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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Why They MatterWatchesApr 08, 2021
Watchfinder & Co. Axes Gender Labels
The company is now classifying watches by size instead of gender and encouraging other retailers to do the same.
A Tudor Black Bay Chrono timepiece ($4,900 with a strap, $5,225 with a bracelet). Watchfinder & Co. announced recently that it is removing “outdated” watch gender labels from its website. (Image courtesy of Watchfinder & Co.’s website)
New York—Watchfinder & Co. has removed gender labels from its website, a classification co-founder Matt Bowling called “redundant, restrictive, and outdated.”
In lieu of being labeled “men’s” or “women’s,” watches on the website are now classified as small, medium, or large.
In addition, the company has teamed up with America’s Next Top Model judge and fashion photographer Nigel Barker on a campaign to encourage manufacturers to help make genderless jewelry and watches the industry standard.
“I believe fashion is a form of self-expression and that people should be able to wear and express themselves however they want, in whatever they feel comfortable in,” said Barker in a press release about the label removal.
“When it comes to watches people should be able to choose whatever they want, as we all have our own style, and that shouldn’t be dictated to us by anyone.”
Choosing a watch based on gender may be falling out of fashion, said Watchfinder, noting celebrities like Jay-Z, Kanye West and Victoria Beckham have been spotted wearing watches labeled for another gender.
For example, Kanye West was seen wearing a 22 mm Cartier Crash, a smaller watch geared toward women, while Victoria Beckham is often seen wearing a larger 40 mm Rolex Daytona.
Related stories will be right here …
In lieu of being labeled “men’s” or “women’s,” watches on the website are now classified as small, medium, or large.
In addition, the company has teamed up with America’s Next Top Model judge and fashion photographer Nigel Barker on a campaign to encourage manufacturers to help make genderless jewelry and watches the industry standard.
“I believe fashion is a form of self-expression and that people should be able to wear and express themselves however they want, in whatever they feel comfortable in,” said Barker in a press release about the label removal.
“When it comes to watches people should be able to choose whatever they want, as we all have our own style, and that shouldn’t be dictated to us by anyone.”
Choosing a watch based on gender may be falling out of fashion, said Watchfinder, noting celebrities like Jay-Z, Kanye West and Victoria Beckham have been spotted wearing watches labeled for another gender.
For example, Kanye West was seen wearing a 22 mm Cartier Crash, a smaller watch geared toward women, while Victoria Beckham is often seen wearing a larger 40 mm Rolex Daytona.
Watchfinder’s analysis showed that while brands are seemingly reluctant to move away from traditional gender classifications, they have been picking up on the sizing trend.
Rolex recently upped the size of its 26 mm “Lady” Datejust to 28 mm and increased the size of its Ladies’ Pearlmaster by 10mm, from 29 mm to 39 mm.
Tudor, a Rolex-owned brand, just launched a smaller 39 mm version of its Black Bay diver’s watch while IWC introduced a smaller version of its classic Pilot watch at 36 mm.
“By removing the men’s and women’s categories from our business, we are encouraging customers to explore and discover more watches, helping them find the right watch for them,” said Bowling.
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