I've never really understood why men collect watches rather than, say, navy-blue Ralph Lauren Polo shirts, Purdey double rifles or even antique compasses. When I put the question to Rob Diver, managing director of Tag Heuer UK, his answerΰ'Men can't wear handbags, so a watch is our way of differentiating ourselves, of making a simple style statement'ΰdid have a certain ring of verity about it. In fact, few things in the luxury-goods world excite the attention of men like a watch. Despite, or maybe because of, the plethora of alternative time-telling optionsΰcellphones, iPads, computers, TVsΰthe allure of an intricately crafted timepiece is compelling, particularly when it has a tony brand name with a venerable past.

Diver's theory goes at least some way to explaining why buyers have been willing to pay the sky-high prices of the past decade, particularly for mechanical watches; Patek Philippe's Platinum World Time watch from 1939 sold for more than $4 million at an auction in 2002, making it one of the world's most expensive timepieces, while their Sky Moon Tourbillon 5002P, made from 686 parts, costs a mere £1.3 million. There's no established figure or requirement attached to the ideal of a 'luxury watch,' but to me, a watchΰor anything else that's not an absoluteessential for livingΰbecomes a luxury item when one feels one has to stretch to afford it (or simply can't afford it). My own straw poll puts that figure at roughly anything above £1,500. It helps, of course, if the watch is Swiss, the nation universally acclaimed as having the world's best watchmakers. And by Swiss I mean (and the Swiss watchmakers mean) that the watch has a Swiss movement, or mechanism, set into its case in Switzerland by a Swiss manufacturer.

There's a persnickety approach to watches on the part of men that equates to a female specificity about shoes, hair color or beauty treatments. If you are doubtful, check out the dozens of websites out there dedicated to watches and watch collection, with thriving online communities of men swapping tips and trivia. On Watch-ID.com, for example, you can analyze a watch brand's history, pinpoint the levels of expertise on offer and identifycelebrity wearers and even the movies a particular watch has appeared in. Did you know that Steve McQueen wore a Tag Heuer Monaco in the 1971 movie 'Le Mans,' or that Elvis Presley wore a Hamilton Ventura in 'Blue Hawaii'?

Given the aforementioned circumstances, it won't surprise you to learn that size has, in the past few decades, become an issue where timepieces and men are concerned. During the '90s, Officine Panerai's first commercialcollection offered three limited-edition models inspired by watches the company created for World War II navy commandos. The weighty watches, with their 40-plus-millimeter-diameter casings, became a favorite of seemingly every successful banker on the planet, alongside the Rolex Explorer, the Breitling Navitimer and the Omega Seamaster (Bond's choice since 1995's 'Golden Eye').

It's easyΰand probably pretty accurateΰto make the link between watches with an adventurous or military heritage (Breitling has a long history with aviation; Sir Edmund Hillary was wearing a Rolex when he summited Mt. Everest in 1953) and the aspirations of the men that wear them. You may, for example, sit at your desk all day trading stocks or running a FTSE 100 company, but what you'd really like to be doing is scaling a mountain, exploring the seabed or crossing one of the poles with only a team of huskies for company.

Just because a watch has bells and whistles doesn't make it attractive, though. Between you and me, I'm not at all sure that most men recognize when 'enough is enough.' Emboldened by the frenzy for detail and gadgetry, some of the watches on the market today produced by tony brands are frightful. Who needs more dials than the instrument panel on a 747 when one is simply taking the train to work? I know men who are more scared of their watches than their wives, men whose watches constantly read the wrong time and date because they are simply too overwhelmed by the technology to 'have a go.'

Watches haven't captured the femaleimagination in quite the same way, chiming with Diver's comment about handbags. For women, watches are only part of their style storyΰbut there is no doubt that they are increasingly picky about what they wear on their wrists. The trend of females sporting men's watches caught on two decades ago. This was, of course, helped by Hollywood. My first memory of seeing a large watch on a female in a film was the men's watch Demi Moore wore in 'Ghost.' What began as a quirky 'I stole my man's sweater' type of idea quickly became an individualist style statement, with women buying men's watches for themselves (Rolex's Oyster and Omega's Seamaster 300 M Chrono Diver still are among the most favored).

Initial attempts by watch manufacturers to ride the trend's coattails and create 'men's watches for women' lacked sophistication. 'It used to be that taking a men's watch and sticking a load of diamonds on the bezel was all that some brands thought was necessary to sell a man's-style watch to a woman,' says Diver, who adds that the current market reflects the female interest in larger watches. 'Women are very discerning about what they wantΰit's not just about the 40mm size; women still want a level of sophistication and elegance that perhaps men would not require.'

At Bell & Ross, another traditional men's watch brand, female interest grew so significantly that in 2008 the company launched the BR S collection in response, adapting their classic BR01 to a women's wrist with a smaller case of 39mm, and using black-and-white ceramics and diamonds. 'We noticed that women were abandoning feminine, small timepieces in favor of oversized models,' says Fabien de Nonancourt, sales director at Bell & Ross. According to de Nonancourt, female favorites from his men's stable include the BR03 and the BR01.

The 'men's watch for women' phenomenon didn't escape fashion houses either. Over the past decade and a half, brands like Dior, Louis Vuitton and Chanel have all become 'serious' about watches, employing master watchmakers and buying or opening their own Swiss workshops. All three brands have successfully launched wide-gauge, chunky, men's-style watches. (see Dior's VIII day range, Louis Vuitton's new Tambour Diving watch and Chanel's J12 collection), as well as smaller, more traditionally feminine models. At Tag Heuer, Diver says the company was surprised to see that when they created a Formula One steel and ceramic ladies' watch, with seriously weighty male overtones, they couldn't keep up with demand.

'Nowadays, women don't want to borrow their man's watch, but they want to have one of their own,' de Nonancourt says.

So what's the enduringappeal of a weighty watch on a tiny wrist?

At Panerai, where women make up 15% of sales (although the company doesn't create a range specifically for females), CEO Angelo Bonati has an answer. He says that in a survey of British females conducted by Panerai before it launched in the U.K., the question was asked: 'If you were wearing this watch in a dream, what would be happening to you?' An approximation of the prevailing answer goes something like this: 'I would be naked and the watch on my wrist would be big enough to protect me.'

Here are some of my favorite classic men's watches for women:

Breguet's Classique Automatic 5197ba: Classically beautiful, as good looking on the outside as it is technically proficient on the inside.

Hamilton's Jazzmaster Square: Solid American heritage with a chic, slightly edgy twist.