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IT'S A
R
ex Harrison's Professor
Henry Higgins in My Fair
Lady asked: "Why can't
a woman be more like
a man?" Well, the good
professor would be pleased
to learn that the fairer sex is now
trying its best when it comes to wrist
watches. The advent of quartz once
threatened to spell the end of the
mechanical watch, and is a technology
that was embraced with particular
enthusiasm by women, who reasoned
that there was no point in paying a
premium for a watch that you had to
wind up when, for less money, you
could have a battery-powered one
that would happily run for years.
The watch companies liked this
thinking, largely because women's
WIND-UPFOR YEARS QUARTZ WATCHES HAVE DOMINATED THE WOMEN'S WATCH MARKET, BUT
AS TIMEPIECES GET BIGGER, MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS ARE MAKING A COMEBACK
WORDS SIMON DE BURTON
1. RICHARD MILLE RM19�02 TOURBILLON FLEUR
One of the most talked about watches to be unveiled at this year's Salon
International de la haute Horlogerie show in Geneva, Richard Mille's Tourbillon Fleur
features an exquisite, hand-painted magnolia ower, which, at the push of a button
located at the nine o'clock position on the case, can be made to gently open its
ve petals. As they part, a concealed ying tourbillon is slowly revealed, complete
with precious stones designed to represent the stamens. Despite its feminine
nature, however, this is a large watch - the distinctive, titanium case measures
45mm by 38mm, and is smothered in diamonds. Only 30 examples will be
made… at £782,000 apiece. richardmille.com
2. GRAFF DISCO BUTTERFLY
Gra's latest watch in its Buttery collection features a small 'swarm' of six
butteries - formed from carefully placed sapphires, emeralds, or rubies -
which 'hover' above a diamond-set dial. As the wearer moves, the swarm
circles around the dial of the 38mm watch, apparently autonomously. In
reality, Gra's master gem setters worked closely with the Geneva watchmaking
team to create the mechanism, which is driven by a special rotor
concealed within the case. Price on application. gra�diamonds.com
watches had traditionally been of
dainty dimensions and therefore
making mechanical movements for
them could be a ddle.
But times are changing, with
more women choosing mechanical
movements over quartz and willing
to spend more - sometimes much
more - than ever before. Here are
six examples…