Gender bending in watches: a wristy business

No one bats an eyelid when a woman borrows her man’s watch, or treats herself to a bold, masculine timepiece. So when the limited edition Omega Seamaster 300 from the latest Bond film Spectre was snapped up by women almost as fast as it was by men, it came as no surprise.

What is intriguing is that women’s watches are now being increasingly bought by men. Spearheaded by Gucci designer Alessandro Michele, who mixes and matches the sexes in almost identical, highly patterned outfits including jewellery and watches, non-gendered timepieces are a hot topic right now. Michele’s autumn 2016 men’s collection includes rectangular, Plexiglass skeleton models with a signature red and green strap, featuring hand-embroidered gold bees and hardstone-dialled styles.

Of course, fashion watch brands such as Chanel are already familiar with such crossovers. Its sporty J12 swiftly attracted men to this hitherto women-only brand, resulting in a series of very male-oriented complications. The new Boy.Friend, itself a play on classic masculine dress watch style, has similar cross-gender appeal, especially in its Basel-launch, black-dialled steel version.

Cartier is another maison which is witnessing this new fluidity. “We don’t specify the gender for a new model,” says Pierre Rainero, director of image, style and heritage. “The Ballon Bleu was first aimed at men, although it now sells more to women.” Hermès’ classic Cape Cod, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary, also sells to both men and women in all sizes, except the smallest.

Philippe Delhotal, creative director, says "women increasingly want mechanical watches, which tend to be larger up to 39mm, and some men prefer 36mm, so sizes are becoming interchangeable.” IWC has always claimed not to design women’s watches, yet its diamond-bezelled Portofino, which launched in 2014, was shown only on tuxedo-clad women, making its intention clear, but the model is selling well to men in the Far East.

Caroline Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, has also witnessed the move towards men sporting more diamonds on their wrists. “Our large size Impériale with diamonds sells to men,” she says. “In the Noughties the trend was for women to wear oversized watches – now men are wearing ladies’ models.”

According to Guido Terreni, managing director of Bulgari Watches, the style started in Japan. He points out Japanese men were buying the luxury house’s diamond-trimmed ladies’ B.zero1 a decade ago, and he’s now planning hardstone dial jewellery versions of the men’s Octo.

Patek Philippe’s new diamond-trimmed dress watches are proving a hit with men; meanwhile, Zenith notes that darker colourways, such as the anthracite sunray dial on its 38mm El Primero Chronomaster Lady, also hold considerable male appeal.

A white strap is another feminine detail that’s been appropriated by male wrists. It is a feature of one of the most flamboyant new watches to attract the attention of men: the De Grisogono New Retro Lady. This diamond-edged rectangle with a white, shagreen strap is just the right side of vulgar; the ruby version with red strap is an even bigger hit. “Some women choose the diamond-free version, some men go for stones. There are no rules now,” says Fawaz Gruosi, brand founder.

Piaget, which has a long history of designing precious evening watches for men, has launched the Altiplano 900P. Exquisitely worked all over with different diamond cuts, it adorned the wrist of Creed actor Michael B. Jordan at this year’s Golden Globes. The future of diamond watches for men looks sparkling.
Source: Telegraph