A little goes a long way and vice versa…
Women have been wearing for the past few years the large timepieces of their man and not without a certain arrogance. They went even further in acquiring themselves anything but feminine watches to put on their wrist… as a statement we suppose. Time has come for a change.
By Eléonor Picciotto
Back in the 20’s…
The new edition of the Blancpain Ladybird comes with six charms attachable to the 21.50 mm gold case. Three possible versions with an automatic movement (calibre 6150) and a forty hours power reserve, a mother of pearl dial and 33 diamonds set on the bezel with rubies here and there. You can notice some on the heart or ladybug charm of the piece… even inside the dial depending on the design.
In the first lady collection Francois-Paul Journe launched, he thought about women and how much they don’t want to care about rewinding and setting their watch. Therefore, he came up with Elégante which is an electro-mechanical piece.
After eight years of research, Journe developed a watch with an 8 to 10 years autonomy and 18 years in standby mode. Explanations. You wear your watch, leave it on your night table and it will stop after 30 minutes. Then, you put it back on your wrist in the morning and the time will set automatically (clockwise or counter-clockwise) thanks to a mechanical motion detector set on the dial at 5 o’clock. The microprocessor inside the timepiece continues to keep the time… and all of this within a 28.5 mm titanium diameter and 3.13 mm height.
Growing to the 30’s…
The mainstream timepiece of Bvlgari (if we may call it this way) is the Lvcea model. A unique yet emblematic feminine timepiece made exclusively for women. The round case is inspired by the Bvlgari archives and mother of pearl dial is a reflection of the Ancient sundial. The mechanical movement with an automatic winding is embeded in a 33 mm steel case and gold bezel set with diamonds and a unique pink cabochon cut for the crown.
An almond shape for the case of a watch can only be from Girard-Perregaux. The new Cat’s Eye has a small second located next to the 9 o’clock diamond index.
The original idea was to start the sun from the complication with printed (and not engraved) mother of pearl sunrays spreading across the ¾ of the 35.40 mm diameter embracing the date at 3 o’clock. Nine diamond indexes, two golden hours indicators at 6 and 12 and a date surrounded by a diamond paved bezel and a self-winding mechanical movement of a 46 hours power reserve.
Since everything small is cute: brands went back to basics and to the time where women’s watches were thin, delicate and proportionately adjusted!