Think about Poiray and it will trigger instantly the image of the Première watch, potentially the Préférence ring and assuredly the Tresse and the Heart. Back in 1985 the Preference sounded like a revolution breaking with the traditional rules of watchmaking … How come it has not wrinkled just a bit in over 30 years and is still as successful?
30 P. to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Première with a pinch of humor !
Poiray is probably as associated to Premiere and Preference as the Cœur and Tresse collections are … Yet, there are missing the three magical Ps depicting particularly well the Parisian brand.
Poiray is super popular, but how come most products – so proper and predictable – still please the past and present generations ?
Let’s picture it : Pauline, a prude young lady is meeting with Patricia, a posh mother of twins who patiently pushes the stroller of her progeny pretending to go see the priest for their annual purgatory.
Staring at the pure lines of her Première is the most practical piece her previous husband ever got her- if you ask Patricia. She then asks her younger friend, « Perhaps, that if I match my nailpolish to my watch bracelet, faith will come back ? »
« I don’t mean to be peculiar, » Pauline pouts, «but I haven’t seen much purple in their bracelet selection… Perhaps we suggest Poiray to create a punk version of their pink interchangeable bracelet with purple spikes ? What do you think ? »
In over thirty years, the Première watch launched by Poiray in 1985 was made in 66 models. The interchangeable bracelets offer a large variety of styles including pearls, calf skin or aligator. Also, the première has a numerous amount of dial possibilities including or excluding mother of pearl, diamonds or Roman number. Last but not leat, Poiray made over the years five different sizes of cases in order to fit each and every wrist, age, or gender.
Yes, in the past few years, the Poiray Premiere has been known for the simplicity of its case: a rectangular shape ranging from a 21.3 x 18.3 mm for the Mini to a 37.2 x 32.4mm for the XL Homme diameter.
This year marked the birth of Ma Premiere Manchette. Half-way between a cuff and a watch, the manchette has the square version of the original dial of the Premiere. The bracelet of the Premiere Manchette is made of ceramic links surrounded by stainless steel lines – refered as godron lines … Poiray’s signature.
We must admit that the watch case, embedded in the bracelet which is- by the way- super comfortable and flexible to the wrist modernize the original piece just enough to stick with the brand’s DNA yet – slightly going “overboard” … Poiray’s board, remember, nothing too risky!
For those who did not like the regular version of the Poiray – mini or XL Preference- thinking it was too small, too light or just not enough, the Manchette is the good alternative specially with the blue version with a matching dial.