3 masculine watches for the modern man

So the Ashes are coming up. For those who don't like or know anything about cricket - and, yes, I do pity you - the Ashes are the pinnacle of this game, irrespective of what any South African thinks. Why do I bring this up? Well, when the Ashes roll around so does the distinctly annoying visage of Shane "Warney" Warne. To my horror, though, Warney's once podgy, zinced-up face has become a taut, Botoxed, plucked and fake-tanned symbol of metrosexuality. His face is a line in the sand: we must reclaim our masculinity and we can start doing that by buying more manly watches.

Brawny masculinity is no problem for Bomberg, a young Swiss watch brand that hails from the sleepy town of Neuchatel, where visiting the Botanical Gardens is one of the top 17 things to do, according to TripAdvisor. I'll never get those two hours back. Anyway, Bomberg is all about "yoof" and exuberance. The Bolt-68 is the more premium of Bomberg's two key ranges and features the distinctive two-in-one watch system - a very clever design allows the wristwatch to transform into a pocket watch with one twist. The Bolt-68 comes in 20 "flavours" and I've picked out one of the newer additions, which features a rather fetching falcon on the dial and a colour scheme that pops (right). There are, however, more demure options if colour and animals aren't your thing. Features include a chronograph with three sub-dials, day and date indicators, as well as a tachymeter scale. Inside is a quartz movement made by Ronda, and the steel case is sized at 45mm - both of which keep the price down to what the brand calls "affordable luxury". This may not be for everybody, but if you're looking for a statement second watch then the Bomberg Bolt-68 is worth checking out. Prices are available upon request.

Next we have the Breitling Superocean II (right), one of my favourite new watches released this year at Baselworld. This watch is a modern update of the Superoceans that began appearing in 1957, but its classic diver aesthetic is still sharp and relevant today. The tweak here is the slimmer profile of the watch, as well as its availability in three sizes: a muscular 44mm, a discreet 42mm and the classic 36mm.

The dial design is all about legibility; Breitling genuinely thinks you might use it for diving, after all, so the numerals are nice and big and luminescent. Other diving features include the unidirectional bezel, the option of a pro-diver rubber strap and the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres-certified chronometer. Water resistance varies depending on the size of the watch, so the 44mm is good to go down to an impressive 1,000 metres, the 42mm a not-too-shabby 500 metres and the 36mm a completely reasonable 200 metres. Inside the watch is an in-house Breitling 17 calibre movement. Prices for the Superocean II vary depending on size and are available upon request.

Finally, we have the Hamilton Khaki Chrono Worldtimer Quartz (right) that, with its plethora of dials, indicator rings and chunky 45mm size, is a very meaty and manly watch indeed. The most striking feature of this aviation watch is the mode push button on its left-hand side, which looks unorthodox but is actually a handy way to switch from the world timer and chronograph functions.