In Spain when men propose marriage to women and receive affirmation, they present them with traditional engagement rings – and then their fiancées often return the honor by presenting their men with men’s diamond watches. They are a type of designer-luxury item that one would not give every day, but for that once-in-a-lifetime gift that is more than just a bauble, diamond watches are ideal.

Watch History

Clocks and timepieces have been around almost as long as human history, but mechanical clocks are a fairly recent innovation, having come into existence only about 700 years ago. The closest thing to the modern mens diamond watch was a primitive device invented in Europe during the 1400s; the first watches were miniature versions of the same device, worn around the neck. As these shrank in size over the next two centuries, they eventually became the traditional pocket watch – an anachronism that many men still use.

The Ladies’ Diamond Watch

The first true wristwatches really were diamond watches. These were small timepieces integrated into actual diamond jewelry bracelets for women who were members of European royalty. Although 19th century jeweler Paket Phillipe et Cie is generally credited with creating the first true ladies’ diamond watch for Hungarian Countess Kosewitz in 1868, there are references to such “watch bracelets” dating back as far as 1572, when the Earl of Leicester presented Queen Elizabeth I with a round watch, inlaid with diamonds, which was suspended from a wristband. Most historians consider this to be the first ladies’ diamond watch.

The Mens’ Diamond Watch

Wrist watches were considered effeminate until around 1900; virtually all mens’ watches were pocket watches. The invention of heavier-than-air, motorized aircraft in 1903 changed all of that. The year following, French-Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Dumont-Santos found that he needed a timepiece that he could look at without removing his hands from the controls. The result was the first wristwatch for men; these convenient instruments soon superseded wrist watches in terms of popularity.

Diamond Watches Today

Since that time, three companies – one French, one Japanese and one Swiss – are best known for incorporating fine timepieces into diamond jewelry. Those three are Cartier, Citizens, and Movado. The latter company has been making watches for men since the early part of the last century; today, there are nearly 200 different models of mens’ and ladies’ diamond watches to choose from, many of which are among the finest diamond watches available on the market today.