A mechanical Rolex Replica watches for women as part of a genuine strategy to develop and position a brand… still nothing but a dream? Possibly not, as closer scrutiny suggests the days when watchmakers considered a woman incapable of appreciating horological mechanisms at their true value have been relegated to the past. A selection from the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, out to win women’s hearts.

Granted, there are still brands which claim to devote a large portion of their creativity to women, when all they do is shrink the cases of their best-selling men’s watches and scatter them with diamonds or mother-of-pearl. Others invest in this segment to confirm their identity or extend their presence… banishing quartz movements along the way. As a market where horological mechanics appeal to men and women alike, no doubt China has something to do with this.

Decorative arts, astrology and botany

This year as last, Vacheron Constantin has set aside part of its Métiers d’Art collection for women. The four Fabuleux Ornements Omega Replica watches are proposed each as a limited edition of 20, and interpret decorative arts from world cultures: Ottoman architecture, the illuminated miniatures of Indian manuscripts, French lace, and traditional Chinese embroidery. Each theme is brought to light through a combination of artistic crafts – ten in all – which give each dial a stunning presence. Only a precious heart could complete this anatomy, and so Vacheron Constantin has chosen an extra-thin, openworked and hand-engraved movement in gold, which is visible through the dial. These watches are among the few women’s timepieces to bear the Poinçon de Genève.

The métiers d’art take pride of place at Van Cleef & Arpels too. The Place Vendôme jeweller deploys its now famously poetic time, and this year accentuates its heavenly dimension, a theme explored in its watch creations since 2008. Part of the Extraordinary Dials collection, the new hand-wound Lady Arpels Zodiac series holds the astrological signs that are scattered across the heavenly sphere inside its 38mm diameter. These twelve Breitling Replica watches, a limited edition of 22, call on multiple crafts. The stylised constellations on the dial are also hand-engraved on the back of the case.

At Piaget, admirers of beautiful horological mechanics will leave aside the quartz-driven High Jewellery pieces and instead focus their attention on the Piaget Rose Passion Altiplano. The flower which inspired Yves Piaget from the earliest days blooms on the dial, captured in incredible lifelike detail by the delicacy of enamel. The hand-wound, extra-thin, Piaget 430P mechanical movement resides inside the 38mm case.

Rare crafts and woven webs

Jaeger-LeCoultre builds on the success of its Rendez-Vous collection for women, launched in 2012. Imagined as a woman’s best friend around the clock, this year it lends itself to an unusual 27.5mm diameter on a metal bracelet. Its three hands and date (in an aperture) are driven by the self-winding JLC 966 calibre. A guilloché pattern in the centre of the dial is a reminder of the brand’s expertise in its “métiers rares”, as it calls them. The blued hands delve into watchmaking’s finest tradition, and contrast with the relatively contemporary hour circle.

Richard Mille has made 2014 a year for women, shown by the new models specifically for the fairer sex. These include a watch inspired by Natalie Portman which the brand developed in close consultation with the actress. This astonishing Tourbillon RM 19-01 is held prisoner by a diamond-studded spider, poised inside the characteristic tri-part case. The predator insect is in fact an integral part of the movement: its abdomen supports the tourbillon bridges while its legs support the two winding barrels. The baseplate takes the form of a spider’s web edged with black sapphires. A limited edition of 20.

A girl’s best friend…

Parmigiani Fleurier introduces Metro, a new collection with entry-level positioning. The Tonda Métropolitaine, for women, is rooted in reality, a watch for city life. Driven by the self-winding 3000 calibre, it stands out from its peers with its asymmetric design: the left side, without the crown, has a classic line whose droplet shape is one of the brand’s very first style signatures; less conventional, the right side features elongated horns which extend as far as the crown. A dissymmetry that goes almost unnoticed. Doubtless one of the ways a woman swathes herself in mystery…

Needless to say, diamonds are still a girl’s best friend and Cartier, one of the Maisons most closely associated with High Jewellery Fake watches UK, confirms Howard Hawks’ intuition. The brand unveils a profusion of exceptional timepieces whose creative brio is matched with the art of setting precious stones. We fell for the Panthère Ajourée watch, part of the L’Heure Envoûtée de Cartier collection. Stalking through shadow and light, black enamel and diamonds, the feline takes possession of time in a Baignoire case. Everything about this watch says Cartier. Lastly we turn to Audemars Piguet, not for its feminised Royal Oaks but for its High Jewellery creation, inspired by the cosmos and scintillating with 449 diamonds. This astonishing “creature” mixes straight lines and curves, playing with the mystery of a free-flowing, asymmetric silhouette. Time is given by a hand-wound, manufacture movement which is seen through the case back.