Round-UpEthos Watch Awards 2017: The 20 Best Watches For Men

It’s been quite the year for watches. With innovations on all fronts, men have had tonnes to choose from. Of course, it’s no secret that men like their watches just as fondly as they indulge in other toys like fast cars and gadgets. The thing is that in the world of luxury timepieces, there’s a lot more on offer than meets the eye. Behind those dials, there are far more exciting worlds, where you could get lost, and a lot can be found. Beyond time, beyond the date, beyond leather and steel, beyond colour, it’s crazy how much watches have to offer these days. We’ve handpicked the best timepieces of the year, such as the Favre-Leuba Bivouac that soared to a new height, or the Panerai Submersible and Omega Commander’s Watch that touched new depths. There are innovations in materials aplenty – with Breitling’s Hurricane and Corum’s Bronze. Slimmer watches, smartwatches, high-complication watches, stellar designs…it’s all here.

And let’s not forget our ‘watch of the year’, the Oris Aquis Date. We got the reaction from the CEO of Oris, Rolf Studer, himself, and he was ecstatic. “That makes me feel fantastic!” he exclaimed. “I think it’s a great choice. It’s a fantastic watch for any situation in your life, for sports, or for more elegant occasions. It’s also a very serious mechanical watch, it works in any climate. And it has fine details that have been perfected over years.”

And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s get on with it. We present: our special selection of watches for 2017.

1. Oris Aquis Date – Watch Of The Year 2017

Without further ado, here’s presenting the ‘watch of the year’, the Oris Aquis Date. Validating the spirit of an underwater watch enthusiast, the Aquis Date is a handsome timepiece. It deserves the prestigious title because the watch is not just a tool, but offers a plethora of functional features that would satiate even a finicky watch admirer’s demands. An upgraded version of the original legend, the watch is loaded with contemporary aesthetics – a sleek, black bezel, high-grade, stainless steel case, and a refined caseback. The Aquis Date is available in a gorgeous gradient blue or black dial. A 43.5mm case suits the steadfast diver’s watch and the heavily knurled bezel can be operated on a diver’s suit with extreme ease. On the technical front too, the watch is stellar, with an Oris Calibre 733 movement, 38-hour power reserve and the signature Oris Rotating Red Rotor. The watch of the year even has a gigantic pool of straps to choose from – a steel bracelet, superior rubber strap, or a tough leather strap.

Read more about the Oris Aquis Date here.

2. NOMOS Glashütte Tangente Neomatik Nachtblau – Best Design

The epitome of a classic timepiece, the Tangente Neomatik was rightly named as the ‘Classic watch of the year 2017’ at this year’s Baselworld ‘Watch Of The Year’ Awards. Its modest 35mm case, in stainless steel, makes it the perfect unisex watch. The clean look of the blue dial forms a canvas for the soft colour accents to really stand out. The blue minute markers, and the orange small seconds hand in the sub-dial at six o’clock give this watch just the right touch of avant-garde appeal. Housed in this slim timepiece is one of NOMOS Glashütte’s newest movements – the ultra-thin automatic calibre DUW 3001, offering a 42-hour power reserve. The German-made watch comes with a black leather strap, a sapphire crystal glass and caseback, and is water resistant to 30m. This piece also comes with a white dial.

3. Frederique Constant Flyback Chronograph Manufacture

Showcased at Baselworld this year, the Frederique Constant Flyback deserves a top-notch spot on the list for its sheer class. Tailored after the 30s chronographs, this mighty-functional watch features a one-of-a-kind ‘star shaped’ column wheel. The Flyback operating mechanism is lightning fast and flawless, courtesy the new in-house calibre, FC-760. Developing the complicated horological function of a Flyback isn’t child’s play. Of the 233 components that constitute the self-winding movement, 96 are dedicated solely to the Flyback feature. The push button at four o’clock propels a domino effect and triggers the mechanism to perform rapidly, starting with disengaging the clutch, to resetting the chronograph, and finally engaging the clutch again at the press of the push button. Encased in a 42mm steel case, this is a reliable and handsome chronograph.

4. Raymond Weil Freelancer

Developed and designed by Raymond Weil themselves, the RW1212 calibre can be seen through the open-worked dial of this new Freelancer model at six o’clock. The visible balance-and-spring assembly is reminiscent of tourbillon regulators. This automatic movement offers a power reserve of 38 hours and is housed in a 42.5mm stainless steel case. With the screw-down sapphire crystal caseback, it is water resistant to 100m. The strap of this watch is a stainless steel bracelet, with a folding clasp equipped with a double-push security system, but other variations offer the timepiece with a leather strap, and even in steel and gold versions.

To order this Raymond Weil Freelancer timepiece, please call +91 8725028886

5. Movado Ultra Slim

The classic, clean Movado dial comes in a rich hue, in the royal combination of blue and gold. The minimal design of the brand is enhanced fourfold, owing to the Ultra Slim case, available in full steel, or with a PVD coating of yellow or pink gold. The 35mm round case, housing a slim quartz movement, is flanked by a high-quality dark chocolate leather strap, with the stitches visible externally. The strap is also available in black. The dial with the iconic Movado Museum Dot is also available in white or black, in case you would like to go even more minimal with the look. Equipped with a sapphire crystal glass, this watch is water resistant to 30m.

6. Favre-Leuba Raider Bivouac 9000 – Best ‘Extreme Conditions’ Watch

The reason why the Bivouac made it to this list is uncomplicated. The watch has scaled a new height altogether – quite literally. The Bivouac is equipped to effortlessly escalate to an altitude of 9,000m. Yes, that means you can even take it to Mt Everest. Bivouac aces Favre-Leuba’s style of creating dapper, rugged watches and will appeal to watch enthusiasts who love to step foot on the toughest terrains. The modern, superlative performance of the altimeter guarantees Favre-Leuba the same success that it enjoyed with its original Bivouac. The technical advancements on the timepiece include the precise indication of height, through the red hand on the dial. The ‘death zone’ is highlighted on the sub dial at three o’clock, which also keeps track of altitudes for up to 9,000m. With a swanky rotating bezel and a mammoth 48mm case, the watch marks its territory on your wrist. The watch has an antelope leather strap, adding to the reason for it being a very pleasant revelation from the Swiss brand in 2017.

To order the Favre-Leuba Raider Bivouac 9000, please call +91 8725028886

7. Corum Admiral’s Cup AC-One 45 Chronograph Bronze – Best Bronze Watch

The Corum Admiral’s Cup collection is gigantic, and has distinguished good looks. Corum AC-One 45 has not only raised the bar for bronze watches, but has also put Corum at an incomparable pedestal. Adding value to the use of bronze is the fact that this is among the very few bronze watches that even feature a caseback made of the alloy. The brand has always represented a sailor’s paradise, inspired by the oceans, and the maritime representation is spot-on even on the AC-One 45. Corum’s exclusive and superlative treatment given to the pre-patinated bronze case halts the patination process before the alloy turns green. Corum has hit it out of the park when it comes to the dial presented. To call it exquisite would be an understatement. Complementing the 45mm case, the teak wood dial resembles a ship’s deck. This ‘no nonsense’ dial features nautical flags in varied colours to denote the hour markers. The dauphine-shaped hour and minute hands are open-worked, rhodium-plated, and infused with SuperLuminova. Water resistant to 300m, with a calfskin leather strap, the Corum Bronze is sure to outlast its beholder and take on any tide in its way.

8. TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45

In its second year, the world’s first Swiss-made modular smartwatch is among the few made by Swiss luxury watch brands. Powered by an Intel Atom processor Z34XX series, this watch runs on the Android Wear 2.0 operating system. The ‘modular’ aspect of this watch enables you to change not just the strap, but also the lugs, essentially allowing you to have multiple looks with one timepiece. Set in a 45mm, grade-5 titanium case, the features of this wearable gadget include an alarm, Android Pay, Bluetooth connectivity, a chronograph, GPS, along with directional wind and weather monitoring, and Google Fit. Equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity, and USB charging, the watch takes less than two hours to get fully charged and will last you about 25 hours, when its heavily used. With RAM of 512MB, it comes with an internal storage of 4GB. The sapphire crystal is a touchscreen display.

Find out here all you can about the 2017 TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45. Click here for the 15 best watches for women, or continue below