If Lucille Ball's character in the 1940 Rodgers & Hart musical Too Many Girls had been wearing one of today's fine luxury watches from Movado, Citizen or Cartier, she might not have wound up singing the plaintive lyrics '...I - didn't know what time it was...' Those who own such quality designer watches always know what time it is - and such gifts, whether to one's self or to another, are always appropriate, always appreciated, and always useful. Read on and learn more about quality luxury watches.

New...And Yet, Old

Actually, the idea of designer watches is a fairly new one, going back only about 140 years or so. If that seems not-so-new, consider that the first men's watches came into being during the days of King Henry VIII, Martin Luther and Ivan the Terrible - just a little more than a century after the invention of the first spring-driven mechanical clocks around 1400!

These early men's watches were relatively large by modern standards - unwieldy devices that gentlemen wore on a chain around their necks and were neither particularly durable nor accurate. As craftsmen learned to miniaturize the components over the course of the subsequent two centuries however, the pocket watch became a necessary masculine accoutrement, and with the dawn of the Industrial Age, even a required tool of many trades.

For The Ladies

There appears to have been custom-made ladies gold watches as far back as the 1700s, but these were worn by royalty and aristocracy for the most part. The first ladies watches that were worn commonly by women of the middle class were actually the first 'wrist watches,' known as bracelet watches. These were some of the earliest designer watches available, first manufactured in the U.S. during the late 1860s. (Mens watches designed to be worn on the wrist didn't come along until 1904 when aviation pioneers realized it was necessary to have a timepiece that allowed them to keep both hands on the controls.)

Settle For Nothing Less Than The Best

, crafted in Switzerland by a company whose name literally means 'ever in motion,' set the standard for luxury watches. These extra fine timepieces not only use the latest technology in their construction, but also feature sleek, Art-Deco influenced minimalist design that is unique and immediately identify the wearers as people who appreciate only the best life has to offer. Movado diamond watches come in hundreds of variations and models, making it easy to find a timepiece that is virtually one-of-a-kind. Once you've experienced one of Movado's fine luxury watches, you'll fully appreciate the old expression 'runs like a Swiss watch.'