The women who make the watch industry tick

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The popularity of the wristwatch as a manly fashion accessory soared after 1920, prompted by returning first world war soldiers who had learnt that consulting a pocket watch on the battlefield could have deadly consequences. But before that, wristwatches were delicate symbols of decadence for women. Historians generally agree that Elizabeth I was the first to wear a wristwatch, a 1572 New Year’s gift from the Earl of Leicester in the form of a bracelet garnished with rubies and diamonds. This intimate gift spawned a fashion for jewel-encrusted watches for women, in stark contrast to the man’s perfunctory pocket watch. 

Today, wristwatches are worn, coveted and collected by men and women alike, but the balance of power is shifting. Women’s watch purchasing power is now outstripping men’s: according to a 2021 Allied Market Research report, sales of watches priced above $1,200 to women were worth $23.7bn in 2019, or 54.4 per cent of the wider market, a figure estimated to grow to $26.7bn by 2027. Meanwhile, women are moving into more visible positions of power in the industry: in May, Audemars Piguet named Ilaria Resta its new CEO, making her one of two women at the top of the biggest luxury watch brands. Meet five female horological power players moving the needle in real time.

The dealer: Zoe Abelson

An internship spent answering phones at Antiquorum Auctioneers in New York provided Zoe Abelson’s introduction to luxury watches. “People were spending figures you would ordinarily spend on a house. It was eye-opening,” she says. It was quite a secluded market back then, but things shifted during the pandemic. Confined to their homes and desperate for connection, formerly private collectors began sharing images and information about their watches on social media. Demand boomed — and in 2021 Abelson, 33, launched Graal, a bespoke watch dealership in New York.

Today Abelson truffles out “grails’”, a term used by horology fanatics to denote their most coveted timepieces, from rare diamond-encrusted Cartier Crashes for seasoned collectors, to vintage Rolexes for newbies. She has also inadvertently become a poster girl for a new generation of female watch lovers after she posted a callout on her Instagram account @WatchGirlOffDuty for those interested in joining a women-in-watches WhatsApp group. Within 24 hours, 100 women had joined. She posts a message on the group every time she travels to a new city, asking if anyone would like to meet for a coffee: “It’s refreshing to have new conversations with women.” 

The stylist: Malaika Crawford 

Rihanna had a hand — or a wrist — in New York-based, London-born stylist and journalist Malaika Crawford’s watch education. At the start of her career, when Crawford, 33, was assisting Rihanna’s then stylist Mel Ottenberg between 2016 and 2019, she spent days sourcing unique wristwatches for the Bajan singer. “She wore them in such a cool, effortless way,” Crawford recalls. After taking a job at the online streetwear website Highsnobiety, where she focused on “taking away the serious snobbery around watches”, she joined the influential watch website Hodinkee as style editor in 2022.

After working in fashion, the male-centric, conservative nature of the watch industry came as a shock. “When you come from somewhere where you’re allowed to speak your own opinion, and oftentimes being radical is celebrated, being in the watch space sometimes feels like a minefield,” she says. But she’s enjoying meeting inspiring women, most recently the jewellery designer Carolina Bucci. “She’s designed a few watches with Audemars Piguet, including a Royal Oak with a mirror rainbow dial — it’s like nothing else out there at the moment,” she says. 

The collector: Jaclyn Li 

Purchasing a watch for her mother’s 50th birthday in 2019 proved the catalyst for 25-year-old Jaclyn Li’s timepiece obsession. The Harvard psychology undergraduate used her downtime during the pandemic to wise up on watches, before beginning to assemble her burgeoning collection. Her first purchase was a mis-step: she overpaid for a 1960s Rolex Daytona on eBay that was in worse condition than the photographs suggested. But she’s learnt fast, and now holds a collection of more than 30 pieces, including brands such as Cartier, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe.

Her latest obsession involves commissioning bespoke designs. Li is on the 8-year waiting list for a Charles Frodsham piece and, she recently received her Voutilainen watch, handmade in a three-year process. She’s made lots of friends through the online watch community via her Instagram account @a.dose.of.time — despite occasional confusion. “I don’t show my face on social media that much, so most people I talk to think I’m a guy. People have commented that I have an old man’s tastes! It’s not unfriendly — they’re just surprised,” she laughs. 

The jeweller: Patcharavipa Bodiratnangkura

The Bangkok-born jeweller Patcharavipa Bodiratnangkura, known as Pat to her friends, doesn’t wear a watch regularly herself, but she still appreciates them as timeless pieces of jewellery. The 32-year-old’s customised vintage styles certainly blur the lines between timepieces and jewellery, comprising primarily mid-century exemplars from labels such as Vacheron Constantin, Piaget and Patek Philippe, all embellished with bezels and straps in her signature watery-textured metal.

Their creation was a happy accident, sparked by the discovery with her partner in work and life, Kenzi Harleman, of an old 1940s Rolex in a Bangkok flea market in 2016. The duo decided to customise it as an experiment: soon, people were asking to purchase it. Sensing an opportunity, Harleman began buying up vintage watches in auctions online. Bodiratnangkura would draw the texture she wanted on the watch with a sharpie, then the in-house goldsmiths would work on the design using the wax casting method. Dover Street Market stocked a one-off selection; Rihanna bought three; the watches went viral. Not everyone loves them: horology enthusiasts have accused the duo of “ruining” the watches. But as Bodiratnangkura points out: “We found that younger customers tend to be attracted to unique products.” 

The executive: Amanda Mille 

Amanda Mille, 44, never assumed that she would join her father’s Swiss watch brand Richard Mille. Her father founded it at age 50, and Amanda, the eldest of seven, had already embarked on a career working in various roles in the restaurant, airline and beauty industries. In 2014, seeking a new challenge, she joined the brand and relocated to Dubai with the aim of engaging more female private clients in the Middle East. Four years later, she returned to Paris to manage the brand’s partnerships, which include ambassadorial roles for the tennis player Rafael Nadal and the actor Michelle Yeoh, as well as sports-led initiatives such as the sponsorship of two Formula One racing teams.

She speaks lovingly of the 5,400 watches produced last year (this year the brand expects to deliver 5,600). “My dad always says, we’re not saving lives by doing watches,” she says. “But I love the fact that people have special relationships with these timepieces. I really believe all of them are small babies waiting for their parents.” She wears an RM 016 with a pink strap that was a gift from her father. “Funnily enough, it’s the only watch I have from the brand.”

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