Keeping an eye on the time

Jewellery has always been prone to the fickle nature of fashion but the one piece that has remained a classic timepiece throughout is the watch.

What we choose to adorn our wrists with has always been a personal choice, a true expression of our style and a subtle declaration of our identity. With designers infringing their volatile fashion design on details such as necklaces and bangles, it wasn’t long before watches too were to fall victim.

Marc by Marc Jacobs, £76.

Traditionally, women decorated their wrists with exquisite, fine and delicate watches, leaving it to the men to boast their masculinity through cumbersome, substantial timepieces with all the newfangled gadgets a watch could accommodate. However, a new trend is emerging. It has been reported that sales of women buying men’s watches have soared over the last year, marking a depart from the classic women’s watch to a more modern twist on feminine jewellery. Celebrities have fuelled this veer from tradition, being seen sporting their boyfriend’s watch has evidently influenced sales of men’s watches, motivating the change in direction.

Bell and Ross, £4,500

Women’s watches originated in a simple, iconic design in traditional black or brown but have evolved over the years to accommodate all tastes. Injected with splashes of femininity, watches have been enhanced by iridescent faces, jewelled straps and diamond features

The wrist is the thinnest part of a woman, making purchasing a watch ever so simple; there is none of that emotional baggage that comes with the nightmarish changing room trauma of bikini buying.

Ironically, the recent trend for masculine watches is very practical, the face is more visible and the strap less intricate. It echoes the androgynous look that has been so celebrated in the last few seasons and verifies how the gap between men and women’s fashion is gradually diminishing. First came the success of the “boyfriend jean”, the ever-so-comfy jeans style that lent itself to those days where only comfort will do. Following that was the popular “boyfriend cardigan”. The generous grey wool of your mans cardigan sashayed down many catwalks last winter. The watch is simply an extension of this growing fascination with masculine trends for women.

Chanel, price upon request.

<

Nixon,£70

Summer fashion may be supporting all things romantic and flimsy but as ever, fashion is full of contradiction and it’s the bulky, masculine watch that is adorning all trend-conscious wrists. Turn your feminine, delicate summer attire upside down by combining it with a robust, chunky watch to create a modernistic spin on the conventional feminine trinket.