And the Favorite Ladies' Watch of 2006 is ...

In 2005 the favorite ladies' timepiece was Girard Perregaux's Cats Eye. In 2006 one of the most known names in the world of Haute Horlogerie, Patek Philippe, has won the Grand Prix in the nomination The Favorite Ladies' Watch. Its creation Gondolo Gemma proved to be elegant enough to win women's hearts.

Patek Philippe introduced this new model into Gondolo collection and it proved to be more then successful. The watch has a recognizable design specific to the personality of the Swiss watchmaking company. The design of the new Gondolo Gemma came up from an old 1933 watch from Patek Philippe. The Gondolo Gemma, which from Italian is translated as "gem", comprises a new look, which is a combination of retro and modern styles.

The timepiece has a special shape of both dial and sapphire crystal glass. Its mother-of-pearl dial has an elegant guilloche patter. Exclusively for this model's strap the designers from Patek Philippe developed a pin buckle which in the end has the function of outlining the new shape of Gemma's case.

The new timepiece is created for those women that are passionate about distinctiveness and originality. This is why it is obviously not a surprise that the company has won the Favorite Ladies' Watch prize since almost all women want to be original and unrepeatable. There are two versions of this model: one includes a mechanical and the other one quartz movement.

Paying attention to the specific characteristics of the watch there should be outlined several facts. The case is enriched with not less than 72 diamonds, each having about 0.92 carats. The alligator strap is large rectangular scales and its color is white gold, rose gold. Gondolo Gemma is also 25 meters water resistant. The case is available in white and rose gold.

The heart of the watch is Caliber 16-250. The mechanical movement has a 38 hours power reserve, 101 parts and 18 jewels. It is wounded by hand, its thickness is 2.50 mm and per hour it performs 28'800 vibrations. The original Gondolo Gemma has a Geneva Seal Mark.

Among winners in other categories there were: A.Lange and Sohne with its Tourbograph Pour le Merite won the Jury's Prize; Cartier with its Cartier Santos Mysterieuse won the Favourite Designer's Watch; TAG Heuer with its Carrera Calibre 360 won the Favorite Sports Watch Chopard with its L.U.C. Extra Plate won the Ultra-ThinWatch and Breguet with its Classique 5177 won Public's Prize for the lever and escape wheel made in silicon.