In the movie’s opening sequence, Rosamund Pike’s character Marla Grayson in Netflix’s I Care A Lot revealed pretty much everything you need to know about her. She’s not a lamb, she’s a ruthless lioness. Actually she used another word than ruthless. Point is, she’s not a good person, and she’s perfectly fine with that.
She has no qualms about taking money from helpless old people, throwing them in nursing homes then cutting off access to any family or friends they might have, and of course billing them exorbitant rates without ever batting an eyelid. Is she psychotic? Maybe. But man, she’s strong.
Those pencil thin dresses and razor sharp suits that match her razor sharp bob, Pike’s stellar performance here gave us serious chills, and multiple flashbacks to her acclaimed role in 2014’s Gone Girl. She enjoys her life—at least up until she messed with the wrong old lady—knows the system inside-out, and appears very practiced at returning threats with equally menacing clapbacks, especially when they come from men.
Indeed, Ms Grayson takes special pleasure in kicking down gender stereotypes and for this reason it makes perfect sense for her to be pairing those feminine yet powerful outfits with an equally feminine yet powerful timepiece. Behold, the IWC Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37.
Before anything, let us just say that this is not a typical ladies watch. It’s not your garden-variety, soft feminine timepiece designed for elegance, glamour and luxury. Well, it is elegant, glamorous, and luxurious—Full rose gold with diamonds? Definitely top shelf stuff—but the IWC Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 embodies a very different take on femininity. One that’s decidedly less about beauty as being the fairer sex, and much more about what being a modern woman means today.
To give you a better idea of this new and improved definition, take a look at the IWC Timeless Portofino campaign shot by Peter Lindbergh in 2014. Featuring Cate Blanchett, Emily Blunt and Zhou Xun wearing not evening gowns but tuxes as they traipsed around the Italian coastal village, it is clear that the Portofino collection targets women who are in complete control of their lives.
Which more than adequately describes Marla, who narrowly escapes certain death and before you know it, has already planned her revenge, which she executes impeccably, suspension of disbelief notwithstanding. Wearing the watch like a ladyboss is how she does it, and you’ve got to give extra style points too, for how this choice of timepiece reveals much more about who she is than, say, a full gold Rolex. It’s more than just an expensive watch.
Because if you knew IWC, you’d know that this brand specialises in sporty men’s watches, with a strong focus on technical engineering. So if a woman were to choose to wear an IWC ladies model, and reach all the way to the top with a solid gold one studded with diamonds, she’s definitely capable of punching far above her weight wherever it matters.
