each watch has a solid case back and water resistance to 30 m.

The three References 7043 centre their design on an opaline dial embossed with concentric waves. Faceted, applied gold hour markers give the surface a geometric counterpoint, accompanied by small gold cabochon markers and tapered, leaf-shaped hands. Around the dial, a sloping flange holds 108 diamonds totalling 0.41 carats. The stones graduate in size to follow its contours, with grain settings that keep the surrounding metal discreet.

Reference 7043G-001 frames a blue-grey opaline dial in polished white gold. The embossed waves introduce texture beneath the white gold markers and leaf-shaped hands, while the diamond-set flange traces the dial’s perimeter. A matching blue-grey calfskin strap carries an embossed denim pattern and contrasting white stitching, bringing a familiar textile reference to the gold and diamond composition. The strap is secured by a white gold prong buckle.

The chestnut opaline dial of Reference 7043R-001 extends the warmer palette of its rose gold case. Applied rose gold markers and matching leaf-shaped hands sit above the concentric wave pattern, with the 108 diamonds on the flange defining its outer edge. The chestnut calfskin strap repeats the denim texture of the blue-grey model, this time with cream stitching and a rose gold prong buckle.

Reference 7043GR-001 places greater emphasis on the interplay between the two gold alloys. Its white gold case is fitted with rose gold lugs and crown, while a silvery opaline dial carries rose gold hour markers and hands. The different metals remain visible around the diamond-set flange, giving definition to the case and its articulated attachments. A grained beige calfskin strap, secured by a white and rose gold prong buckle, completes the composition.

The three Joaillerie references extend the diamond-setting across the case, lugs, and dial. Each watch carries 687 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 3.11 carats, including 23 on the buckle. Of the remaining stones, 253 cover the case and lugs, 108 follow the dial flange, and 303 form concentric circles across the dial centre. Graduating the stones’ sizes allows the setting to follow both the curved exterior and the circular dial pattern.

Colour enters through 12 trapeze-cut gemstone hour markers, held in gold settings that allow light to pass through the stones. The leaf-shaped white gold hands receive a matching colour treatment through Atomic Layer Deposition, or ALD, linking the hour-and-minute display to the gemstones and straps.

Blue topaz hour markers punctuate the diamond-paved dial of Reference 7043/250G-001. The white gold case continues the setting across its curved surfaces and lugs, while blue-treated hands carry the colour towards the dial centre. A glossy peacock-blue alligator strap with square scales extends the palette beyond the case, fastening with a white gold prong buckle set with 23 diamonds.

Reference 7043/250R-001 combines a rose gold case with 12 green tsavorite hour markers. Their trapeze-cut outlines stand against the concentric diamond setting, with green-treated white gold hands echoing their colour. The glossy green alligator strap reinforces this focus, while its rose gold prong buckle carries the diamond-setting through to the fastening.

Purple amethysts define the dial of Reference 7043/250GR-001, which brings white and rose gold together in the case. Purple-treated white gold hands repeat the colour of the 12 gemstone markers against the diamond pavé. A glossy, hand-stitched purple alligator strap with square scales completes the watch, secured by a diamond-set white and rose gold prong buckle.

Patek Philippe undertakes the diamond-setting in its own ateliers, where setters work with gem microscopes. Its selection criteria cover clarity, colour, proportions, and finish, connecting the appearance of the completed watch to the quality of the stones and the precision of their placement.

All six new watches use the E15 quartz calibre, a movement measuring 15 x 13mm and 1.8 mm thick. It comprises 57 parts and 6 jewels, operates at 32,768 Hz, and has an approximate battery life of three years when fitted with a new battery. Patek Philippe states that electronic components account for 20 per cent of the movement, with the remaining 80 per cent manufactured in the same way as components for its mechanical calibres. The mechanical components also receive the Manufacture’s finishing attention.

The choice of quartz supports the collection’s design brief, conceived from Thierry Stern’s wish to offer women an easy-to-wear jewellery watch. Its thinness helps preserve the case profile, while the hour-and-minute display leaves room for the dial’s waves or diamond patterns.

The six new references join two Haute Joaillerie models introduced in 2016, whose white or rose gold cases are paired with bracelets incorporating 79 Akoya pearls. The launch also introduces Patek Philippe’s “IAM. I WEAR.” campaign, developed by Leagas Delaney in London and accompanied by a short film directed by Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbet. Within the watches themselves, the connection to the earlier Ladies First is expressed through the case shape, now developed in opaline textures, coloured gemstones, and graduated diamond settings.