Watch Trends For Men

By Jessica Raye

This year in the watch industry everyone has been talking about smart watches. When Apple announced the imminent arrival of its interactive digital Apple Watch, the market began speculating if these high tech timepieces would somehow shift the marketplace similarly to how the arrival of quartz battery watches in the 1970s nearly decimated the traditional watch brands of the time.

However the innovative, artistic and original watches that came out of last month’s Baselworld fair cemented the allure of handmade traditional timepieces. Here is a list of some of the best watch trends for men:

Rolex

Rolex has come up with a dark and sexy new timepiece that is a departure from their more conventional styles with its new Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master watch. Rolex has got rubber straps in “Oysterflex” featuring a cool matte black coloring. The black and 18K rose gold color palette also helps to blur the lines between stylish and sporty, as does the option to buy the watch in a 37mm or 40mm case. But as different as this watch might seem, there are still enough hallmark Rolex touches — the trademark “cyclops lens” magnifying date aperture at 3 o’clock, the in-house mechanical automatic movements.

Patek Philippe

Probably the most talked about watch was the unveiling of Patek Philippe’s first pilot watch in over 80 years: The Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Ref. 5524 timepiece. Measuring 42mm, the piece was inspired by a pair of vintage aviator watches that take pride of place in the brand’s museum. The white gold watch has a second time zone function that adjusts with ease via patented locking pushers on the left of the case. The self-winding caliber 324 S C FUS movement can be seen through the transparent caseback, and the cool look of the dark navy dial echoes the hues used on fighter planes from the 1930s.

Harry Winston

Harry Winston has now carved out a beautiful niche for itself in the feather dial department. Over the past few years, the brand has come up with a number of stunning watches that feature feathers painstakingly laid out to perfection across the dial.

Up until now the selection was more feminine. But now with the 42mm Midnight Feathers Automatic watch there is something for men. This watch has black and brown feathers laid across its face, and a sapphire caseback allowing an elegantly unfettered view of the timepiece’s in-house HW2008 mechanical movement.

Chopard

Chopard is often referred to as a jewelry house, but its impressive lineup of precision luxury watches should not be missed. Case in point: the new L.U.C Regulator. This rose gold 43mm timepiece is a striking new addition to the L.U.C line and is chronometer-certified. It counts an impressive nine-day power reserve and features a second time zone, with the GMT function set into motion via an understated corrector pusher recessed into the side of the case. The dial is jam-packed with information, but Chopard has given every function space to shine and thus makes this multifaceted watch incredibly easy to read. It’s a great investment.