Geneva Watch Days: Why women rule the world

An enormous charm offensive took place at Geneva Watch Days this year to woo more women, or men, into buying timepieces designed specifically for women.

The 52 brands exhibiting their wares all appeared to have redoubled their technical and artistic inventiveness to appeal to the female public; with each brand having its own vision of this fast-growing market.

“Ladies are the untapped potential of watchmaking”, Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of watch manufacturer Bvlgari, told Euronews Culture in the sumptuous pavilion of Geneva Watch Days, the annual event that marks the start of the watchmaking calendar on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Over four days, dozens of brands and watchmaking organizations set up their HQs in hotels and boutiques across the Swiss city to introduce the public to the wonders of the watchmaking industry and the latest creations from the maisons, the majority of which are still aimed at the male public.

“There are 90 nominees at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), but 15 only are ladies watches. This does not correspond to the genders weight on the planet,” according to Babin.

“For centuries, most of Swiss watchmaking was created by men and managed by my men. When it became an accessory desirable for a women, they shrank men’s watch into smaller cases, layered the dial with purple, set some diamonds and here we are”, he said.

Time for change

Some of the more traditional houses have been leading the way towards reforming the sector.

Nearly three-quarters of Bvlgari’s sales are made to women, a sign of its privileged history as a jeweler. Alongside other houses such as Chopard or Cartier, it’s shown for years that it’s capable of making watches “thought by ladies, designed and developed for ladies”.

At this year’s show, the company presented new versions of its famous Serpenti Pallini creation, launched in 1948. Each of these snake-shaped units is the fruit of more than 500 hours of art and craftsmanship.

The watch is set in yellow, pink or white gold and diamonds, with two pear-cut emeralds forming the snake’s eyes. The Piccolissimo caliber, a miniature mechanical marvel, is hidden inside the reptile’s head.

“As women now have power, are working and can buy for themselves, they naturally are attracted by pieces which have been designed for them and that are not siblings of their father, brother or husband’s watch. I’m encouraging Swiss brands to start designing true ladies watches”, Babin said.

Swiss watchmaker Girard-Perregaux, another one of the six brands that founded the Geneva Watch Days in 2020, claims an opposite paradigm in its approach to the ladies’ market. The Swiss haute horlogerie manufacturer, whose origins date back to 1791, presented two evolutions of its flagship products at the show, including La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition – Honey.

As well as the dial, the case is dressed in honey-toned Grand Feu enamel, an artisanal technique executed at the Maison’s sister company, Donzé Cardrans, which demonstrates the métiers d’art expertise that are dear to Girard-Perregaux.

Girard-Perregaux makes no distinction between men’s and women’s watches. In the mind of its French CEO Patrick Pruniaux, who took over the historic brand to carry its ‘entrepreneur and creativity values’, the boundary between the genders is not obvious.

‘It’s not about gender, but about the passion and the message of the watch. Some women come to us because they have a growing interest in complications. We don’t tailor-make watches only for them,’ explains the CEO.

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A fast-growing market

The watch market has seen three record years since 2021. According to research firm Allied Market Research, the women’s watch segment, valued at $23.7 billion (€22.2 billion) in 2019, could reach $26.7 billion (€25 billion) by 2027.

Watchmaking giant Breitling is accompanying this change by offering an impressive collection of women’s watches in its catalogue. These represent around 17% of the company’s sales, a relatively small figure in proportion but impressive in absolute terms, as it is estimated that it sells several hundred thousand watches each year.

The brand, whose revenues have soared rapidly since it was taken over by Georges Kern a few years ago, is striving to offer a more relaxed alternative to conservative watchmaking, without denying its identity. ‘I truly believe that you cannot change the fundamentals of a brand. We come from aviation, we are a male brand’, explains the CEO, who defends an intuitive approach at a time when women’s interest in watch complications is booming.

‘It’s not about women that are happy jumping into flower fields. We have surfers, triathletes, tough women representing a certain style being coherent with what we’re doing with the male segment’, sums up Georges Kern.

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Alongside stars such as US surfer Kelly Slater and Greek basketball sensation Giannis Antetokoumpo, Breitling’s ambassadors include American snowboarder Chloe Kim, the first woman to win two Olympic gold medals in the halfpipe.

The athlete, who is committed to preserving alpine regions in the face of global warming, wears the Super Chronomat 38, a watch made from traceable gold and synthetic diamonds. Watchmaker Oris has chosen to work with refugee swimmer Yusra Mardini, the subject of the film The Swimmers, who has become a member of the Swiss brand’s ‘Change for the Better’ movement. The athlete, named by the press as one of the most influential women in the world, was invited by the brand to Geneva Watch Days last year.

“I’m very happy that we can tell her story because not many brands in the industry can. It’s the story of a young woman who does not let herself be reduced to a refugee. She’s a young woman who likes nice things and claims that for her, as she should”, Oris CEO Rolf Studer told Euronews Culture.

Yusra Mardini and her sister crossed the sea to escape Syria, but their dinghy went down in the waters. They swam for hours, towing a small boat to Lesbos. She has since taken part in the 2016 Summer Olympics as part of the team of refugee athletes.

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Mardini, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, has been seen wearing some of the brand’s most beautiful women’s diving watches, including smaller cases of 38mm showing bright and elegant colours.