On Her Watch: How luxury watchmakers are diversifying women’s timepiece sizes, from Chanel’s J12 Wanted De Chanel and Patek Philippe’s Calatrava, to Vacheron Constantin’s Les Royaumes Aquatiques
- In the fifth of our six-part series on women’s watches, we look at how brands are diversifying their female-friendly offerings – beyond simply creating versions of men’s novelties with smaller dials
- Patek Philippe’s Calatrava has added a moonphase and the Rolex Oyster Perpetual has pink detailing, but the ultimate women’s design might be Chanel’s Mademoiselle Privé Bouton secret watch
It’s one of my pet peeves: a luxury watch brand launches a women’s collection, unveiling a line that is identical to their men’s novelties, just with smaller dials. The design of the watch may have some appeal, but if the watches didn’t delight in a larger size, they will not be attractive to women just because they’ve been shrunk.
When I view these women’s novelties, I am struck by how cursory the efforts have often been for what is a growing market. Of course, the watch industry isn’t the only one guilty of this – female sneakerheads will have noticed long ago that men’s trainers have far more varied designs and colourways.
But spending US$20,000 on a luxury timepiece is very different to picking out US$200 shoes. I expect to see elements that make a watch more feminine beyond its size, while it should also boast worthy complications.