Before smartphones, many men swore by their watches. From Timex to Rolex, we wore our clocks on our wrists. A personal chronometer allowed us to get to an appointment, told us to eat, and showcased the hours of our lives. These essential jewelry pieces effectively managed our days. Then came the mobile phone morphing into a handheld computer with a clock application in only a few short years. It could give you exact seconds in various languages and every time zone with just a scroll.  Yet, with all that brilliant technology, man – and woman, too – continued their love for watches. A well-dressed man has every reason to flash his decorated timepiece while especially when scrolling for the next best thing.

The watch market is flooded with brands today, but few brands have the cache - and demand the prices that Rolex does. For many though, that quality and prestige of having a Rolex is simply unattainable. This is especially true for younger watch buyers and those who simply don't want to to wear a $10,000 watch on their wrist. For those people, there's Tudor. It's a sub brand of Rolex that is still made in Switzerland and despite not having the same cache as it's parent has certainly earned it's place as one of the world's premiere watch brands.

There comes a time in a man’s life when he decides to invest in a luxury timepiece as a celebration of his accomplishments. This rite of passage is often a memorable occasion and necessitates some smart shopping and critical thinking to choose the timepiece that’s right for his lifestyle and fashion sense.

I'm a junkie for history and things that have heritage - this goes especially true for historic aircraft. While today's pilots are incredible too, there was something special about those guys in the first half of the 20th century who strapped into flying machines and went wing to wing with their adversaries vs simply firing missiles from over the horizon. So, it's no mistake that Avi-8 would launch a line of watches inspired by these heroes to appeal to guys like me to forgo the tech-forward "smart watch" and instead go for something extremely masculine without being "hipster".

It was Oscar Wilde who uttered the words: “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months” - and it seems the novelist was right; what’s trendy changes so often, it’s a wonder we all keep up with it!

Watches, like ties and socks are one of those rare opportunities for guys to show off their style without being flashy. Well, OK... watches can be flashy and ostentatious too, but generally this is a great opportunity for a guy to be subtle and make an impact only when it slides out of your sleeve and the metal and crystal glints in the sunlight for just a moment or two.

Selecting a watch was once as simple as saying "I want the black one". In fact, there's almost no area where innovation has been as core to the industry as watches and clocks. From the early days when accurate timekeeping was critical to navigating a sailing vessel to the new world to today when your watch isn't even really just a timepiece, this industry is amazing. For those of us who love to travel to extreme and exotic locations though, this means that no matter where you are going there is a watch that is perfect to take with you!