Baselworld 2015: the top men's watch trends

As Baselworld 2015 wraps up on Thursday, we take a look at four major trends in the men's watch market this year.

Robust sports watches
For athletes and adventurers, delicate dress watches just aren't up to snuff. In 2015, watchmakers are turning out sturdy, multi-functional timepieces to accompany men at sea, on land or in the air. Among the new watches in this category are the DS Podium Big Size Chronograph by Certina and the T-Touch Expert Solar, a solar-powered touchscreen watch by Tissot.

Open dials
Gone are the days when watchmakers sought to conceal the inner workings of their creations behind the dial. Now more than ever, the trend is towards watches that display some or all of their mechanical wonder on the surface. Azzaro offers a fine example with its Coastline Openview, while Manjaz has presented two complementary skeleton watches: the Yin Tourbillon and Yang Tourbillon. 

Ostentatious glory
A blue or purple case, a dial accented with a few touches of red or a few diamonds along the edges, and a gold or silver bracelet... Flashy and ostentatious styles have returned to the men's watch market in 2015. Along with Vittnauer, one of the best representatives of the trend is U-Boat, which unveiled a capsule collection of five watches, most of which are set with black diamonds. 

Heritage pieces
At the opposite end of the spectrum are timeless, vintage-inspired watches of the type passed from father to son through the generations. These more subtle models include the Conquest Classic Moonphase by Longines, for example. Also in this category are a few collector's edition timepieces such as the Tour Eiffel 130th anniversary limited edition from Saint-Honoré, which is made with a piece of the Eiffel Tower and has a decidedly vintage style.