Women's watches, a glimpse on what they want : the Beu Solid 20 ATM 36mm

Women's watches, what are they and how are they defined? Everybody has their own opinion, some people might think that is about the size (usually anything under 36mm) and some others believe that if it has precious stones then is definitely a for ''her'' item. In my humble opinion this couldn’t be farther from the truth, I have small wrists (as I have been preaching in all the reviews) but I really enjoyed my first Rolex which was a 34mm Oyster Precision, I also think that many guys out there will enjoy the Patek Philippe 5170P Chronograph in platinum with blue sunburst dial and diamond indexes. None of these watches are considered for women, unisex at most so we are back to the main question, what makes someone say that a watch is not for men?

If we want to complicate things even a bit more, we go to vintage watches. There is no secret that vintage watches are usually smaller, that's just how things were back there, so why this obsession with the size?

All this questions brings us to the BEU Solid 20 ATM in 36mm. We were very lucky to receive 2 watches from BEU (thanks again) and compared them, the first one is directed to the female audience which we will take a deep dive today and the other aimed towards men at 40mm with a PVD case. My partner (which I will keep in secret) started wearing the watch and she will share her impressions with us. For a bit of background she is not a watch person and she doesn’t even have watch (I know) but she has seen many (from me mostly) and always asks questions about their design or what makes them appealing, she would be the perfect person to really dig in what makes a women's watch and also what are the features that they care about.

Here is a little extract on her thoughts:

''One of the reasons I never wore women watches is because they are usually too flashy and full of extravagant details this BEU has exactly the right balance, It is not girly but at the same time delicate.

The crown has the perfect size although I find the watch a bit too heavy, but I am not used to wear watches so that might be the main reason.

The pink strap is cute and matches perfectly with the black and gray part of the dial and the size of the watch also hugs/fits my wrist. I've changed the strap a couple of times to see how it would look like and it goes with any colour, this is cool because I could change it depending to my mood and outfit.

Simple and elegant at the same time, very easy to read the time.

You can notice its a tough and good quality watch, as mentioned is very versatile as I picked it up every morning and its there working''

If we quickly breakdown the thoughts above we can see that size and wearability are very important for women, this is why small sizes are usually targeted for them, but lets not forget the Solid is 36mm so it seems that it is spot on. Then we move to the versatility which seems to play a big part, in an world were we wake up and go to gym, then change to commute to the office and change again to formal/casual clothing a versatile watch can be king (or queen in this case) , if you are not into watches surely you do not want to have 2 or 3 different pieces with you to match every outfit, this is why the BEU Solid is a success, is though enough to go to the gym and low key enough to a casual environment. We also used this watch on a leather brown nato strap and it was something else, I personally wore it for an extra week like this. This versatility is partially achieved by the brushed steel with the black face, a gorgeous combination that works in many watches, it's a strap monster.

Somethings that BEU managed to do very well was the case, even if you are not a watch person like my partner you start noticing the quality of the piece just with trough case. A very important feeling is the way that the watch hugs the wrist, this is something that I've noticed also with the 40mm version, it is so comfortable that I feel like I can really do anything with it, from washing the car or go hiking, the watch always stays on its place.

Then at last we have the movement, I have heard many women who prefer quartz watches, (there are also many of them which don't) I guess once you get into watches then mechanical is the way to go but that is not to say that quartz doesn’t have it's advantage, as mentioned by the subject (she would killed me when she reads that I called her this) she felt that this is pick and go piece, and sometimes is what you need, I love using my Grand Seiko GMT with a 9F quartz movement, its always ready like the 2 minutes that takes the microwave to do my beloved porridge every morning, not one minute less not one minute more. The BEU carries an amazing quartz movement, a Miyota Super 2036 which is ±15 sec per month after casing! This is convenient not only for men and women who are not into the hobby but also for everyone who is.

So overall what is a women's watch, something accurate? Something small or something that feels just right? I think that there is no definition just like there is no set of rules when it comes with an ultra thin watch. A women's watch is something that feels right regardless the size or precious stones in it, something that can be versatile in a dynamic lifestyle, that could be a 44mm Panerai Luminor, a 40mm Rolex Submariner or a 36mm BEU solid, a women's watch is simply a watch, not to girly but delicate at the same time.