Times and tastes change, but the luxury watches below are favorites among upper middle-class men for a variety of reasons. What brings these watches for men together is a combination of inimitable style and durability. But they're quite different, and if you're looking for the perfect holiday or end-of-year watch, these classic timepieces are ones to look at when it comes to the gift that can last a lifetime.
Cartier Tank Wristwatch
The Cartier Tank takes the prize for being a trendsetter on this list. Its almost spartan design has made it a favorite in terms of elegance and simplicity since 1917.
Famed as a favorite timepiece of President John F. Kennedy, the Cartier Tank is often credited for the design that inspired countless other wristwatches today.
Since those early days, it's gone through a variety of different incarnations (over 200 of them), and starts at about $2,000, about a month's rent for a Los Angeles two-bedroom apartment.
Jaeger-LeCoutre Master Control
The Master Control is a watch designed upon the standards of classic timepieces of the 1950's while taking them one step further. The Jaeger-Lecoutre Master Control was put through a rigorous and unprecedented series of tests known as the "1000 hours control" ensuring some of the best timekeeping on earth.
These stunning watches feature beautiful chrome facing with Arabic numerals at three corners with the date at the six. At $4,000, the tradition, stunning look and heavy testing these watches undergo make them pieces to hold for a lifetime.
The Invicta Bolt Zeus
Named after the king of gods in Greek mythology, the wide variety of styles and colors, as well as the sheer size of this chronograph makes it an almost irresistible to add to the collection.
The Invicta Watch Bolt Zeus contains a lot of information on the face of the watch, but not as much the Venom Hybrid (below) while still retaining more complex information than the average classic wristwatch. At prices ranging from $300-800, the Bolt Zeus is a great watch that is both classy and casual, and a welcome addition to any collection.
Victorinox Airboss Mechanical Black Edition
Few watches have a claim to fame that gives them credibility as timepieces outside of being timepieces, but the Victorinox Airboss series does, and it can probably be summed up in the words "Swiss Army". Victorinox produces timepieces and tools for the Swiss Army, most notably the Swiss Army knife. And like its counterpart in the world of tools, the Airboss Mechanical Black Edition is designed with ease of use in mind.
Its sleek black design uses sparse color and large, very legible Arabic numerals, and the date is shown at six o'clock. Designed to be waterproof up to 100 meters, the Victorinox Airboss Mechinical Black Edition is an attractive piece which is also attractively priced at $995.
Omega Seamaster 300
For the man who wants to channel his inner 007. The Omega Seamaster 300 was released at the same time as the movie Spectre, in a signed and numbered run of 7,007 editions.
More than just a pretty replica of the Seamaster from the movie, the functionality of the watch - it has a magnetic resistance of 15,000 Gauss without a Faraday Cage - is impressive enough that it could well be used in your next mission. At a current retail price of around $6,000, this watch makes for a fantastic collector's item, or a watch for a special occasion.
Invicta Venom Hybrid Gold Relogio
The Invicta Venom Hybrid Gold is a stylish watch with an appearance that seems almost self-aware of its practicality. The watch has multiple dials for the time and date, as well as a tachymeter for good measure.
Among all of the men's Invicta watches, this is a chronograph that appears just as well-fitted against a pair of Salvatore Ferragomo as a nautical watch for a boating excursion. This watch says it's useful while looking good. It's also a rather affordable watch, and can often be found for less than $1,000.
Seiko Monster
The Seiko Monster is a dive watch, and its design obviously reflects conscious style choices to make it easier to use under a variety of weather conditions. The watch has large, outlined hour markings (as opposed to numbers) on a very large, comfy bezel.
