Reply With QuoteWouldn't a steel ladies with a PRS-1 dial get all the blokes (like me) haranguing you to make some gent's size models with steel case and PRS-1 dials which, in turn, would p*ss off all the real PRS-1 owners?Originally Posted by swanbourne
I have thought about this for a long time but still don't know if there is any real demand for such a watch.
Lady Speedbird. 30-32mm case, in the style of the Speedbird and with PRS-1 dial. Possible option of pink gold plated case but mainly steel.
Because this would need to be a new case, I can't just make a dozen to test the water. What do you think guys?
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Wouldn't a steel ladies with a PRS-1 dial get all the blokes (like me) haranguing you to make some gent's size models with steel case and PRS-1 dials which, in turn, would p*ss off all the real PRS-1 owners?
I don't think so because there has already been a gent's PRS-1 but never a ladies.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I'm in. Steel only, I hate gold plating in any form, and the wife is so hard on watches that she would scratch a plated watch up in no time flat.
Any chance of a downscaled "Nato-ette" strap for this? (Just wanted to get that suggestion in before Crusader!) :lol:
Great idea! My wife would love the Speedbird II look in ivory. With WR at least 100m and a sapphire crystal it would be GREAT.
Regards,
Mark
nt
Recommend we stick with no-date PRS-1 dial on this one.
I can't speak for everyone, but my wife is a non-WIS, and likes a simple, streamlined look the best. She can cope with an auto watch (I have successfully convertd her from quartz), but the the date function is something she really doesn't need or want, and she doesn't like to fiddle with it.
Most ladies watches don't have a date function, and it seems that most women don't need or want it. Check with your wife/fiance/girlfriend/POSSLQ and you will likely find out that this is true for the majority.
Just my 2 cents!
Ehem! I live to learn: what is a POSSLQ?
Wy wife has date on her Longines, but not on many, if any, of the others.
Eddie, I'd buy one if I was a lady, or if I had a lady to buy one for :D
Ming
I would buy two one for my Wife and one for my Daughter.
I'll buy one.
Kevin
I was just about to make that suggestion indeed ... :D
Crusader
Cheers,
Martin ("Crusader")
Just an idea...maybe we can call it the Ladybird? :D
Ming
I think you should have a couple of LOLs there!
:thumbright: :thumbleft: :D
I want one!
as long as it follows the original Speedbird.
Speedlady? Fastlady? SpeedBIRD? :roll:
Hi,
I think the Speedbird style is too masculine/mannish for a woman,it's true
that the gold plating would feminise it, but still too much of a military look imo.
And remenber that IWC discontinued of their Lady sized Mark XII,probably a poor seller.(how the Zeno lady pilot is selling?)
Of course I do not want to be a bad bird but if you ask my opinion.
If you go with goldplated then do it the 1960/70's Omaga way=60 microns
so the case can even be polish one's or twice before replating,again my opinion is only
worst what you paid for it.
Best
RAF
I don't agree that the style is too masculine for a woman, for what it's worth both my wife and eldest daughter love my PRS-1. My wife has a Breitling that she's happy with but I'd certainly get one for my daughter.
Ladybird name is a winner and mini NATO strap would be great also - a chance to finally order those pink NATO's Eddie :lol: :lol:
Michael.
I'd buy.... but it would be for my Mum (can't do it by May 7th ??? - 70th brithday - course not - engineering lead times), as an ex school teacher she loves clear arabic numerals on a watch & a small speedy would work lovely.
Cheers
Chris.
Firstly I would like to say that these are my views and not representative of anything else…………………
It does seem to me that women think of Watches in a different way to us Blokes. They seem to look at Watches like they might select a piece of Jewellery. In other words ‘whatever takes their fancy at the time based on appearance and fashion’. :roll:
Now some people would say, “that’s how many Men decide on ‘which watch to buy’” and they may have a point, but I would also bet that many regulars on your forum will buy a watch now based on their requirements for form, function, legibility, robustness, and perhaps style influenced by a personal interest is previous designs for military watches and horology in general. (This is not they way that my wife thinks about watches and I would guess that’s the same for many other lady’s out there)
If you were to arrange for a Lady Speedbird (Ladybird) to be made then I would suggest that most women would prefer yellow gold plating or basic polished steel. The reason for this is that most Lady’s jewellery is in Yellow Gold (thank you once again to Mrs NSP for this info)
If the watch design is going to have a second hand, then let’s make sure it’s a sweeping one brought about by an automatic movement. (Because a ticking second hand looks cheaper) :?
A manual wind watch will be too much of a burden, remember “what with all the other jobs she has to do”, let’s not create another unnecessary task. :lol:
Brian is spot on with the date function. (Don’t have one! It’s only an additional complication)
If there’s no second hand, make it quartz. With a battery easily changed at the Trafford centre (The Mall).
Water resistance is a benefit. (Bathing babies, washing up…etc) :shock:
Eddie, Women’s watches are a different market. Good luck to you in your brave endeavours in this area. I would like to thank you -in advance- for arranging for a unique Swiss timepiece to be made (on a limited edition only basis) for my wife’s next Christmas Present!
:lol: Cheers
Sorry, Anders!
POSSLQ = Person (of the) Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters
Official US Government slang from the US Census Bureau about 20 years ago.
(God, I'm such a knob!) :roll: :roll:
I agree with NSP. A Ladybird (Minibird :D ) should be on quartz with a polished ss or gold plated case and enough WR (screwdown crown). I also agree with him when saying that man and women have different opinions about watches. I didn't discussed this watch thing in depth with my girlfriend because I'm afraid she will develop a bad habbit.
Does the case have to be round or did you think about square too? The Fortis Spacematic Ladies is a nice watch with pilot-like dial. I didn't had the impression that man are wearing much square cases, there are much more square models for women. :?
Could you use this as a starting point?
http://www.zenowatchbasel.com/php/zenov ... sv&c=other
Perhaps your own hands, bezel and dial?
Kevin
It looks a good place to start Kevin. Would certainly eliminate the quantity problem.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
A very nice starting point indeed.
I am going to throw in my purely subjective two bezants' worth as well:
- I find women wear watches on a less regular basis than men. I would not leave home without a watch, my wife will. That factor favors quartz. I cannot picture my wife (or any woman) synchronizing an automatic that has not been used for a couple of days with a time signal to set the time correctly ("too much hassle").
- The thing must be reasonably waterproof, so that it won't have to be taken off and forgotten.
- My wife insists on ggod lume as a apractical measure (maybe that's whay we married? Though we did not get married at night illuminated by Traser watches...)
- Titanium would be a bonus, as it is lightweight. Not everybody loves to lug heavy time-pieces around.
Crusader
Cheers,
Martin ("Crusader")
I've just come off the phone to Zeno. It's certainly a possibility.
Same case as the Zeno 8454
PRS-1 dial (with Super Luminova)
Sapphire crystal
30 metre water resist
Speedbird view back
Plain rotor (I don't think it should have a Zeno rotor)
Limited edition of 50 pieces
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I have to agree with RAF above. It would be too masculine for a couple of women I know although they do like the Speedbird & Dreadnought (on me). This is the sort of think they like:
http://www.omega.ch/omega/co_watch?ID=1 ... lineID=347
Yes Ladybird............I like that.............a Gold one though with a leather strap and............can you get a small deployment to match the mens
We would have a pidgeon pair
" Ladygoldbird " with a RRS 1 dial ...........would have to ask Joy`s opinion
Geez this is getting complicated already
I will buy one ............ 8)
For one thing I'm sure that there are many women around who like to wear more masculine designed midsize watches to very small ladies watches. Especially if they tend to an 'active' lifestyle.....
Amongst my friends I see women wear seiko divers' , swatch body & soul skeletons, and one of them regularly wears a SB1903.... :thumbleft: .............whereas my girlfriend has taken a liking to my Zenith deLuca.... :angel8:
So this Zeno would be a good start for a 'Ladybird'
Shouldn't be to hard to get 50 girls tempted with that......:queen:
Jeroen
My POSSLQ, while not yet a WIS, likes watches.
What she is always after is a bigger watch (say 35-38mm diameter) but thin. If you look at the more fashionable women's watch brands (e.g. Cartier) - they are getting significantly larger in diameter than they used to. What makes a watch more 'butch' looking (in her opinion) is when they are too thick. The thin criterion, unfortunately, often dictates a quartz movement.
She regularly bemoans the fact that there aren't any reasonably priced watches for women that are fashionable. So - huge market opportunity if you get it right me-thinks.
With all due respect to my esteemed colleagues, I think you're missing the point if you focus on what Women will buy. For a start it's not as if they share a common taste due to gender any more than we do.
It's much more important that this be something that we will buy for them, isn't it? If I was to buy a SpeedLady/LadyBird for my wife she would wear it, even if it wasn't what she would have bought for herself. It's not as if I'd be giving her something bad to wear, and the fact that I wanted to include her in my world of "Eddies Watches" would mean everything to her.
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
I disagree. I wouldn't wear something I didn't like and I wouldn't expect my girlfriend to either just because I bought it for her. Cultural difference?
Ross.
I didn't say "if she didn't like it", I said "even if she wouldn't have bought it for herself" - it's not the same thing. I have received many gifts that I would not have chosen for myself, but ended up liking anyway.
Kevin
I would buy one for my fiance. I think it should have a second hand, be steel and preferably automatic with reasonable water resistance.
Ok. I stand corrected. But even if it's not a watch a lot of women would buy for themselves, I think a lot would not like it if bought for them. I'm not knocking Eddie's aim at making a womens' watch in general, I think a different style might be more appealing to the fairer sex. I see this as the equivalent of taking a popular women's watch, making a larger version with some tweaks and expecting men to like it.
Too big - max for my wife is about 25mm. Date is not essential. I don't think she cares for black, either.
Common law wife, as some would say.Sorry, Anders!
POSSLQ = Person (of the) Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters
Official US Government slang from the US Census Bureau about 20 years ago.
(God, I'm such a knob!) :roll: :roll:
Eddie,
I think it's a great idea. Would those be 16mm lugs? It would allow a greater strap variety...
What, assuming the project is a "go", is the "expected" availability date? Some of us are busily saving for the CAF, SM300, etc., and would like to know how long we would exist on rice...
Thanks.
....the exact same thing as the original PRS-1:
black dial
auto movement
steel case
no date
but in a smaller case size? Too obvious for a ladybird..... :roll:
I think they want a watch that doesn't stop (quartz) and the can do everything with it (WR100m and sapphire crystal). No date.
They don't care about chronometers, modified ETAs but they expect to keep a perfect time. (quartz again)
Total agreement from me but would want SB2 style hands. My Daughter is already exited about this project (and she is only 12).
Here's the case from the Zeno 8454 (29mm) with the PRS-1 dial superimposed. Not sure about the name though. Lug width is 14mm.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Looks good. But it can't have a feminine name, it doesn't suit the watch
Ming
Maybe it should be another Richmond Spencer?
Ming
That's an idea Ming. On the other hand, it could simply be a Speedbird?
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Speedbird III? Nah, I think as it's a different case, it should probably have a different name. Or maybe combine the two and have an RS-Speedbird?
Or Speedbird RS?
Ming
A Ladybird in Gold............... 8)
A Speedbird in Gold............. 8)
A Ladybird speedbird in Gold........ 8)
A Lady speedbird in Gold.......... 8)
:?: :?:
Actually, just "Speedbird" has never appeared on a dial......
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I think just Speedbird would be fine. I showed it to my Daughter and she really didn't like Ladybird.
Looks brilliant!
Speedchick?
We had Speedbird, Speedbird II, Speedbird 1903, then Goldbird (which would have been Speedbird IV?), so does that make this Speedbird V?
Speedbird
Lady
I do think it needs "Speedbird" somewhere on the dial to tie it with the family.
Kevin
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