29mm 18k Sedna Gold Constellation Aventurine blue edition.
29mm 18k Sedna Gold Constellation Aventurine blue edition.
Image: Supplied

South Korean visual artist JeongMee Yoon has been exploring gender socialisation and identity since 2005 through her insightful work in “The Pink and Blue Project”. JeongMee’s colourful photographic studies also highlight the relationship between gender and global consumerism.

“The saccharine, confectionery-pink objects that fill my images of little girls and their accessories reveal a pervasive and culturally manipulated expression of ‘femininity’ and a desire to be seen,” she explains in her artist’s statement, reflecting on the project inspired by her five-year-old daughter’s obsession with the colour.

During her early research, JeongMee discovered that “pink was once a colour associated with masculinity”: a diluted version of red with the same powers. In the early 1900s, an advert in a US newspaper advised mothers to “use pink for the boy and blue for the girl, if you are a follower of convention”.

With post-World War 2 mass consumerism, political correctness, and advertising came the reversal of these colour associations, along with the gender- conforming stereotypes and hyper-superficial messaging linked to them. Yet, while the idea of femininity is constantly evolving, the pink and blue items, with their archaic, socially imposed symbolism and content, continue to dominate shopping sites and aisles.

Fortunately, there is a growing societal challenge to these conventions and gender norms. Even in the traditional industry of watchmaking, where anything feminine used to be associated with frivolity, we’ve seen a shift away from the assumptions of what women want from their timepieces. While diamond-encrusted jewellery watches are not about to disappear, we do see an acknowledgement from brands of the desire for mechanical pieces suited to changing lifestyles and attitudes, shared across gender lines.

Marking time are the gold skeletonised hour and minute hands, while a gold-ringed window at 6 o’clock displays the date

These lines might be blurring, but ultimately your size or dial-colour preference has less to do with your gender and more to do with your interests, comfort, attitude, and personal style. I think we’ve heard enough about men on the moon, or Mars, for that matter, so it is refreshing to see the more inclusive lineup of novelties from Omega this year.

The featured 29mm 18k Sedna Gold Constellation Aventurine blue edition is the latest novelty in a collection that has long been Omega’s symbol of precision. Its origins date back to the early 1900s and the era of observatory trials — once the Academy Awards of chronometry — where Omega set the first of numerous world records.

The first Constellation model was launched in 1952, with its characteristic 12-segment “pie-pan” domed dial. The Manhattan models from 1982 introduced the look we know today, with notable features including the four claws, facetted barrel-shaped case, and indexes on the bezel. While the claws at 3 and 9 o’clock are now a decorative feature, they were once functional clamps to compress the gaskets at the case back and glass to improve water resistance.

There is nothing frivolous about a watch bearing the name Constellation and featuring a ring of Top Wesselton white diamonds on its bezel and hour markers offset against the natural blue gemstone dial of our featured watch. Marking time are the gold skeletonised hour and minute hands, while a gold-ringed window at 6 o’clock displays the date. Supplying the power is a Co-Axial Master Chronometer calibre 8701, visible through the domed sapphire crystal case back. Water-resistant to 50m.

R372 000, omegawatches.com.

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