The Women’s Section

A few years ago, it was still unimaginable. Display cases turned mothers into seven-year-old girls—back when owning a pink Flik Flak gave life meaning. At Baselworld 2015, women have (at last) been given their own collections. And they cover the full spectrum, from precious to sporty, with complications and mechanical or automatic movements. “I think that women are definitively an important part of the future of mechanical watchmaking,” confirms Aldo Magada, CEO of Zenith. “Yet again this year, we’ve come to Baselworld with new models that meet the needs and desires of our female clientele.”

Zenith, who produced more women’s models than men’s models at one point in its history, is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a watch that combines glamour and fine workmanship: the Star 33 mm. Crafted from 18-karat white gold, its case houses the automatic Elite 681 movement. The dial, meanwhile, features a flower surrounded by blue leaves, whose center is not the customary axis of the hours and minutes hands, but that of the small seconds at 9 o’clock.

At Chopard, where women’s watch sales account for more than 65% of turnover, the new Happy Sport 30 mm Automatic leads Caroline Scheufele to explain: “We mustn’t forget that men are often the ones buying watches for their wives, and they prefer good mechanics.” It’s clear that Chopard’s Co-President and Artistic Director strongly supports the decision—which dates back to the 2013 36 mm model—to introduce the automatic movement into this iconic collection.

The mechanics of desire

She’s not the only one putting her money on women. With its annual calendar, Patek Philippe’s Reference 4948 is meeting “the demand with the highest potential,” according to CEO Thierry Stern. Rolex has also hit the bullseye with its Oyster Perpetual Lady-Datejust 28 model, which features a mechanical movement (caliber 2236) and a diamond-set bezel. As for Blancpain, its Day Night model offers the originality of two retrograde systems (hours and seconds) that distinctively accompany the minutes hand. As the brand’s CEO Marc A. Hayek explains: “Certain complications don’t exist in any men’s model. So they should satisfy all our female customers, who are increasingly interested in mechanical watchmaking.”

Art and substance

Another equally popular opportunity is the artistic crafts. “While it’s often easier to design women’s watches like pieces of jewelry, we’re looking to attract female customers through our choice of materials, colors and the lightness of our products in particular,” admits Jean-Claude Biver, President of the LVMH Group’s Watch Division. “This is why Hublot launched its jeans watch last year and an embroidered watch this year.” Hublot reinterprets the artistic crafts with its Big Bang Broderie model, a tribute to the memory of needlework featuring fine Saint Gall embroidery—a 100% Swiss-made ancestral art—carried out by Bischoff, the most noteworthy Swiss name in the field.

Its technical production required several months and resulted in a highly original timepiece characterized by a rebellious spirit with a skull and crossbones motif, a dial enhanced with eleven diamonds, and arabesques on the bezel and strap. Harry Winston, meanwhile, has succeeded in bringing together lace and mother-of-pearl—two age-old crafts embodying femininity in their own way—in its Premier Lace 31 mm model. As the list of demands grows, wrist sizes are getting smaller, it would seem.

Article published in WtheJournal.com