Man up! Three masculine watches to help you look the part

Masculinity is under attack! The War on Manliness is in full swing as certain celebs attempt to convince us that pale-pink clothing is stylish, that getting in touch with your feel­ings is a path to mental well-being and that buying a chainsaw isn’t an acceptable expression of strength and virility. Utter tosh! (Apart from the pink thing – it really is this season’s colour and looks great paired with similarly pale accessories.)

Where was I? Oh yeah, the feminisation of bros. Well, you can either sit there in your wonder­fully soft silk pyjamas drinking soy lattes and let the wave of femininity wash over you like a delightfully moisturising milk and honey bath, or you can do something about it! And given that chainsaws are dangerous and ridiculous, what better way to fight back than with a sufficiently manly watch?

We begin clawing back our manhood with Luminox, a Swiss watch brand that’s popular with elite special forces such as the United States’ Navy Seals. The Leatherback Sea Turtle Giant 0320 Series is as rugged as they come, with a 44mm carbon-compound case and hardened mineral glass making the watch scratch and shock proof – it’s almost like Luminox is daring you to damage it. The design, too, is on trend, with a black dial, black hands on black case.

That’s a lot of black, but the watch is actually pretty readable in daylight and quite dazzlingly bright in low light, due to Luminox’s famed luminescence.

The features are quite simple but perfect for heavy-duty use and include water resistance to 100 metres, a crown protector and a unidirectional rotating bezel, all of which make this an ideal watch for diving. Priced at a reasonable HK$2,150, the watch comes with a rubber strap but there’s a nylon Nato strap and strap-change tool included in the nifty waterproof storage box.