Don't be surprised to see this watch on someone who asks, "what's your sign?" Girard Perregaux took the logical next step in women's annual calendar watches and added a zodiac indicator in the Cat's Eye Annual and Zodiac Calendar timepiece. Girard Perregaux uses the beautiful oblong case and mother of pearl dial used in the Cat's Eye watch line and inserts a Girard-Perregaux GP033M0 automatic mechanical movement to display the time with small seconds), date, month, zodiac, and moonphase. It's a lot of information in the 35.25mm wide by 30.25mm tall case, all packed in neatly.

Crafted in 18k gold (white or pink), the oval case has a bezel that is set with 68 diamonds equaling about 0.68 carats. The dial is a carefully cut piece of mother of pearl (light or dark) with either pink or white gold hands, hour indexes, and other dial settings. Another diamond is placed on the face near the four o'clock position to appear like a star. Due to the oval shape of the case, the rear of the watch is attached via four screws, and is set with a see through sapphire crystal with a view into the movement.

I am particularly fond of horizontally oriented oval cases such as the one used here because they tend to flatter the wrist much more than a vertically oriented oval case (often done in tonneau shape). Horizontal watch case orientations seem to elongate the wrist visually and appear more graceful. With a clever calendar system and beautiful design, the Cat's Eye Annual and Zodiac Calendar is a fine addition to Girard Perregaux's women's watch line.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.