The iOS 17 Control Center allows you to ping your Apple Watch to make it easy to find.
Here’s how:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap Control Center, swipe down, then tap the “+” icon next to Ping My Watch.
- When you want to ping your Apple Watch, swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone to open Control Center, then tap the watch icon.
Note: If you have more than one Apple Watch, the sound will play on the watch that’s selected in All Watches in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
(This how-to is based on my experiences and info on Apple’s support pages.)