Return Of The Pink

Sorry Karl, but now's the moment to think pink and wear it, as the year's latest timepieces range from sweet blush and cotton candy to traffic-stopping fuchsias and sultry magenta.

- CELINE YAP

Associated with love, compassion and kindness, pink is often regarded as the de facto colour of femininity. Its sweet softness gives the impression of innocence, playfulness and budding romance. Like sugar, spice and all things nice, basically. But these days, pink is also powerful. After Millennial Pink swept the globe, after Barbiecore, after Valentino's landmark Pink PP collection, after more than 20 years since the first Legally Blonde movie with a third on the way, after social movements like Pink Ribbon and Pink Dot, this mood-boosting hue is no longer just a colour for pop princesses and teen girls.

Officially a full-fledged craze right now, the bold pink aesthetic has even made it into the fine watchmaking space, and that's how we know it has truly become a staple hue. Not to say that pink has long been absent from this scene. Far from it. Watchmakers frequently use this colour as a quick and easy way to appeal to women.

Industry insiders used to joke that in the past, to make a ladies watch, you take an existing timepiece, make it smaller, make it pink and cover it with diamonds. Today, however, when brands set out to create a feminine timepiece, they don't just stop at pink. They'd ask: "But which specific tone of pink?"

And it matters for two reasons. One, brands are thinking harder than before in creating watches for women. Two, fashion trends are influencing watchmaking trends in a mutually beneficial way, and importantly, watch brands are no longer flatout resisting the idea that fashion and watches can make good bedfellows. So whether you're a Barbie girl living in a Barbie world, or just a diehard Valentino fan with exquisite taste in timepieces, this is your year to truly indulge in haute horlogerie.