Ebel Classic Ladies offers two-tone and single tone watches that underscore what Classic Gents collection stated, and sometimes restate it in a more effective way. Classic Ladies watches rely on as few components as possible, seeking to simplify, and achieve a miniature yet monumental design that will last for ages. Allusion to architectural principles of simplicity, clarity of design and openness to light continue to dominate the collection, making only some minor concessions in the black models.

Simplification of design continues in the way Ebel use materials, especially the entirely gold or stainless steel models. These watches, explicitly single-tone, allow the lines to reverberate and make a stylistic statement that breaks the limits of watchmaking and design, and crosses over to the mainstream. This style takes a life of its own, exerts influence, and changes trends. Perhaps, all these evolutions can be simply expressed in the one word that already describes the collection: “classic.”

Classic Ladies dials vary in configuration from almost entirely vacant, only with diamonds or gold cabochons marking the hours, to elaborate, where Roman numerals, a date aperture and a seconds hand forbid from calling the watch “minimalistic.” In the minimal version, the “Ebel” logo acts as a visual anchor (echoed by the “Swiss Made” inscription on the bottom) role. The black dials, in my opinion, are too heavy, and lose some of the vitality of the light crème and white variations.

Materials

The range of materials can't be considered limited: stainless steel, red gold, yellow gold, sapphire crystal, mother-of-pearl, and diamonds are all used in this collection. Most Ebel Classic Ladies watches employ at least several of these materials, but not all benefit from it; I think that the timepieces with the most punch are those without diamonds altogether, where a ring of steel describes the bezel – in a move that may seem like austere defiance. I like austere defiance.