A growing movement: mechanical watches aim to unlock female demand

Last month’s launch of the Seamaster Aqua Terra 30mm marked the culmination of four years of development by Omega on two new mechanical movements that could pack the technological punch of its larger watches into a smaller case. “It was important to have the proper movement — the proper size and thickness — in order to realise a very well balanced small watch,” says Raynald Aeschlimann, president and chief executive of the Swiss watch brand.

Twelve references, including stainless steel, gold and two-tone models, feature either the new self-winding 3.98mm-thick Co-axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8750 or the 4.08mm-thick 8751. Aeschlimann says the sporty watch, launched with a campaign fronted by six women, including Oscar-winning actor and singer Ariana DeBose, plugs a gap in the Seamaster collection for a “ladies’ size”. (The existing 28mm designs in that collection have quartz movements.)

As Aeschlimann points out, the notion of separate men’s and women’s watches is outdated. Some women prefer larger watches, while there is a trend on the red carpet for men to wear petite pieces. However, watchmakers are bringing out designs that cater to the rising interest in watches among women, including a focus on mechanical pieces and complications.

Eric Macaire, an executive director at retailer Watches of Switzerland Group, says there is “a growing appetite for ladies’ watches across [the] UK and US”, driven by women buying for themselves and men feeling more assured to buy for women. “We’ve definitely seen in specific brands in particular that this [growth] has been outpacing [the] men’s category, probably because it’s a segment share that is new for a number of brands that would have in the past maybe more focused on a bit more sporty and masculine designs,” he says.

The Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 30mm launched in 12 references . . . 

. . . including gold and stainless steel models

Research published last November by Deloitte and non-profit Watch Femme found that “women remain under-represented and insufficiently targeted by the industry, meaning there is untapped potential for growth”.

Karine Szegedi, Swiss fashion and luxury head at Deloitte, says brands now understand that if “they want to seriously tap into the female market” they need to either bring out new genderless models, “move towards the jewellery watch market” or “think female first”.

She says there is increasing choice in the market, pointing to recent launches such as the 29mm quartz Sixtie, Piaget’s first new full women’s line since the Limelight Gala in 2013. While Szegedi says women’s watches historically did not have complications, brands are starting the complex process of “miniaturising”.

“That requires a lot of R&D, but now they think it’s worthwhile because the female [customers] . . . want mechanical watches and complications,” she says. The Deloitte report quotes Ilaria Resta, chief executive of Audemars Piguet, as saying that “by 2030, 40-45 per cent of buyers of mechanical watches will be female”.

In April, Patek Philippe responded to the growing demand by adding the first complication to the Twenty~4, the brand’s “first exclusively feminine watch collection” which was launched in 1999, with the Perpetual Calendar Ref 7340/1R.

Last year’s launch of the 36mm Hermès Cut was the French house’s first fully automatic watch designed with women in mind. This year, Hermès released the Cut Le Temps Suspendu, enlarging the case to 39mm to incorporate the module for its signature complication that allows the wearer to pause the time display.

“Until now, we really developed complications that were meant for larger diameters — at least 38mm — for our collection and so they were more oriented towards men,” says Philippe Delhotal, creative director of Hermès Horloger. “Into our pipeline, we wish to develop smaller complications . . . that can appeal to both men and women.” There are more singular complications to come, he adds, and probably a new women’s collection.

The Hermès Cut was the French house’s first fully automatic watch designed for women

In April, Patek Philippe added the Perpetual Calendar Ref 7340/1R to the Twenty~4 line

But while brands focus on genderless design, it seems consumer habits are yet to catch up. David Edwards, managing director of Seiko UK, says the Japanese watchmaker introduced a women’s category on its Grand Seiko and Seiko websites about a year ago, “not necessarily because we wanted to, but actually because the search categories people are using tells us that’s how they’re searching”.

While more women are delving into horology, Macaire at Watches of Switzerland says this market is still “very niche” and collecting “remains very much a man’s world”. He says female customers tend to consider the look, design, fit and wearability of a piece, and brand equity, first.

“What’s inside the watch, whether it’s quartz or automatic, is at this point a little bit less relevant,” he says. Deloitte’s research found design was female buyers’ second priority behind price/value; complications ranked 10th, compared with eighth for men.

Macaire says brands are focusing on the “preciousness” of timepieces for women through materials. He says Cartier is performing well because of its connection to jewellery, with the Baignoire suitable for stacking with other jewellery.

Watchmakers, however, face competition for buyers. Deloitte found the proportion of women who wore only a traditional (mechanical or quartz) watch dropped from 40 per cent in 2020 to 22 per cent in 2024, while those wearing solely a smartwatch grew from 18 to 33 per cent over the same period. Marketing, therefore, could be key.

George Ciz, chief marketing officer at Tag Heuer, says the Swiss watch brand’s customer split is typically 80 per cent male, but it sees a “huge opportunity” in the women’s market thanks to increased purchasing power. He says the brand is “in a perfect position” to capitalise on the “massive recalibration” of the audience for Formula 1 — today, 42 per cent of fans are women — thanks to its appointments earlier this year as official timekeeper for both the sport and F1 Academy, the all-female racing series that is also the subject of a Netflix documentary series.

“If you look at our portfolio you clearly see certain shifts,” says Ciz. “We are creating more watches that can be considered unisex.” Recent launches include the colourful 38mm Formula 1 Solargraph.

In keeping with Ciz’s suggestion that watches are increasingly important in “completing the look”, Tag Heuer sources pieces for red-carpet dressing: actor Jenna Ortega wore a 1915 Heuer rattrapante chronograph pocket watch, loaned from a collector, to this year’s Met Gala fundraising event in New York.

Deloitte has not put a figure on the female watch market, but Szegedi is “very bullish” about its future. At Omega, Aeschlimann thinks the proportion of sales for women will grow from about a third to 50 per cent “quite soon”. “It’s time now to move,” he says.