Military Watches for the Gentleman.

In the Middle Ages, the concept of being a gentleman originally evolved from that of being a nobleman, although as the years went on, being a gentleman did not necessarily mean that the individual was a wealthy landlord, or a person in authority. Gentlemen were regarded as respected individuals who had noble professions, and not simply because they had amassed great wealth. The gents also were noted for their impeccable style; both in fashion and attitude, and the watches they wore reflected their affluence or independence. Throughout the years, gent's watches have been associated with the affluence and influence exuded by professional and upscale men. While sports and military style watches dominate the market these days, the elegance and classic style of gents watches has remained a valuable trait, making these types of timepieces wonderful collector's items, and truly classy accessories as well.

While the early gents watches were simple yet very fashionable, modern and more cutting-edge innovations and add-ons have turned them into a truly useful and practical timepiece, yet allowing the retaining of the elegance and luster of its early predecessors. The new add-ons include the introduction of shock resistance, direct-center seconds, rotor auto winding, calendar date functions as well enhanced dust and water resistance. These innovations helped protect the wristwatch from the elements, and thus allowed gentlemen to breathe a little easier when it came to caring for their valuable timepieces. A further development has been the cross over of watches originally designed for military use into that of stylish and practical wear for today's gentleman.

As more and more technological innovations were added to the venerable gents watch, extra useful functions were made available to serve the needs of the busy gentleman. The calendar date helped provide the busy professional with a tool for scheduling his activities or meetings, and the automatic winding features made things less stringent, as compared to manually winding. Increased dust and water-resistant construction allowed the gentleman to feel more comfortable whenever he walked outdoors, or washed or dipped his hands in water. Military watches take these requirements of durability and reliability to a new level. Gents watches have wonderfully evolved from being simple hand-wind timepieces, yet they still retain the elegance and class while acquiring more automatic and modern features.

The re-emergence of the gents watch in the early years of the 20th Century saw the transformation of a classic and old-school variant, from a pocket watch secured by a chain into one that is designed to fit on the wrist. Timepieces designed as comfortable wrist watches, as compared to the early oversized versions, Watches have become items that befit the gentleman; are now considerably smaller and less noticeable, yet still remain precious to those wearing it. While the early gents watch designs were meant to be seen, because they acted like jewelry or pieces of adornment, today's sleeker and more feature-filled versions offer class and usability, yet are still able to exude an air of elegance.

While gents watches were once reserved for the landed and wealthy noblemen, the Industrial revolution has broken class barriers, and has allowed even the less wealthy professional to own these elegant and useful timepieces. Newer, more affordable versions have come out and are generally made from silver, vermeil, steel and brass, apart from simply using gold. The rising middle class styled themselves in the manner that defined the wealthy landed noblemen, and soon these working-class professionals were able to not only mimic, but effectively integrate the deportment, fashion and attitudes of the wealthy elite as well.

While in our modern times the market for watches is generally dominated by less-pricey and less well constructed sports watches, the gents watch still remains as a fine and elegantly-crafted timepiece. This is particularly true of those watches manufactured by Nite, which have taken the elegance and appropriateness of the form following function concept to a greater degree than ever before, to prove that a precise and accurate time measuring instrument can also be an elegant and fashionable asset for the gentleman of today.