The new golden age of ladies’ watches

“I have heard many in the industry say that women are not interested in complicated watches, but that is not the problem. The problem is that watchmakers have not understood how to make complications interesting for women.” These are the words of Hamdi Chatti, Louis Vuitton’s vice-president of watches, who may have nailed the reason why it has taken a while for watchmakers to truly capture the hearts and minds of women. Louis Vuitton is among the brands that seem to have recently cracked the code.

The movement of the Tambour Monogram Tourbillon, for example – designed by La Fabrique du Temps, which was acquired by LVMH three years ago – employs a micro-rotor, not for reasons of compacting the movement in order to create a sleeker watch, as Patek Philippe does, but in order to provide an unobstructed view of the tourbillon cage from both front and back. Positioned in the traditional space at 6 o’clock, the cage is visible through sapphire crystals. The micro-rotor is thus strategically placed at the 12 o’clock position so that when it swings down, it doesn’t obstruct the full view of the tourbillon, as a regularly positioned oscillating weight would. The design of the cage and bridge are also significant. Each represents two petals of the Louis Vuitton floral motif (called the Lozine). Together, they show the full flower once every minute when the rotating tourbillon cage aligns crossways with the bridge. The result is a tourbillon mechanism that serves as a mobile motif, a secondary spectacle beyond the beauty of the tourbillon itself. “First we thought, what is the most beautiful complication? Then we thought, how can we make this interesting for women, and at the same time pay tribute to the spirit of Louis Vuitton?” says Chatti.

A feminine touch

Another brand that excels at harnessing technology in the service of ladies’ watch design is Breguet. The Reine de Naple is not only the pride of the brand as a canvas for adornment, but serves as the collection in which it showcases new mechanisms that are tweaked for ladies. The genius of the collection is the combination of these two elements to create something uniquely feminine. In 2010, a Reine de Naples Grande Complication minute repeater, for example, featured a diamond indicator in a window on the mother-of-pearl dial to indicate whether the strike is in the “on” position. The watch was also set with over three carats of diamonds. This year’s Day/Night uses a 24-hour disk to depict a highly decorated rendering of the day and night sky on a backdrop of lapis lazuli. Day is illustrated by clouds of white mother-of-pearl, while the night sky is dotted with gold stars and a titanium moon. The sun is represented by the faceted, engraved rim of the balance wheel. Other notable flourishes include the elegant coin-edge case side and a diamond-set flange (in addition to the bezel). Another nice feminine touch is the egg-shaped case, symbolizing the origin of life.

De Grisogono, a brand that has always catered to women with designs that stand apart as jewelry pieces that happen to tell time, gives us the Tondo Tourbillon, with a Concepto-made hand-wound movement with a micro-rotor. It is cased in a watch set with diamonds in colors to match the galuchat strap – a de Grisogono trademark. Colors include white, black or brown diamonds, with cases to match (white gold, PVD brown or PVD black).

Respect for women

Patek Philippe, another brand that has been paying tribute to women in recent years – creating a buzz when it introduced its new chronograph caliber 29-535 PS in a ladies’ diamond-studded watch in 2009 – continues on that path with this year’s Calatrava Moonphase 7121. In this case, Patek pays a different kind of respect for women, demonstrating that ladies’ models can also be watches of substance when it comes to the mechanicals, but can also be as understated as the men’s, in the classic Patek style. The subdued colors, limited to gold and cream, and classic officer’s style case demonstrate the confidence to appeal to women without excessive adornment – just as Patek does with men’s watches.

The Blancpain Chrono Grand Date similarly manages to convey with remarkable subtlety the many indications driven by the selfwinding caliber 26F8G, including hour and minute totalizers, date window and central seconds. Of course, this doesn’t mean the watch sacrifices adornment. In addition to the diamond bezel and dial, the rotor is shaped like a lotus flower, visible through the caseback. These are only a few among the ladies’ watches being made today that will have no trouble winning the hearts and minds of women.