“That’s a pretty little watch!” I wore the Mr Right for several days, and it was an immediate hit with all my friends and colleagues. And paradoxically, despite its small – very small – size, everyone noticed it. In fact, there were very few people who had nothing at all to say about it.
There’s no doubt that, for many people, its shape is a major draw. Although not completely unheard-of, square and rectangular watches for women are relatively few and far between, despite the fact that certain French maisons – I’m thinking here of Cartier, Chanel and Hermès – have created some extremely popular, even iconic, models based on these shapes. Squares are generally considered more masculine, while circles are deemed to be gentler and more feminine. But square watches have a certain style, a certain mood. They’re a break from the ordinary, the everyday, from the classical, conventional round cases that even the most contemporary watches tend to come in.
The Mr Right by Emile Chouriet was launched this spring as part of the Fair Lady collection, and even there it marks a complete rupture with the existing models in the range. These circular, pebble-shaped 28 or 29 mm watches have ultra-feminine dials, exquisitely worked with flower or butterfly motifs, or with abstract designs inspired by dancers’ tutus (as in the Fair Lady Ballerina), sometimes enhanced with diamond accents. The Fair Lady Alchimie models are more minimalist but also more generously sized (up to a 40 mm diameter), and they come in a choice of burgundy, champagne or dark grey dials.
There are several ways of making a square watch more feminine: by reducing the size compared with a men’s watch; by making it out of precious metals; by setting it with diamonds; or by adding some touches of elegance. The Mr Right by Emile Chouriet does all of those things, and the result is exquisite. As I strapped it to my wrist for the first time, I found its Lilliputian dimensions of 24 x 27 mm unconvincing, and began to think this watch might not be my cup of tea at all. But the shape and design won me over immediately, and size quickly became irrelevant (although a couple of additional millimetres would not be unwelcome). The square steel case carries its sharp, unsoftened angles with their brushed and polished upper and lower surfaces with conviction, wearing them like a photo or picture frame. The small seconds register at 6 o’clock is also in a tiered frame. The slim strap fittings with their decorative screws at each end provide a connection between the Mr Right and the other Fair Lady models, but this watch has the additional feature of curved inserts that protrude from the case at 12 and 6 o’clock.
The polished bezel is set with 64 diamonds, each with a diameter of 0.90 mm (totalling 0.2048 carats), which enhances the watch’s jewellery credentials. The diamonds provide a glittering foil to the clean white dial, on which only the blue of the three leaf-shaped hands disrupts the classically elegant combination of black and white. The watch is driven by the quartz EC 1303 movement.
The black leather bracelet feels particularly supple and soft against the skin, and the zircon gems set into the square buckle bring an additional touch of elegance.
Emile Chouriet makes watches that combine traditional savoir-faire with a finely honed aesthetic, to deliver excellent value for money. The Mr Right watch is no exception. The model I wore, in steel set with diamonds, is available for CHF 1,200. The other three versions, without diamonds, come in all-steel, or steel with a yellow or rose gold bezel, and are priced at CHF 670 and CHF 1,115 respectively (plus VAT).
