Patek Philippe Introduces the Gondolo Ladies First: Six New Cushion-Shaped Watches for Women

Today, Patek Philippe opens its “Watch Art” Grand Exhibition in Milan, and much of the attention will rightly go to the seven limited editions made for the occasion. But the same month brings a launch with a longer horizon. With the Gondolo Ladies First, the Manufacture is adding six new women’s watches to its current collection, and none of them is a limited edition.

Patek Philippe describes the collection as “a new chapter in women’s jewelry watches” and frames it as “a modern and colorful reinterpretation of the Manufacture’s heritage piece, the 2009 Ladies First Chronograph.” There are two families. Three Ref. 7043 models pair opaline dials with a diamond-set flange, and three Joaillerie Ref. 7043/250 models are set with 687 brilliant-cut diamonds and colored hour markers. (For the exhibition itself, our visitor’s guide to Watch Art Milan covers everything you need to plan a visit.)

The name carries two histories. Gondolo refers to Gondolo & Labouriau, whose partnership with Patek Philippe produced the “Chronometro Gondolo” timepieces, beginning with pocket watches in 1872 before expanding into wristwatches. Today the Gondolo collection gathers what Patek calls its most elegant “form” watches, with rectangular and cushion-shaped cases that offer “a modern interpretation of the Art Deco movement.” Ladies First, meanwhile, nods to the 2009 chronograph that the new collection reinterprets.

On its Gondolo page, Patek says that unveiling the Gondolo Ladies First in October 2026 “confirms our commitment to offering women choices, with a wide array of styles, with diamond details or entirely gem-set, as well as both mechanical calibers and the convenience of quartz.” It is worth being precise here: all six Gondolo Ladies First models use the quartz caliber E15.

The Ref. 7043

The design brief, in Patek’s words, is a juxtaposition of “square and round forms, with an unmistakably modern yet retro spirit.” The fully polished cushion-shaped case has softened edges and measures 31mm by 34.8mm and 8.03mm thick. Articulated lugs help it follow the wrist, and it is water-resistant to 30 meters with a solid caseback.

Each opaline dial is embossed with a pattern of concentric waves and framed by a dial flange set with 108 diamonds (0.41 ct), which the Manufacture likens to an amphitheater. Applied faceted trapeze-shaped hour markers, applied cabochons for the minute scale and leaf-shaped hands complete the face. Patek notes that the grain setting used on the flange is “almost invisible to the naked eye.”

The interplay is the point. On the rose gold version, Patek writes, the fire of the diamond-set flange is offset by the calming effect of the wave pattern on the opaline dial, “creating an eye-pleasing texture of rippling troughs and peaks.”

The three versions are distinguished by color and metal. The Ref. 7043G-001 sets a blue-gray opaline dial in white gold, worn on a blue-gray calfskin strap with a denim pattern and contrasting white stitching. The Ref. 7043R-001 is in rose gold with a chestnut opaline dial and a chestnut denim-pattern strap with cream stitching.

The Ref. 7043GR-001 mixes the two golds, with a white gold case, rose gold lugs and crown, a silvery opaline dial with rose gold markers, hands and diamond-set flange, and a grained beige calfskin strap. Each is listed at $37,510 on patek.com.

Inside all six is the E15, a quartz movement measuring 15mm by 13mm and just 1.8mm thick, with 57 parts and six jewels, running at 32,768 Hz on a 1.55V silver oxide battery. Patek gives a battery life of approximately three years. In our view, quartz is the right call for a watch built for everyday wear.

The Joaillerie Ref. 7043/250

The three Joaillerie models keep the same case and movement and set nearly every surface with stones. The dial is paved with 303 brilliant-cut diamonds, the flange carries another 108, the case and articulated lugs are set with 253, and the prong buckle adds 23. That makes 687 diamonds totaling 3.11 carats, with 12 trapeze-cut colored stones for the hour markers.

Patek says all of its gemsetting is done in the Manufacture’s own ateliers, where gemsetters work under special microscopes.

Color is what separates them. The white gold Ref. 7043/250G-001 has blue topaz hour markers and a shiny peacock blue alligator strap. The rose gold Ref. 7043/250R-001 pairs a rose gold dial with green tsavorite markers and a shiny green strap. The Ref. 7043/250GR-001 sets a rose gold dial with amethyst markers in a white gold case with rose gold lugs and crown, on shiny purple alligator. All three are listed at $68,768.

The launch comes with a new campaign, “I AM. I WEAR.,” which Patek says celebrates “the quiet confidence of women who know what they want.”

Our take: the Gondolo Ladies First is one of the most wearable women’s collections Patek Philippe has introduced in some time. Readers weighing it against the field can find it in good company in our guide to the best luxury watches for women.

Patek’s Grand Exhibitions are, by design, about the Manufacture’s past and its rarest pieces. The Gondolo Ladies First points the other way, toward the watch a woman might choose this season and wear every day after it.

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Adrienne Faurote

Editor in Chief · Haute Time

As a former New Yorker, now a “Miamian,” Adrienne Faurote joined Haute Living in August of 2021. She currently serves as the Haute Media Group Editor-in-Chief, overseeing all editorial platforms within the Haute Media Group while also maintaining her role as Fashion, Jewelry & Watch Director. Prior to her position at Haute Living, Faurote was the Market Editor at Marie Claire Magazine US, amassing over ten years in the industry, becoming an authoritative voice in all things fashion, jewelry, and watches.