Apple Watch Series 2

Generally speaking, I get excited about smartwatches in the same way I get hungry when I see celery, but it can’t be denied that Apple’s second stab at a connected Watch has had a big impact on the watch industry. Tim Cook certainly thinks so, reliably informing the world at launch that Apple is now the world’s second biggest watch brand. Series 2 is also a big improvement on the company’s first effort – built-in GPS and water resistance being the most useful advances. But the big difference with Series 2 is that Apple has stopped pretending it’s a fashion/style item (ditching the absurd rose gold Edition for a much cheaper, more practical ceramic model), deciding instead to market it as a wrist-worn activity device. In that category, it’s unbeatable. Pros: the most wearable piece of tech on the market Cons: not pretty, still expensive, battery life still poor, ubiquity Available at Apple, priced £369-£1,399.

Farer Endurance Automatic

I could have picked any one of the watch brands, many of them British, that of late have started to fill the space between £500 and £1,500 vacated by the traditional Swiss brands over the last decade. Christopher Ward and Larsson & Jennings get a well-deserved mention too, but the latest and – for me – best-looking of the new batch is the collection of automatics launched by Farer a couple of months ago. Here we’re getting a Swiss Made watch, a considered piece of design and, to use the grim cliché, something different. Farer’s is a fairly priced mechanical watch for style-conscious early adopters, and the market needs that. Pros: British design, Swiss manufacturing, mechanical yet affordable, that signature bronze crown Cons: some will find the vintage aesthetic tired Available at Farer, priced £875.

Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze

I’ve said before that I bought into Tudor’s original Black Bay, but this year I almost wished I’d held my breath and waited for the bronze version. One of the undoubted stars of March’s Baselworld watch fair, it’s been a critical and commercial success, picking up a gong at November’s Grand Prix Horlogerie de Genève, the self-styled Oscars of watchmaking. One of its big selling points is that it carries Tudor’s debut in-house movement, a unit with a 70-hour power reserve (the norm is around 40 hours), but it’s the visual combination of its naturally ageing bronze case and bezel, matte brown dial and aluminium bezel insert, and fabric strap that has been so winning. Pros: well designed and made, no two examples will patinate in the same way, pre-owned models already trading above retail Cons: if you don’t like a lot of patina, you’ll need a lot of lemon juice See more at Tudor, RRP £2,730.