HIS AND HERS
Once separated by gender, watches are becoming ever-increasingly fluid
What does a women’s watch look like? What does a man’s watch look like, come to think of it? If you’re picturing some tiny bejewelled time-keeping bracelet for her and a chunky chronograph for him, your ideas need a little updating. Yes, women do, on average, have smaller wrists than men, they are comparatively more likely to buy jewelled watches, but all women do not like the same watches or cars any more than men do.
A confusing picture? The watch brands do often seem wrong-footed by customers’ refusals to be pigeonholed. Many companies, for example, do not label watches men’s and women’s at all. This is not related to modern debates about gender fluidity, more about how the watch market has developed along with the tastes of its target market.
When the renaissance of the luxury watch market got into full swing in the early 21st century, case sizes started to get big, really big. Years back you rarely saw watches bigger than 35/36mm across, suddenly people started wearing 50mm or more.
The gigantism has eased off slightly now, but watches are still massive compared with previous generations. The big watch trend was great for getting your watch choice noticed, but at the same time it left lots of smaller men, particularly in the Far East, sized out of the market. They instead turned to smaller watches traditionally worn by women. Smaller men wanted smaller watches, but didn’t want to shop in the ladies’ section – one reason for dropping the women’s label.
But it cuts both ways. As well as men buying women’s watches, we’ve seen increasing numbers of women buying men’s watches. The mechanical watch revival has reeled in lots of women who are equally interested in how a watch works as well as what it looks like, which is at the core of why the posh watch market even exists today.
The main reason luxury watches survived in the face of cheap quartz is that people appreciate clever, traditional machinery that can run indefinitely without the need for batteries. They like the tradition of watchmaking and are prepared to pay more for it. Yes the watch biz is also about glitz, style and getting noticed. But it is underpinned by an interest in craftsmanship and clever mechanical objects.
TUDOR BLACK BAY S&G
Tudor does actually have a section dedicated to women’s watches, with plenty of precious stones and case sizes as small as 26mm. But the watch pictured here is a mid-size model of the Steel & Gold version of Tudor’s incredibly popular retro-chic Black Bay diver. Bigger and smaller sizes are available, but at a sweet 36mm, pretty much anyone should be able to wear this version. Self-winding mechanical movement with 38-hour power reserve. Water resistant to 150m. Steel case with yellow-gold bezel, yellow-gold crown, five-link bracelet in steel and yellow gold. tudorwatch.com; £3,070
TAG HEUER AQUARACER
This watch has a diving helmet engraved on the back, and TAG Heuer is all about outdoor pursuits. Whatever your game, or your frame, this 36mm steel-cased Aquaracer should suit, with screw-down steel crown allowing a beefy 300m water resistance. With rotating ceramic bezel. tagheuer.com; £2,350
RADO TRUE SQUARE
Rado is known for experimenting with different materials, and this collaboration with ice cool industrial designer Tej Chauhan has a 38mm case in high-tech ceramic. It comes on a leather strap and the automatic movement with 80-hour power reserve is visible through the transparent caseback. rado.com; £1,640
CASIO G-SHOCK MINI
Fancy mechanicals are all very well, but if you really want a no-nonsense watch that won’t break – or break the bank – you can’t go wrong with a G-Shock. The MINI range is far from small, but shaving 3mm off the regular G-Shock’s 45mm case brings toughness within easier reach. g-shock.co.uk; £99.90