Collecting bigger and bulkier watches is still the rage, but slim watches in new coatings is the emerging trend, thanks to the advancements in mechanical movements and technology, says Mr Jeremy Lim, regional general manager of Cortina Watch.

"The trend towards bigger watches started about three or four years ago. As women become more confident in wearing big watches, many watches have turned from being a purely male watch to becoming more unisex," he says.

"There are still 'ladies only' watches but not more 'men only' watches to speak of. Ladies can now wear the Concord C1 Pure (44mm) (pictured above) and Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time zone (42mm) although these were traditional men-sized watches."

Slim for elegance

While slim watches are not new, the difference now is that there are more slim mechanical watches. He adds: "In the past, to achieve the slimness in a dress watch, quartz movements were used. With advancement in research and development, slim mechanical movements are now produced more efficiently for use in dress watches."

According to Mr Lim, the quest for refining mechanical movements possibly started in the early 90s after the quartz fever died down and mechanical watches became the epitome of the wristwatch rather than a passing trend.

For examples of slim mechanical watches, he points to Jaeger-LeCoultre's Master Twinkling, which features an ultra slim automatic winding movement inside a spinning dial of guettecut diamonds, and Blancpain, which has the smallest automatic movement in the world.

Chopard and Piaget, he adds, probably have the largest range of dress watches to choose from, be it mechanical or quartz, and they are more likely to be jewelled.

Complex complications

Many are fascinated by complications in watches, even if they do not need the specific functions. Says Mr Lim: "Many wearers are intrigued by its complexities and the intricacies of combining multiple functions into a small machine called the wristwatch. It definitely will be a big part of watches going forward.

"Patek Philippe, for example, recently recreated the Nautilus that tells not only the time but has a power reserve indicator, date and moonphase all in the full glory of a bezel embedded with baguette-cut diamonds."

Precious metals

More watches are using pink gold or rose gold, which are softer in look and feel, Mr Lim points out.

He also notices that many watchmakers are introducing watches made of different forms of carbon materials such as Diamond-Like-Carbon and forged carbon. Titanium is also popular for its light weight and platinum for its rarity and durability.

Special shapes

With the success of IWC's re-launched Lady DaVinci collection, shaped watches are also making a comeback. Says Mr Lim: "Shaped watches are definitely the most challenging to identify as a trend because the shapes differ from one brand to the other. Some shaped watches to watch are Cartier's La Donna collection and Audemars Piguet's Pianoforte."

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Oct 30, 2008.

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