Russell Sheldrake
Many of you will remember the Omega’s release last week of the new Speedmaster 38mm line additions: adding gold, bigger diamonds and further bracelet options to its smaller chronograph line which has traditionally been aimed at women. To get better acquainted with this launch, the brand was kind enough to invite our own Andrew McUtchen out to Milan, where the fact that these watches were not just for women but also now men, was impressed upon him.So, we wanted to put that to the test by asking you, our audience, what you thought of these watches, and if these upgrades made them more attractive to you as an option. We did this through a poll on Instagram, where our following is over 90% male, so we felt comfortable that we were going to be reaching the right audience to answer this. And you guys responded in your hundreds, with a clear winner.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Time+Tide (@timetidewatches)So, let’s cut to the chase: when asked if you thought you would wear the new diamond-covered 38mm Speedmasters, 81% of you said no: a pretty conclusive result in our eyes. Now whether this was because diamonds aren’t your thing, or the original Speedmaster Professional is too much of a draw to tempt you to the mid-size is hard to know. But what’s for certain, is that these new iterations of the Speedmaster 38mm are still mainly a draw to women, at least for our audience.This evidence rather flies in the face of what many have been calling one of the big trends in watches of late, which is case sizes decreasing among male collections as we see a return to vintage proportions. Whether this is a reaction to the oversized watches we had in the ’90s and early ’00s or due to a rising appreciation for the vintage market is unclear. While certain brands such as Cartier, Chopard, Piaget and even Rolex to a degree have found success in the 38 and under size range, doesn’t mean that it is always going to be a recipe for success. There are still strongly held views around certain models and brands that they have their sweet spot when it comes to sizing and their fans will defend that to the last.The Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 remains a popular choice for men.There has also been a rather vocal movement recently in the collectors’ community of women wanting to wear larger, traditionally more masculine watches – wanting to get away from the ‘shrink it and pink it’ philosophy that has been attached to ladies’ watches for so long. Alongside this, many brands have been removing gender entirely from their catalogues and no longer offering distinct men’s and women’s collections (Zenith is a notable example) but rather families of watches in varying sizes, with the implication being that any can be enjoyed by all.Zenith’s contemporary marketing material shows women wearing big watches, like the new Defy Skyline Chronograph.But the question remains, if you were not inspired by this latest release from Omega, why not? And what change would they have to make in order for a smaller Speedmaster to be appealing?
02.05.24