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Cartier's Les Indomptables de Cartier brooch watch (price on request) features a green enamel dial with a crocodile scale motif and enamel leaves. The crocodile, which can be removed from the timepiece and worn as a brooch, is made of 18k gold and brilliant-cut diamonds and peers from emerald eyes. It is part of a limited edition of 50 numbered pieces. Encore Las Vegas, 702- 770-3498; cartier.us clients, and they're responding with a new realm of women's watches that includes automatic and mechanical pieces w it h sma ll complicat ions, such a s ch rono - g raphs, skeletons, ca lenda rs, moon-pha se indicators, and more. Unlike watch ma k ing for men, in wh ich a desig n concept st a r t s in t he lu xu r y f ield a nd trickles down to the fashion arena, the women's watch boom has its origins in the fashion world, where brands such as Michael Kors and Michele have taken the women's market by storm. Sales of women's fashion watches in the $300 to $500 price range were up 11 per- cent in 2013, according to LGI Network, an NPD Group Company. In a "trickle up" effect, several high-end designer brands began pay- ing attention to this market a few years ago. Chanel, Dior, and Van Cleef & Arpels created inventive, complicated watches, such as Chanel's J12 Tourbillon, with a tourbillon movement crafted exclusively for the brand by the renowned manufacturer APRP. Similarly, Dior unveiled the Inverse Caliber—a movement that lets the rotor be seen on the dial side while allow- ing for stunning decorative elements—and housed it in the brand's much- coveted Dior VIII collection. And Van Cleef & Arpels, long a designer of women's watches, launched its Poetic Complications line of whimsical ret- rograde and repeater watches for women, quickly stealing their hearts. Noticing these brands' success with high-end complex watches geared toward women, haute horology companies have begun taking action. "We owe it to women to be as t rue to them as we are to men with our high-end watchmaking," says Xavier Nolot, CEO of Audemars Pig uet NA , which cur rent ly produces st rong pieces for women in it s Roya l Oa k a nd Roya l Oa k Of fshore collect ions. Next yea r t he bra nd promises to unveil a line created expressly for women. "It used to be ea sy to t a ke a shor tcut for women and just offer beautiful timepieces, but t hat is not enough a ny more," he says. "Women are in places of power, executives, suc- cessful in all they do, and they demand a watch that makes a powerful statement on their wrist." The artistic director of Vacheron Constantin, Christian Selmoni, con- curs. "The challenge we face as an industry is giving women the perfect blend of beauty and technolog y," he says. "It is not good enough to put a mechanical movement inside a watch; we need to push to develop new looks for this new frontier." His brand has done precisely that. Of the 16 watch companies exhibiting at SIHH last year, Vacheron Constantin was the only one to unveil women's watches exclusively, including artistic mas- terpieces with enamel dials and mechanical movements. This year the bra nd cont inues t hat fem inine focus w it h t he Mét iers d'A r t Fabuleu x Ornements collection, celebrating the decorative arts. Exemplars of fine watchmaking, these timepieces feature open-worked calibers, as well as cases and dials showcasing the arts of guilloche, enamel, engraving, gem setting, and more. Each piece in this series houses the brand's ultraslim OPPOSITE PAGE: PHOTOGRAPHY BY YOUENN BOSHER; THIS PAGE: PHOTOGRAPHY BY VINCENT WULVERYCK/CARTIER VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 119 118-121_V_F_Watches_MAYJUNE_14.indd 119 4/21/14 1:24 PM