Myth to watch out for

An expensive watch might make you feel good, but it hardly enhances your virility. And, contrary to what many style rags fervently espouse, a luxury timepiece should never, ever be employed as an instrument of self-love.

Far too often, glib advertisements invite us to live vicariously through our timepieces. Nothing wrong with that, really - not until we take the message too seriously and end up, along with our prized watches, a parody of the machismo we envisioned. So forget about channelling Lewis Hamliton's road savvy, Jay-Z's swag or Daniel Craig's mojo as you strap on their endorsed tickers. For a wrist-aided testosterone spike, you're better off working the dumbbell.

For those fortunate enough to indulge in expensive watches, we suggest that you think of them not as an extension, but an expression of who you are. The watch as status symbol is a tragically outdated marketing rhetoric. At best, it instils misplaced pride. At worst, it turns watch appreciation into a blood sport; a game of one-upmanship where vanity outweighs taste and sensibility.

Instead, we recommend that you see them as stature symbols; a true reflection and measure of your style, distinction and spirit. For men out there who are comfortable in your own skin, here are five recommendations that might have your personality writ large over them.

No, owning a barbed-wire tattoo doesn't qualify you as one. The true adventurer thirsts for the world and its vast expanse. From experiencing oxygen depravation atop Himalayan peaks to life-threatening frostbite in the Arctic, the adventurer submits to the forces of nature, yet constantly holds out for a triumph of the human spirit.