Watch Collecting Doesn’t Need Gender!

The watch industry keeps on assuming that watch brands and watch models need some sort of gender assignment.

Can anyone explain this to me?

The car industry doesn’t seem to play this game. When you walk onto a car lot, there are no signs pointing you to the 'ladies cars' or the ‘men’s cars.’ More men than women (and vice versa) drive certain models of vehicles compared to others, but carmakers wouldn’t dream to officially label a four wheel drive car or Porsche 911 being called a “ladies or mans car”?

To me it sounds like an old-fashioned way of thinking.

It’s like saying women should always wear flowery-smelling perfumes and men should always wear musky, wooden essences.

Why can’t women wear a big watch or a tool watch? I personally think that what these Swiss watch companies call ‘men’s watches' look very sexy on the woman’s wrist. The contrast is so attractive and unexpected.

I love to be surprised by what a woman wears on her wrist.

Yes, obviously their distinction is about size; one of the prevalent beliefs has been that if it’s a dainty watch, it belongs on the wrist of a woman. If a watch is more prominent than 35-36mm in diameter, it’s a man’s. But why do we need to continue to tell people what to wear based on gender?

If we really think about it, watches many men wore in the 30s were small for modern standards, 25–33mm on average. (Frankly, I even think this tendency should come back as it’s so elegant and classy to see a mans wrist wearing a medium/small watch!) And most women at that time were constricted to only wear jewellery watches if any.

What other industry still treats their customers with advertising language and classifications from the 1930s?

As Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Ms. Huber says, she does not want her work to be obscured by gender politics.
“Everybody speaks about equality and diversity these days, but little is done.” Undoubtedly the watch industry is predominantly a man’s world, but they shouldn’t be in the business of telling people what to wear…especially based on gender!

Let’s open our minds, let’s not follow a specific invisible rule and let’s feel free to wear what we love regardless of what others might think or say.

Guys, go on – wear a skirt. There’s nothing stopping you.

After all, great style is style that is truly your own!

(Many thanks to our wonderful contributor Ms. S. Silva, a.k.a. @_passion66_ for the words and photos presented here.)