As your needs for more form and function increase, so do your options.

Would You Please Pass the Gadgets?
Big and elaborate, multi-functional and manly. Pilot watches (celebrating their 100th birthday this year) and diving watches have been around forever and will never go out of style. Specially designed to deflect the elements and tackle the task, these watches traditionally feature chronographs, large winders and knurled slide rules (so you could use them with your gloves on), large and/or lighted numerals and tick marks (so you could read them in the dark). They weren’t just useful, they were cool! And the wearer was intriguing and adventurous. Today is no different: “the [pilot] watches have become popular with consumers who enjoy multi-technical timepieces, consider them a fashion statement, use them when traveling, or just dream of flying,” says senior editor of Jewelers’ Circular Keystone magazine, William George Shuster. Now if it could just do your taxes . . .

Thin is Still In
Ultra-thin, sleek and luxurious. Victoria’s Secret has their Second Skin lingerie, men have their second-skin watch—so thin, (we’re talking 4mm!) you hardly know it’s there. The polar opposite of the pilot watch, but just as eye-catching, this style oozes sophistication. The more expensive styles may feature a small diamond at 12 o’clock.

Get Your Heavy (and Not-So-Heavy)
Metal Here
The very first wrist watch was made of steel. Today, alternative metals are taking over. Without question, titanium is becoming every man’s metal. This solid, sturdy and serious metal is incredibly lightweight—you must hold it to believe it. More and more innovative metals have become available for watches and jewelry, taking men’s accessories to a whole new level of refined style. Says George Simpson of The Touch, “These metals are high-tech, and men love the technical aspect to just about everything. It’s boys with toys.”

Retro-Evolution
Trendy, casual, funky and colorful. Probably something you wouldn’t wear to a board meeting, but for the rest of the hours of the week, this style is back and in endless forms. Look for traditional white faces with large black numerals encased in odd shapes (rectangles, ovals, even old TV-screens). You’ll also find faces with rusty-orange gradients and ocean-surf blues with only tick marks for numbers. The bands are everything from leather straps with cut-outs to wide cuffs to heavy colored canvas with stripes.

And Speaking of Cuffs…
If the watch itself isn’t big, then the band or “cuff” is. In fact, it’s probably huge, and it’s probably leather. It’s almost like your belt wrapped itself around your wrist. You will see single cuffs that are up to 3” wide, or double cuffs (one strap is hooked to the watch and that strap is attached to an even wider strap). Giant, noticeable grommets and screws pierce the leather to hold everything together.

Remember When…Today
Finally the old reliable: the pocket watch. Classic, traditional, masculine and distinguished. Every man should have one. More and more men are paying tribute to a simpler time by using a pocket watch and watchmakers are bumping up their production of these classics while adding a bit of contemporary styling.

Click here to find a jeweler who has the styles you’ve been watching and waiting for.