Montblanc, the company known since 1909 for its iconic pens, is a relatively new presence in fine watchmaking but clearly means to be as well known for its timepieces as for its writing instruments. In an amazingly short time Montblanc has not only delivered watches that fulfill the high expectations one justifiably has of the company in terms of design, it’s also created high complications that would be the pride –and are the envy –of watchmaking houses decades or centuries older. Their newest flagship complicated watch: the Montblanc Tourbillon “Bi-Cylindrique.”

You see a lot of watches out there with two hour hands, supposedly designed for travelers — one hour hand to tell the time at home, and the other for the local time.

Zenith changed watchmaking forever when they introduced the watch aptly known as the “El Primero” (the first) which was the first self-winding chronograph watch with a full-sized rotor for the automatic winding system.

Once upon a time, there was a word that described what every man aspired to be: a gentleman. Shockingly enough, virtues like subtlety and self restraint were prized as the hallmarks of a man worthy of the respect of his fellows (as well as the admiration of the ladies) and ostentation and look-at-me brashness just meant you still hadn’t learned that the speaking softly part of speak softly, but carry a big stick is just as important as the stick.

The oldest complication in watchmaking: a timepiece that chimes the time, and the newest one from the world renowned house of Audemars Piguet is as seductive a blend of old school and new wave watchmaking as a (very well-off) connoisseur could wish. Chiming the time is as old as mechanical clocks themselves (the word “clock” is from the Latin for “bell” and the first ones didn’t even have dials) and eventually clocks–and watches–progressed from just chiming the passing hours, to being able to ring the hours, nearest quarter hour, and minutes past the quarter hour on demand (by pushing a button that sets the chiming mechanism in action.)

When metal meets water, bad things can happen–with the metal usually getting the worst of the bargain. Nowadays stainless steels are most often used when the nasty cocktail of salts and natural ability of water to corrode need to be fought; but before there was stainless steel, bronze (a copper-tin alloy) was what kept ships proof against the sea (and even today, ship’s propellers and many underwater fittings are often made of it.)

Led by one of the few CEOs in the buttoned-down world of fine watchmaking to be a household name, the mercurial and fiercely energetic Jean-Claude Biver, (“JCB” to his fans) Hublot has become the powerhouse it is today by making powerfully designed, broad-shouldered watches that unapologetically advertise the alpha-maleness of their wearers.

Yacht racing is a special blend of luxury and skill; and for the lovers of this princely but demanding sport, Rolex makes the Yacht-Master II. Though it’s not the best known Rolex, it is the most complicated. The Rolex Yacht-Master II is also the most recently introduced major new model from Rolex, having debuted in 2007 as the second member of the Yacht-Master family. (The original Yacht-Master, which does not feature any complications, was introduced in 1992.)

Classics are classics for a reason. The Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso watch has been putting the haute in haute horlogerie (high watchmaking) for 80 years. Ironically, though the Reverso is now known as a timepiece that sets the benchmark for elegance in luxury men’s dress watches, it started out as one of the first watches ever designed for a specific sport–polo.