“I am drawn to pieces that feel distinctive—watches that not only stand apart visually but also carry a presence that feels personal and difficult to replicate,” Michelle Arifin says this matter-of-factly, the way someone speaks when they have long stopped needing to justify themselves to anyone.
Arifin is founder and managing director of Arimico, a boutique firm spanning travel experiences and branding. Her collection, she explains, is not the product of strategy. It is instinct, accumulated over time. A Cartier Cloche de Cartier Skeleton that surprises people. Pieces that feel right at different points in her life, and stay right.
She is not unusual, among the women who collect watches today.
What was once a male-dominated sphere—framed around acquisition, status, and speculation—has made room for a different language. Women collectors have introduced sentiment, legacy, and self-expression into a conversation that previously had little use for any of them. “In the end, a watch is meaningful to me not because of where it comes from, but because of what it was, is, and becomes, in relation to my life,” says Christina Lim, who runs her own public relations, communications, and change management consultancy.
The shift is measurable as well as felt. In 2022, the Deloitte Swiss Watch Industry Insights study predicted that “the future of the watch industry is female”—and three years on, the same study found that women are just as willing to invest in timepieces as men. “Looking ahead, the greatest potential for growth lies with female buyers and Gen Z, who are set to shape the future of the watch industry,” it notes.
The assumption that serious collecting belongs primarily to men is steadily, quietly losing ground. Part of what is accelerating the shift is the realisation that women’s interest in watches goes well beyond the aesthetic.
“Increasingly, more women are looking at complications and movements, and they don’t shy away from big, sporty watches,” observes Stephanie Soh, co-founder of TickTockBelles, the female watch community founded in 2022. Her fellow co-founder, Deborah Wong, adds that the relationship between women and watch brands matters as much as the timepieces themselves. “Women may not align themselves with the values of a brand if it is marketed with dominant figures or messaging that doesn,t speak to them.”
Social media has done the rest. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have democratised access to watch collecting and given women a platform to share their passion and reshape what the hobby looks like to a new generation. Savina Chow, a fashion content creator and entrepreneur, actively documents her vintage watch hunts for her followers. Over time, she has heard from them that their perceptions have shifted. “They no longer see them as intimidating or feel the need to master technical jargon before appreciating them. Watches aren’t limited to a specific luxury price range, nor are they exclusively made for men,” she says.
Here, keep an eye on this page as we introduce five of these women—and the watches that tell their stories.
Michelle Arifin
From sculptural timepieces to timeless design, Michelle Arifin reveals how instinct, memory and permanence shape the way she collects.