Precious materials, diamonds, small cases... What do women expect from horology and what do they get?
For me, there is no women and men’s watch. There is only the watch. Therefore, when I like a watch, its diameter doesn’t matter. My criteria are; the way it (the watch) makes me feel, the way it looks on my wrist and the way it expresses me. Even though I care about these three while buying watches, there is no limit to liking!
Now when I’m transferring all this to a blank Word page, I have this question echoing in my mind: “What will experienced watch aficionados think about this idea? I know there are many women like me (thank you internet!). So much so that, some were able to identify a social media -Instagram, of course- for this masculine passion and be followed by many gentlemen watch enthusiasts.
Naturally, some don’t think like me. The number of the ones that see the 36mm Rolex Day-Date as a woman’s watch or think a 42mm watch is a men’s watch is to no less a degree. Like men who clearly stay distant to watches with diamonds or women who don’t like diamond-free or oversized watches. While people are that confused, I cannot stop asking: What do women want?
There are many answers to this question. However, every man’s taste, idea, and style are different, and the same applies to women as well. Therefore, I will not speak on behalf of other women; I will share my thoughts on watches and the watchmaking industry, as a woman.
Unfortunately, the number of watch loving women in Turkey is less than real photographs of UFOs. The major reason for this is that the watches are positioned in our heads as men’s accessories since our childhood. You can say that there is no discourse supporting this idea. Then why there are only bracelets, rings or necklaces from mothers and grandmothers when there is always a grandfather’s pocket watch? There are exceptions, of course, but as you know, they don’t break the rules.
In general, women’s watch preferences are divided as follows; those who wear the watches given by their spouses/partners, those who wear the suitable watches of their spouses/partners, the ones that make brand-based shopping, those who prefer models with diamonds, and the ones that want to wear what they like regardless of the sex, like me.
I don’t think that people who know the watch culture can be indifferent to this culture. Especially in our country, I think that the reason behind women being distant to watches is the magazines (now digital channels as well), which are used as a marketing tool, not addressing this issue sufficiently. As you might expect, every detail I learned about watches due to being professionally connected with them, leads me to a further level in this culture. You know, when you started to look at the watches that people wear at places you go, you’re part of this world. Well, I passed this stage when I was a child. When I borrowed my father and brothers’ watches without them knowing, I didn’t care about the case diameters and proudly wore those large men’s watches on my small wrist.
I don’t know about women, but I know what I want; I want men to open the world of horology they rule to women. I want horology to be told not only in men’s magazines but also in women’s magazines. I don’t want watches to be called women’s or men’s by their case size. I don’t want people to say, “These models are generally preferred by gentlemen” when shopping. In short, I want to be equal in front of the watches.
