Does your watch pass the personality test?

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Where women’s watches are concerned, elegance has traditionally held the room’s attention. But with the relaxation of dress codes and dismantling of conventions around size and proportion – and a new generation of female watch buyers – there’s space for more nuanced interpretations of what a “feminine” watch can be.

Today’s pulse-hitting pieces are still supremely elegant. But, instead of inhabiting the well-defined channels of dinky and twinkly for evening, versus sporty or smart for day, these designs have extra personality, allowing them to segue between social situations with ease. (It says a lot that the modern women’s classics that still really spark – think Patek Philippe’s Twenty-4, now celebrating 25 years – are the ones that exude what the watchmaker describes as “assertive personality” from the get-go.)

I wanted an all-new identity that plays with the vocabulary of simple shapes

This kind of watchmaking – disarming in its resemblance to jewellery – owes a debt to Bvlgari and the evolution of its shimmering Serpentis. There’s a sort of unapologetic dominance to the snake-inspired watches that slither around the wrist: they give the impression that they could seduce or strong-arm anyone. One of the latest secret-watch iterations, in rose gold, has one of the smallest round mechanical movements to date and features turquoise scales, pear-cut rubellites for the eyes and a sinuous stream of brilliant-cut diamonds.

Chanel’s Arnaud Chastaingt, director of the watchmaking creation studio, speaks of “disrupting restraint” with the bold, graphic details and playful features of this year’s Couture O’Clock capsule collection. The collection, in black, white, gold and steel, with high-gloss lacquer, leather and ceramic, pays homage to Mademoiselle Chanel’s “creative spirit” via sewing-box motifs. Along with pins and scissors, a tiny emoticon of the lady herself appears reclining, winking and dancing on dials and charm embellishments. One slender watch strap is marked with the metric lines of a tape measure, while another cuff hides the dial in a bobbin. On the charm-bracelet watch, which mimics the maison’s instantly recognisable handbag-chain strap, a tiny couture dummy, safety pin and thimble charms hang alongside a dangling dial.

From theatricality to cool composure – and the Hermès Cut. A contemporary, metal-braceleted timepiece with pleasing geometry and interchangeable rubber straps (the classically chic colours range from “bleu jean” to “capucine”), it’s the first line developed primarily for women. “I didn’t want to design a watch based on a literal shape, like the Heure H or Cape Cod,” says Philippe Delhotal, creative director of Hermès Horloger. “I wanted a new design with its own personality: an all-new identity that plays with the vocabulary of simple shapes.”

The Cut is intended as a “sports” watch, but it is sporty in spirit rather than working-up-a-sweat athletic, as Delhotal explains. “At times soft and at others bold, its lines, along with the bevelled edge, are imbued with a style that is both singular and multifaceted, adapting to changing moods.” In other words, you can wear it from school drop-off to the boardroom to the tennis court – without skipping a beat.  

Model, Aliza Jarmon at Elite. Casting, Ben Grimes at Drive Represents. Hair, Kei Terada at Julian Watson Agency using Balmain. Make-up, Lynski. Photographer’s assistant, Ariel Mihaly. Stylist’s assistants, Emiline Tavern and Grayce Cooper. Production, Parent