Despite their resurging appeal, ring watches are nothing new, in fact, the first known ring watch is reported to have been made in the 1750s and, by the 1900s, Swiss watchmakers were able to create ring watches that could run for 46 hours without being wound.

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Today, Patcharavipa Bodiratnangkura, the Thai-born, London-based jeweller behind Rihanna’s customised 1970s King Midas Rolex watch, is the leading name behind the ring watch’s revival. With one of her latest collections, Bodiratnangkura has brought new life to five different Rolex watches from the 1960s and 1980s, embedding the dials into custom rings using her signature layered 18k Siam gold, and adding the Rolex crown winder on the side to keep its watch credentials intact. The La Toile, for example, a customised vintage Rolex precision ring watch from 1965, is crafted in yellow gold with dainty glass crystals covering the intricate face. Other designs, like the Beads and Signet watches, opt for white gold in a beautiful, textured finish that is both unexpected and wearable, too.

Chanel, the renowned French house that first stepped onto the horology scene in 1987, has also championed the trend in recent years, most notably at the 2022 edition of Watches and Wonders with the unveiling of the Mademoiselle Privé Bouton Golden Pearl Motif set – a trinity suite that included a necklace, ring and cuff bracelet with golden pearls as the centrepiece. Each of the 18k-gold-and-onyx designs disguises a secret watch, with the ring revealing a dial set with brilliant-cut diamonds, in a limited run of only five pieces.

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For a more accessible take on the trend, US-based watchmaker Fossil – founded in 1984 by Tom Kartsotis in Richardson, Texas – has debuted a staple collection of ring watches, available in a yellow and rose gold tone, as well as classic stainless steel. Each model flaunts a sunray dial, some trimmed with crystals, and a flexible bracelet-style band. Fossil also offers a playful interpretation courtesy of its new partnership with everyone’s favourite doll, Barbie. Carved in gold-tone stainless steel in a floral motif, the collaborative model sports a flexible band and a silver sunray dial, punctuated with a 1990s-era Barbie logo.

If it’s a covetable vintage option you’re after, auctions are your best bet, as shown at a recent sale at Christie’s. The star lot of the auction house’s Rare Watches sale in November was a glittering Jaeger-LeCoultre diamond and sapphire ring watch, powered by the world’s smallest mechanical movement, the famous Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 101. Described as “both a horological work of art and a captivating and impressive piece of jewellery”, the ring watch is pavé-set with white diamonds enclosing a tiny watch dial, with each end of the case set with a cabochon sapphire.