The phenomenon has been unmistakable: over the past ten years or so, in the wake of men’s watches with its XXL models, maxi-diameter timepieces for women have achieved unprecedented popularity, relegating smaller watches to the ranks of overly classical or simply outdated accessories. Times change and so do fashions. While it is still fairly common to see women opting for larger sizes rather than more diminutive alternatives, mini watches are also finding their place in the sun.
Small is beautiful
Dior set the ball rolling with the delightfully dainty 19mm Mini D. This expression of ultimate chic has been seen on the wrists of celebrities such as Catherine Deneuve and Jessica Alba. Beautifully round, tiny, precious and harmonious, it is a regularly renewed and ever bold reminder that elegance bears no relation to the size of the case. Last year, in the same vein, Hermès presented the gorgeous Faubourg featuring a gold or steel case with pure, understated or diamond-set lines measuring a mere 15.5mm. This aesthetic approach firmly focused on essentials also governed the design of the Longines Mini whose very name conveys its modest proportions: a 16mm case framed by a diamond-set bezel forming a luminous halo around the shimmering mother-of-pearl dial.
The quartz issue
The success of these three models stems from the subtle balance that watch designers have managed to strike between the constraints of quartz technology, wearer comfort, as well as aesthetic harmony and readability. A classic quartz movement can be as small as 10mm: just enough space to house a miniature battery, an integrated circuit, the quartz, a stepping motor and the gear trains. The functionality of the watch is however proportionately diminished. History has been punctuated by a few famous examples of tiny yet not very functional watches, such as the 9mm-diameter ring watch that Louis XV commissioned for Madame de Pompadour. Pretty, surprising and of course mechanical, it was nonetheless barely legible – vivid proof that miniaturisation can lead to a loss of horological substance.
Market- or fashion-driven?
The comeback of mini-watches might lead one to think that watchmakers are particularly concerned with what Asian women will be wearing tomorrow, since these are the clients they generally target with small-diameter watches. Perhaps so, yet these watches chiefly express the return of classic, self-assured femininity. A fact that further reinforces watchmakers’ determination to pursue their current strategic choices that involve giving women all that they want: XXL watches, super complications as well as immoderately small models. Small indeed, yet so very elegant!
