The future is female
The world of watches seem a lot like a man’s world.
Yet, that was not always the case. In 1783, a secret admirer of Marie Antionette, asked a watchmaker to make a watch for the French queen with the stipulation that it should contain all the watch functions known to man at that time, including movements such as the chronograph, minute repeater and the power reserve. Unfortunately, the queen died 34 years before the work could be completed in 1827, and nothing has been seen of the watch since it was stolen in 1983 from a museum in Jerusalem where it had been displayed.
Men have long been the acknowledged watch enthusiast since the early days when they carried over-sized portable timepieces, which eventually evolved into pocket watches. But, it was women who first wore wrist watches. Known then as wristlets, they were considered more of a passing fad than credible timepieces. At that time, no one believed that the miniaturisation necessary to make a wristwatch could be achieved without a loss of accuracy. In fact, wristwatches were such an aberration that gentlemen were rumoured to have said, “I’d sooner wear a skit than a wristwatch”.
World War One in 1914-1918, changed all that. Soldiers found pocket watches cumbersome when fighting, especially in the trenches. Soon, men were attaching straps to watches and the wristwatch became popularised. Men’s attitudes towards wristwatches changed forever and they became the predominant consumer of wristwatches.
When the ‘quartz crisis’ hit the world in the 1970s with the invention of quartz and LED watches, sales of mechanical watches took a nosedive. Soon, quartz watches flooded the world and now account for 97% of all watches sales. Seiko, the company which invented the first quartz watch became the largest watch company in the world in the immediate aftermath of the ‘quartz crisis’.
Quartz watches keep time accurately and are fairly inexpensive to produce, which are good reasons for their popularity. Yet, the beauty of the mechanical movement cannot be easily forgotten. The timeless elegance a well-made mechanical movement retains its value for years and continues to have an enduring appeal amongst the discerning. While quartz movements have gotten cheaper over the years, mechanical movements have only gotten more expensive and more prized by collectors.
Contrary to widespread belief in the 1970s and 1980s that the age of the mechanical watch is over, sales of men’s mechanical watches have steadily risen over the years. Yet, sales of ladies’ mechanical watches never quite recovered from the ‘quartz crisis’. Quartz mechanisms are generally cheaper and easier to fit into smaller watches- perfect for the manufacture of ladies’ watches, where the aesthetics of the product is the key sales driver.
The Eliana Timekeeper believes that discerning modern women know better: it is time the intricate mechanisms of a timepiece powered by the natural movements of the wearer come together in the beauty and functionality of a timepiece that oozes simple, understated elegance.