Time Is Female: How Jaeger-LeCoultre Is Winning China’s Luxury Watch Market in 2025
For decades, women were treated as afterthoughts in the luxury watch world. Pretty faces, slim straps, diamonds on the dial. But in 2025, the story is different. A joint study by Swiss Deloitte and Watch Femme shows women are no longer satisfied with decorative accessories - they want the mechanics, the complications, the craftsmanship, and the meaning inside the watch.
And Jaeger-LeCoultre has taken notice.
Zhang Ziyi as the Face of a New Era
Appointing Zhang Ziyi as global ambassador is more than a celebrity partnership. She is one of China’s most influential actresses with global reach, making her the perfect figure to connect Jaeger-LeCoultre’s brand identity between Chinese consumers and the world stage.
The timing couldn’t be sharper. McKinsey’s State of Luxury 2025 projects the global luxury watch market will hit $33.1 billion by 2025. Women’s watches alone are estimated at $27.1 billion, growing at 6–6.75% annually over the next decade. The math is clear: high-income female consumers are driving the future of luxury timepieces.
Women Made of Time: From Exhibition to Cultural Movement
Bain & Company’s Global Luxury Market 2025 shows over 55% of young high-net-worth consumers now prioritize cultural storytelling and immersive experiences over pure function. Future Market Insights adds that mechanical watches are taking a bigger slice of the women’s segment each year.
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s answer? The Women Made of Time exhibition.
This immersive showcase reframes women’s relationship with time across four eras - Traditional, Freedom, Liberation, Avant-Garde - turning watchmaking into a cultural story rather than a product pitch. It’s not about showing off the brand but highlighting how women themselves have shaped high watchmaking over the last century.
The exhibition even includes a masterclass led by Antoine LeCoultre’s workshop, where participants handle the tools, feel the craftsmanship, and transform invisible artistry into a tactile experience.
Made of Makers: Art, Creativity, and Local Resonance
If Women Made of Time sets the stage, Made of Makers builds the long-term narrative. This initiative invites artists across disciplines - from perfumery to gastronomy - to reinterpret Jaeger-LeCoultre’s philosophy of craftsmanship through their own art.
By spotlighting female artists worldwide, the brand expands the cultural conversation around watches. In China, this plays out through collaborations with local talents like Wang Jiaqi, ensuring the story resonates deeply with Chinese consumers.
The effect: the watch is no longer just a luxury good. It becomes a cultural object — one that carries personal meaning, artistic expression, and social resonance.
From Manufacturer to Cultural Producer
Through these initiatives, Jaeger-LeCoultre is making a clear pivot. No longer just a manufacturer of luxury objects, it is positioning itself as a cultural producer - one that builds emotional connection, supports women’s creativity, and cements long-term relevance in Asia’s most dynamic market.
For a brand built on time, it’s proving that the future of watchmaking is female.
