Zeppelin Friedrichshafen women's watch

This is a watch for someone who wants a dial with a bit more going on than the usual plain silver or gold face. Zeppelin built the Friedrichshafen 8537-5 around a white dial with a yellow, textured centre, and that pairing alone sets it apart from most women's watches in this range. Arabic numerals and blue hands keep the reading clear, while a moonphase display sitting right in the middle adds a small piece of mechanical charm that you don't find on every watch at this price point. At 36mm across, the case sits neatly on a narrow or medium wrist, not too bulky and not too delicate either. It suits a woman who likes to glance at her wrist and see something worth looking at twice.

The strap is dark red leather with a crocodile-embossed finish and contrast stitching, a detail that reveals itself once you look closely and gives the whole piece a more considered feel. Inside, Zeppelin fitted a Ronda quartz movement, a workhorse known for keeping time reliably without asking anything of you. The glass is mineral, so it stands up to daily knocks and scuffs without turning cloudy or scratched after a few weeks. Rated to 5 ATM, the watch handles rain, hand washing and the odd splash without any fuss, though it's not built for diving. White subdials for the chronograph functions break up the yellow centre nicely and add depth to the dial without making it busy or hard to read. The Friedrichshafen name itself nods to the German city where airship manufacturing once thrived, and that heritage runs quietly through the design, classic on the surface, with a bit more depth underneath.

Specifications

• Model: Friedrichshafen 8537-5
• Case: 36mm diameter, 10mm thick
• Movement: Ronda quartz
• Glass: mineral
• Strap: dark red leather with crocodile embossing
• Water resistance: 5 ATM

The Zeppelin 8537-5 suits a woman who wants a watch with a story behind it and a face that doesn't blend into the crowd. It moves easily between an ordinary Tuesday and a dinner where you want your wrist to match the rest of the outfit. Just don't take it swimming laps or wash your hands with the strap soaking wet, otherwise it asks very little of you and simply keeps running, day after day.