Women in watches: five leading ladies in the watch industry

There's no question watches are big business. While major markets such as the mainland are levelling, exports of Swiss watches are still above average and the women's sector is on the rise. According to World Watch Report, the industry's leading market research group, sales of women's timepieces rose by more than 7 per cent last year.

Luxury watch brands are showing greater appreciation for the role women can play in the industry as consumers and decision-makers. 

More are dedicating a bigger percentage of output to women's timepieces and, in some cases, developing mechanical and complicated timepieces for their collections. 

Breguet's Queen of Naples Day and Night 8998, launched last year, is part of a long-term plan to develop new features in women's watches, in this case using the movement's balance wheel to display the sun, while a titanium disc moon rotates around it indicating day or night.

Chanel gave women the J12 Flying Tourbillon, the first time it has put the complication in a female version of its J12 collection, and Audemars Piguet is developing new collections to reduce the gap between its men's and women's watches, which account for about 30 per cent of sales.

Last year, it launched a global campaign pitching its Royal Oak at women under the direction of its chairwoman Jasmine Audemars, an anomaly in the industry who has headed her family-run company since 1992.