Antonio Calce, chief executive of Montres Corum Sarl, said: 'The consumer usually falls in love with the design of the watch more than with the technical specifications and functions it offers.'

He distinguished two types of clients: the mainstream consumer, who is more interested in getting more value for his or her money and probably won't use all the functions offered, like the chronograph, and the connoisseur, who is well-informed about the specificities and latest novelties of timepieces.

Luckily, this year marked a great one for technological breakthroughs that both types of watch lovers can appreciate. The companies concentrated not just on how far your watch can take you and what situations it can help you through but also offered up less flashy technology such as advanced materials and movements to make even basic, everyday wear as comfortable and reliable as possible.

'This year we made a big step further in our development process with the launch of our second in-house movement,' said Calce. 'It is made of grade-five titanium, a modern and technical material which involved a long research process.'

The movement Calce was referring to is the Caliber CO 007, which is housed in the Ti-Bridge watch and is equipped with a balance oscillating at the speed of four hertz and endowed with a 72-hour power reserve. The case is also made from grade five, the only kind of titanium that can be polish-finished, and secures the movement with a pair of titanium crossbars.

This design helps consolidate the construction and gives the watch an architectural appeal, especially when juxtaposed with the natural crocodile strap.

Another company to make inroads on movements was Hublot. Chief executive Jean-Claude Biver said: 'We have realised the first movement and watch case in magnesium, which has given birth to the lightest chronograph watch in the world.'

Biver was specifically referring to Hublot's new watch, the King Power Chrono Tourbillon All Black. The timepiece comes in - you guessed it - an all-black ceramic case and all-black rubber strap, and is the most powerful model in Hublot's renowned Big Bang Collection.

Other key components include its large 48mm diameter, multipiece sapphire dial with black nickel index markers and black SuperLuminova transfers and flying tourbillon with chronograph movement.

Besides movements, brands are also improving other parts of their designs through technology. A case in point is Ball Watch, which placed heavy emphasis on perfecting its buckle for its Engineer Hydrocarbon Spacemaster.

Ball patented its new monobloc buckle, manufactured from a single block of stainless steel. Its closure consists of a mechanical lock that resists 1,400 Newtons of force, and has a surpassed sweat test and a resilience trial in which the clasp was opened and closed 5,000 times.

Ball said that its buckle is four times stronger and yet easier to use. And since an average owner uses the buckle 730 times a year, resilience is key.

Besides the buckle, the Engineer Hydrocarbon Spacemaster is Ball's most legible watch yet. Equipped with 29 ice-blue-and-yellow micro gas tubes for night vision, a dial that opens an additional two millimetres, and a four-millimetre anti-reflective sapphire crystal, the timepiece satisfies Webb C. Ball's simple standard: 'Safety first; good legibility of time during the day and night.'

For a final flourish and technological feat for this watch, '[Ball] watchmakers have developed a single push-button doctor's watch, one of the most real and practical instruments of pulse measurement,' says Philippe Antille, chief technology officer of Ball Watch.

Lastly, a new brand to the watch game uses technology to recreate its one-of-a-kind jewels. Already a legend in diamonds, Graff, in its own way, is now trying to conquer the watch market with its first range called Collection One. 'Graff does not exactly follow technology trends,' said Arnaud Bastien, general manager of Graff Diamonds for Hong Kong and Greater China. 'As jewellers, we are innovating more in jewellery pieces.'

The line includes five series: ChronoGraff, GraffStar, GraffSuperstar, BabyGraff and its more techie-focused MasterGraff - all inspired from the diamonds for which the company is famous.

Some models of the MasterGraff feature a diamond-like-carbon (DLC) triangular facetted designed case, which is a 47mm classic cut of diamond. Other styles come in 18 carat white gold and 18 carat pink gold, even one in white gold set with 217 diamonds totaling 16.50 carats.

Two different tourbillon carriages are available for this series: the first, an automatic tourbillon created by Christophe Claret, who as a child enjoyed dismantling and reassembling watches and later formed his own company Le Locle, particularly known for tourbillon and chiming movements and the second, a 260-part mechanical movement with 120-hour power reserve created by Technotime, a company based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland and is now capable of producing its own hairsprings.

Technology aids in very different facets depending on the watch brand and its philosophy. Though the companies may not completely agree on the future of technology - Bastien thought the industry was looking into new materials and alloys, while Biver believed the high-end segment would cater for more individual and custom-made watches - there is one thing they can surely agree on: 'Horology remains a traditional and artisan artwork,' said Calce. 'The evolution of today's know-how in materials implies a constant research in new technologies and commitment to performance improvement. [However], the contribution of craftsmanship and of our watchmakers remains essential in high horology, even if technical progress advances.'