A $20 drug store watch will do if all you want is the time, but luxury watches are about more than just counting hours and minutes.

To be honest, many people buy luxury watches — generally, any watch priced at over $1,000 — because they are status symbols, planted on tag heuer watches your wrist for all to see. They are also an investment, a finely crafted piece of bejeweled artwork to pass along to future generations. But most of all, they are pure functionality taken to the extreme, precision time-keepers tuned to split-second accuracy.

So I expected both mechanical perfection and a serious bling factor when I agreed to test tag heuer link the new Calibre de Cartier auto-winding watch, a $7,000 new release from the classic jeweler Cartier.

There are two notable firsts for Cartier here: this is the first watch caliber in the company’s history designed specifically for the men’s “sports� market, and it’s the first equipped with an automatic mechanical movement crafted entirely in-house at its La Chaux-de-Fonds workshop in Switzerland.

Cartier’s 1904-PS MC mechanical movement is an automatic mechanism — the watch is wound by kinetic energy, and the swing of your arm as you walk is enough to keep it ticking. But it’s particularly intricate and unique when compared to other automatic movements, and the technological standouts are numerous. It uses double barrels (most automatic watches traditionally have one), and this gives it a highly constant chronometry throughout the breitling watches 2011 duration of the watch’s 48-hour power reserve. This means the watch will display time accurately and consistently for two days after you take it off your wrist, even though at that point it’s no longer getting wound by the movement of your arm. The Calibre also has a bi-directional winding system in place rather than a more conventional one-way winding of the gears. The rotor’s motion is smoothed by ceramic ball bearings instead of oil. This protects it from shock and makes trips to the repair shop less frequent. (This extra shock resistance must be where the “sports� angle comes in.)

Obviously, the accuracy and potential longevity of the inner mechanics should be the ultimate consideration as to whether or not a watch is worth the money. But let’s face it — at this price point, the thing should also look damn good.

The polished stainless steel bracelet, the understated design of the dial and the large 42mm case are all demonstratively masculine. The black dial sports a stamped contrasting white XII at 12 o’clock. There’s a small seconds counter at 6 o’clock, and the dial is topped with luminescent, sword-shaped hands. Today’s date peeks through a crescent-shaped inset. Flip it over, and some of the 186 hand-assembled components inside are visible through the crystal on the back of the exhibition case.

Our test watch’s stainless steel band came with enough links for a rich gorilla, but you can obviously remove the links to fit smaller wrists. Ours had a black dial, but it also comes in white, and there’s a lower-priced version with a leather band as well as some much-higher-priced models in various gold settings.

At well over a quarter pound (5.3 ounces to be exact) this hulking watch felt heavy in my palm, but surprisingly not heavy at all on my wrist. The shiny, stainless steel casing and band are solid without screaming “manly,� but on my wrist, it still felt like a wholesome dose of testosterone.

I wore the Calibre to an upscale restaurant during my testing period. The chatty waitress, admiring the watch, cracked, “Is that watch big or are you just glad to see me?� She got a big tip. But seriously, the Calibre de Cartier is thick at 10mm, though it certainly isn’t as thick as other watches of this class and design. And the austere, understated look does give the impression that the wearer has refined taste. For the one month loan period when I got to wear the watch everywhere, I felt like a million bucks.

Sales of luxury watches have continued to grow rapidly this year across the Emirates as Chinese tourists flock to the country’s malls in search of internationally recognised brands.

Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, one of the new omega watches Middle East’s largest watch companies, has seen double-digit growth in first five months of this year over the same period last year and aims to expand across the country in response to demand.

“People have shifted and are going back to the reassuring brands and the well-known ones,” said Christophe Nicaise, the chief executive of Ahmed Seddiqi. “It’s a bit like investors’ flight to gold and blue-chip companies after the financial crisis.”

Ahmed Seddiqi has 50 stores across the UAE tag heuer carrera , representing brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Tag Heuer.

Mr Nicaise said sales had been buoyed by tourism in the first five months of the year, with travellers from China and Eastern Europe among the highest spenders.

About 152,000 visitors from China stayed in Dubai hotels last year, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing said last month, with the figure for this year expected to be at least 50 percent greater.

“The Chinese tourists were here before, but they were just limited in their spending,” Mr Nicaise said.

According to a report released last week by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, sales of tag heuer carrera Swiss watches in the UAE increased 81 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2009.

The UAE and Saudi markets now account for about 6 percent of total Swiss watch exports globally.

Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, which was established in 1950, is a family-owned business and the largest retailer of Swiss watches in the Middle East, with a portfolio of more than 50 brands.

Mr Nicaise said the company planned to expand across the Emirates, opening stores in Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Al Ain and Ras al Khaimah.

“If you look at the market today in Dubai, it has been a mature market in terms of retail. Some malls are anchor attractions and others are now serving the community,”
he said.

Casio Computer Co., a leading Japanese player in musical instruments and watches, is renewing focus on business in India.
The company’s global heads across market planning and research and development (R&D) made a first visit to India this week in many years. The movado watches company’s subsidiary Casio India is increasing advertising spend by 200% this year compared to last year.

“Clearly, Casio’s top management’s expectations from India is increasing and we are increasing our spends in line with the growth we are witnessing here. Watches are the fastest growing category for us in India,â€� Kulbhushan Seth, head – sales and marketing, Casio India, said.

He said the company was doubling watch business annually as a result of its retail overhaul, where it increased distribution and visibility in modern retail outlets. On Wednesday, the company launched a new collection of its G-Shock watches in India.

Casio expects growth in India to be in line with markets such as China and Russia. “India’s contribution to global omega seamaster online for sale sales is very small, but the growth is huge here. In 3-5 years, India could start contributing 10%,� Toru Tanaka, general manager, timepiece marketing division, Casio Computer Co said. Japan continues to be the biggest market for the company while US, Europe and Asia all contribute similar sales.

“Our sales in Hong Kong, Singapore and America have been quite good, but in India we previously did not have as much retail space for our brands. We were operating out of small corners at multi-brand departmental stores. But we have now launched a new shop-in-shop concept for all our brands and have started advertising them more than before. And we are seeing that omega watch store sales in India are growing rapidly,� Tanaka said.

Casio has 90% market share in calculators and a major player in musical keyboards in the country. Its market share in watches, however, is around 3%.

The company, however, is seeing watches priced Rs3,000- 8,000 selling the fastest. It is also seeing consumers uptrading to watches priced Rs10,000-15,000 and is launching more premium watches priced upward of Rs22,000 under its Edifice brand. The company sells watches in `500-45,000 range in India.

The fact is, you don’t need a watch any more. The time is displayed everywhere: on the dash of the car, on your computer screen, ticking off every second at train stations or at the airport. Yet for most of us, not wearing a watch would be unthinkable.

Watches have now become more of a fashion statement, which explains why classic designs have started to appear at auctions. Leonard Joel in Melbourne holds one or two specialist watch auctions throughout the rolex daytona discount year, with other examples included in their regular sales of jewellery.

The head of jewellery at Leonard Joel, John D’Agata, has noticed a new generation of bidders at his sales – younger people with a preference for the more modern styles.

They are buying watches to be worn everyday. The ones most popular are classics such as the Rado NCC, with its face inspired by a television screen (or an astronaut’s helmet according to some). This watch is regarded as an icon by design historians such as Professor Adrian Franklin from the buy audemars piguet ABC’s Collectors program, himself an avid modern-watch collector.

These days a Rado is just as likely to be worn by a woman as a man. D’Agata notes that few women want to buy the tiny delicate watches of the 1950s and ’60s but they prefer a men’s watch for its medium size.

A ladies’ Omega de Ville solid-gold wristwatch, circa 1970, failed to sell at the latest Leonard Joel watch auction in May, despite its tempting $1200 lower estimate.

Modern men (and women) seem to prefer something more robust, such as the omega seamaster for sale 1960 Rolex Oyster Perpetual, also offered for sale in May with an estimate of $600. Contemporary classics are also in demand, such as the (circa 2000) Omega Speedmaster Chronograph, which sold for $1200, a little less than its lower estimate.

Men’s diving watches, such as the Rolex Submariner series, have also gained a cult following. These are not necessarily worn by divers. A collector, Nick Foulkes, writes in Octane magazine, ”I suppose it is the same sort of appeal that made the Range Rover a luxury vehicle so shortly after its launch – the impression of go- robust, go-anywhere manliness is quite attractive, especially if, like me, you are not particularly robust and fairly selective about where you go.”

A Submariner in good nick can fetch a few thousand dollars at auction. The ’70s designs are the most popular.

Modern watches are a new niche area at auction and there are some bargains out there. D’Agata notes a rare Saks Fifth Avenue watch sold for $210, a wise investment, he suggests.

And another timepiece bargain will be available this Sunday as part of Leonard Joel’s second auction of pre-loved luxury items at its Melbourne showrooms in Malvern Road, South Yarra. This new concept, which includes designer outfits, jewellery and furs, was first tried in April this year and saw queues of punters lined up waiting to get in. More than 95 percent of the lots sold at higher prices than that of estimate .
On Sunday, the feature watch will be an extraordinary Piaget Tradition Diamond Limelight, dating to the conspicuous consumption days of the late 1980s. It has an 18-carat white-gold case with diamond-set bezel and diamond bracelet bands. Total diamond weight is 19½ carats.

These watches were advertised for about $200,000 at the time. Today’s tough-times estimate is a more reasonable $50,000 to $60,000.