All Watches Should Be Unisex - and Here’s Why

Hot1200

Second Opinions: All Watches Should Be Unisex – And Here's Why

In the first installment of her new monthly column, Cara Barrett says it's time to retire our outdated gender norms.

www.hodinkee.com

I agree with Cara. She makes some good points. In my opinion, if all watches were inherently made unisex, it would broaden the appeal of watch enthusiasm, and I’m all for more people getting into watches. 

#general
Reply
ERONAV
·

Inasmuch as we can wear any watch we choose, all watches ARE unisex.

MyWatchLife
·

Any watch under 40mm pretty much is unisex, especially if they are of precious metals or bejeweled...

uhrensohn
·

I can see where she's coming from, in that I would also be frustrated in her place what is marketed at me, and what is not... being made available at my wrist size.

But there are some issues with her rant:

  • the market decides; gendering watches is a marketing tool - if it did not work companies would not do it. Nothing wrong though with telling a company that watch X would sell to women too, so please...
  • ...please what? The marketing of men's watches is largely (there are always exceptions) gender-neutral-ish, at least when I compare it with the marketing of women's watches. So, the issue really is...
  • ...to make the watch available for people with smaller wristsizes. If sufficiently many clients want it that should be fine, except that you cannot shrink a movement just like that. I have seen couples watches with unisex design where the women's version was lacking a complication, presumably because the movement used in the bigger watch would not fit. Sometimes, shrinking the design does not work either, e.g. if the thing already looks crammed in its 45mm version.

There is also a difference between the customer experience in a high-street shop and what goes on online. Your high-street is in your town, in your cultural safe space, the WWW is global. The way women see themselves or want to be seen varies from place to place. The US would have a different idea of womanhood than Turkey, or South-Korea, or Botswana. So, your local Rolex AD can adjust to your cultural context, but an AliExpress shop is in a different market.