If diamonds were a woman’s best friend, then a man’s watch evolved into his own fashion equivalent, and it was just as pricey. Alas, if you wanted a classic, like the stylish Ulysse Nardin, then the three month’s salary rule came into play. Most of the rest had all the elegance of a Timex. (Remember father’s desk and that drawer full of dead and dreary watches.) But as the century turned, a fashion miracle occurred; mainstream designers, from Hugo Boss, to Fossil and Guess, revolutionized wrist watches by making whole lines of handsome designs, with open faces, elegant numerals and stately bands. Kenneth Cole too has an excellent set of time pieces, and all of these lines run around one hundred dollars.

So what happened to the watch? It was your cell phone or PDA and its ubiquitous time display, of course. What a sad irony, that as soon as one of man’s fashion fundamentals becomes both everyday affordable and stylish, it is obliterated by a crackberry addiction. The cellphone or the PDA will never become an accroutrement, no matter how often you glue it to your ear. Just remember how women take measure of a man; from his shoes to his watch, shoes/watch, shoes/watch. So think about life on the run like you would service in a restaurant; you won’t get any if you are not wearing shoes. By putting a watch back on your wrist, you might not feel so naked, or lonely, out there.

Quick advice: before you pull out your gold Rolex knock-off, or that Swiss Army standard from the day, use the Internet to check out the new styles. Go to a high-end site like watchshopping.com to see what you like.