Patek's new CH 29-535 movement

When I got my wife a Marvin M111 for Christmas last year, I had no idea I was following a new industry trend. Even stranger is the fact that I added an M004 to my own collection (I love the orange dial, what can I say). As such, we are both breaking with tradition it seems.

How so? Because for decades the common wisdom (and sales figures back it up) is that men preferred mechanical watches with complications while women gravitated toward “simpler” quartz models. The M111 is a mechanical ladies watch. And the M004 is a quartz model.

Then recently I read this surprising article about Patek’s new in-house movement CH 29-535 PS recently uncovered in Paris (shown left). The “surprise” is that, after five years, the movement is first being released in a ladies watch! The article quotes Thierry Stern, Patek’s CEO, as saying “PP believes the market for women’s complicated watches is growing”. Now, if Patek went through the trouble of releasing this $80,000 mechanical jewel for women to begin with, I believe them!

Interestingly enough, we noticed the same thing at Marvin. For example, one of the most popular models with the ladies for us is the venerable M112, clearly a “man’s watch” but is it really? At Marvin we are about 70/30 on male/female sales ratios. Clearly we have more men watches than ladies, but I think many women are showing a preference for men’s watches. Additionally, I believe more and more women are buying watches for themselves, as opposed to gifts, for example. It’s not just about the “fashion brands” either – like Nina Ricci perhaps. Many gals I know want the “real deal” – not just the bling. I wondered if this was true across ages as well.

As an experiment, I presented my mother in law with an assortment of Marvins on December 31st last year and told her to pick the one she would prefer to wear at her New Year’s Eve outing that night.  She had this palette of choices (including the M111 not displayed here) shown here.

Guess which one she picked? The 41mm M104? Nope. She fell in love with the “manly” M109 (2nd from the right) and I had to almost pry it off her arm the morning after – I know, I’m a bad son in law

Point being, I would never have expected a woman to pick that model. Clearly, I wasn’t in tune with the latest lady trends in the watch world until Patek Philippe and my mother in law put me back on the proper track!