by Martin Green
“Women’s watches for men” is bound to rustle some feathers and invite strong opinions; the former is something we don’t mind doing here at Quill & Pad, and the latter we truly welcome in our comments section below.
Here I want to explore if there are any women’s watches that a man could wear, and by “wear” I mean wearing with self-esteem intact and looking good while doing so!
The other way around is quite common: women sporting Rolex Submariners or Panerais are considered fashionable, and men wearing the same watch don’t seem to feel threatened in their manhood by it.
Reverse it and you get a completely different reaction, mainly from men.
Diamond-set Richard Mille RM 67-01 Extra Flat on the wrist of a woman
The power of unisex
Clever watch manufacturers completely bypass this topic by not indicating whether they have created a watch as part of a men’s or women’s collection.
That technically makes each watch unisex as it should be: manufacturers can let customers decide what suits them instead of attempting to think for them. And in this way, they don’t voluntarily limit their own sales.
In the world of exclusive scents, almost all perfumes are unisex. Nonetheless, there are not many men who prefer heavy floral notes – nor women who want a deep musk scent – so the choices are very natural; still, they come from the consumer and not the manufacturer.
This allows customers to get a product that suits them without having to step over social boundaries set by the manufacturers of the product – such as the sex “intended for” rather than a clear male/female binary.
A matter of size and diamonds
Often the difference between a man’s and a woman’s watch is the size.
There seems to be a social rule that says women’s watches need to be smaller than men’s watches. The more extreme you go to each side of the size spectrum, the more people are likely to agree with you – with a whole grey area in the middle.
However, that also depends on the type of watch: a 34 mm dress watch is regarded as an elegant choice for a man, while a new 34 mm diver’s watch would look comically tiny (and useless under water).
The cultural perspective also plays an important role: where in one market diamond setting instantly and indisputably makes a timepiece for a woman (or a faux pas for a man), in another market it can indicate a male being very successful at what he does for a living (see How, When, And Why Diamond-Set Watches For Men Were Commonly Accepted And The Importance America Played).
Women’s watches a man can wear
Are there watches marketed specifically to women yet could also be suitable choices for men?
Yes, there are.
Of course, we are not talking here about the smaller size of a model that just happens to be aimed at the female demographic while the larger models reside in the men’s collection. No, we are talking here about an entire line or collection marketed to women, yet one that contains models that are equally suitable for men.
A Chopard sales manager once confided in me as I was admiring one of the brand’s latest Imperiale watches that certain models in this line are split almost 50/50 between men and women who buy them for themselves to wear despite being marketed as part of the brand’s ladies’ collection.
Chopard Imperiale
One other fact came out of this discussion: not every reference of the few ladies’ watches that do make the transition to a man’s wrist can go there. This often has something to do with color: the Imperiale is available in a version with pink sapphires and a purple strap in a 29 mm case, and it is those watches that obviously have a much harder time making the transition to the opposite sex than the stainless steel chronograph or even the versions set with diamonds.
In this last case, the cultural background of the customer plays a large role as diamonds are not as accepted for men in every market.
When F.P. Journe introduced the Élégante, it created quite a stir: not only was it the brand’s first collection catering to women, but it was also powered by a quartz movement!
This was quite shocking for a master watchmaker that is considered one of the finest of his generation. So is also the battery-powered Élégante that he created with its Vagabondage-style case and hibernating quartz movement with a solid pink gold bridge; it is a Journe after all!
The F.P. Journe Elégante
It has quite a few features that should appeal to men, yet the 40 mm case set with diamonds and available with cloisonné inserts and rubber strap in colors like powder rose and baby blue was probably enough to scare most of them away.
François-Paul Journe must have realized this as well as the 48 mm oversized Élégante ticks all the boxes most men like to have ticked. The only thing they need to get over might be the name.
The same can be said for the Chanel Boyfriend.
This name alone would normally be enough to turn most men off even though the watch features a very strong design, and its angular lines have a masculine quality to them, especially in the larger version.
Cartier Tank
I would consider this the haute couture version of Cartier’s Tank, which is quite the compliment as the latter is one of the most important dress watches in history.
The larger version of the Boyfriend measures 37 x 28.6 x 7.7 mm. This is still not a very large watch, but as it is rectangular it has quite a wrist presence. It is even fitted with a mechanical manually wound movement, and the dial features a subtle guilloche motif with small seconds in a subdial.
This is actually a perfect watch for men who like their dress watches a bit more modern and with a dash of Parisian flair.
Chanel Boyfriend
Chanel itself claims that the Boyfriend erases the lines between masculine and feminine style. Which it well does – except in name.
These are just three examples of watches catering specifically to ladies that men could wear as well, even if F.P. Journe has now given men their own version.
But the question remains: would men wear them?
That depends mainly on the ability of the man in question to “man up” because, just like women already do, there is nothing stopping us from claiming a watch of the opposite sex as our own! And, interestingly, nearly all men’s watches look good on ladies. . .
Quick Facts F.P. Journe Élégante 48mm
Case: 40 x 48 mm, titanium
Movement: F.P. Journe quartz Caliber 1210
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds.
Price: 11,500 Swiss francs
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There are watches that, smaller size, were in fact mens watched. These are vintage watches, and can be worn either by men or women.
Well said, Jerry. What if the auction houses stopped categorising them into “men’s” and “ladies'” watches? A boost to their sales?
I would think so! Few men buy a watch that is categorized as a ladies watch, but even the brands themselves can learn from this.
If you like it, wear it.
Just bought a watch that I liked, wanted to see if I got a good deal on it so I looked it up, couldn’t find it in the men’s section, turns out it’s a women’s watch. Doesn’t change my mind! Still love it
To my mind the convention of designating watches as men’s or ladies’ (a cringe-making, old-fashioned term; what about women’s?) is just that – a convention. One that is perpetuated by unimaginative watch industry managers.
From time to time I challenge CEOs, designers, product directors etc about why they perpetuate this division – which, by the way, can be just as patronising to men as it is to women. The most “interesting” answer recently was: “Because it’s difficult to organise the menus on our website any other way”. Seriously?
That’s a terrible answer! What does it say about brand and marketing creativity?
A horrible answer indeed! However, many of the worlds high-end scent brands market all their products as unisex, and they don’t seem to have this problem….
I would wear some “women” watches, depending on the overall look, type of lugs, color, wristband and stone setting. (I’d wear Eva Leube Ari with a plain black strap)
Based on the watches shown here : Chopard NO (lugs), FP Journe NO (diamond), other stone = maybe, Cartier NO (crown and wristband), Chanel YES.
I forgot to mention that decoration like flowers would be out.
I have purchased an ellesse vintage sports ladies watch; gold and brushed steel (waiting on delivery), I cannot obtain a mans version in this style. whats the difference between a mans and a women’s, can a man wear a laddies ellesse, I don’t consider myself exactly feminine.
Most brands are unisex
I agree about opinions of:1-Mr.M.Robert
2-Mr.Matthew Tessier
Thanx for everyone who love Watches .
I recently was looking for a Lucien Piccard (as they are on sale for quite a bit) that was plain black, small, thin, and not showy in design. I wanted it to fit the mold for a dress watch or black tie watch. None of the men’s watches fit this. Neither did the unisex. But there was technically a woman’s watch that was very plain. I went ahead and got it, and I plan to refit It with a leather band as well. I’m slightly hesitant to wear it though. What are peoples’ thoughts on this watch? To me it looks like a decent dress watch, but it still looks a tad small for my taste.
https://www.worldofwatches.com/fantasia-rose-tone-stainless-steel-black-dial-lp-16539-rg-11
I found this article very interesting.
My general rule of thumb in the Ladies v Gents debate is does the watch have a seconds sub-dial? If so then it is probably a man’s watch, as Ladies watches are generally too small to accommodate one.
I found this article very interesting.
My general rule of thumb in the Ladies v Gents debate is does the watch have a seconds sub-dial? If so then it is probably a man’s watch, as Ladies watches are generally too small to accommodate one.
I am writing of vintage watches of course.
I find womens watches ugly. They are usually quarz, the make is cheaper ok they add diamonds but that makes it even uglier, the size is often so ridiculusly small that you can barely read them. And if your a bigger woman with wider wrists and more muscle those small things just make your arms look ugly. Mens watches come in many forms and functions like a chronograph, never seen a womens watch as chronograph, fliegers, divers and so on. Watches for women are not for funktion they are seen like jewellery and if you hate jewellery like I do, you hate womens watches.
Wow Chris, it’s been a long time since I’ve read such a belligerent and ignorant comment, you’ve made my day. And you have come to the right place to plug a few of the massive chasms in your horological knowledge.
Let’s leave aside the fact that your seemingly pathological aversion to women’s watches and jewelry comes across as though you have (barely) repressed gender confusion, and focus on the fact that your knowledge of ladies’s watches seems 10-20 years out of date.
Here are two ladies’ chronographs from Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin that we wrote about 7-years ago (they both come with and without diamonds) and there are many more.
At the GPHG a couple of months ago, the Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur won both Best Ladies’ watch and Best Men’s watch.
To learn a bit more about the incredible variation in ladies’s watches available now you could do worse than scroll though the articles here many have diamonds (so be careful if viewing sparkles threatens your fragile masculinity) but many don’t.
A favorite ladies’ watch of mine is the MB&F FlyingT.
Good luck with sorting out your fragile ego.
I wish you a very Happy New Year – it sounds like you had a hard time with the last one.
Regards, Ian