For anyone trying to buy a gift for a man, jewellery can be a great off-the-wall idea. We live in a time where a gift of men's jewellery is accepted with great appreciation. And yet, it can be an unusual gift as most people tend to not think is jewellery and men in the same context. The great thing about finding men's jewellery to give as a gift is that designs or themes for men don't really change much by season, as they do for women.

Designer jewellery for men tends to be to a few narrowly defined purposes - usually cufflinks, rings, necklaces, bracelets, tie bars and of course watches. Men's jewellery doesn't usually come with much by way of precious stones set into them. It tends to be mostly all metal. This makes men's jewellery not very expensive usually; the price is usually determined entirely by the designer name attached to it. Let's take a look at some of the most prominent kinds of items that men tend to prefer;

Cufflinks make for the perfect gift idea for men. Designer houses like Cartier and Mont Blanc have a lot to offer in this area. Still, since these happen to be quite tiny, you could get away with going unbranded. In fact, the unbranded variety can offer much more by way of style, goldplated or in sterling silver.

For the more flamboyant of taste, cufflinks can come with great trimmings in precious stones. Depending on the kind of taste a man is likely to have, bracelets can be an understated handcuff style, or a chunky chain or cable style. Designer brands like Dolce & Gabbana have a lot to offer in overstated fashion. As far as men's jewellery is concerned, the main theme that runs under all of it is an attitude of "why not?". For men who constantly try to raise the bar on self-expression, jewellery just tends to be the next thing to reach for.

For some great and unusual gift ideas head over to our jewellery section, there are some really unique items that just might be the perfect gift!

How about a watch?

People have been writing an obituary to the idea of watches for men for quite a long time now. A quarter century ago, before cell phones, you could make exotic watches for men with expensive materials and designer touches, because basically, watches had a function – people had to be able to tell the time. When everyone began to go around with a cell phone that showed the time, it just took a great deal of value away from the watch. If you wore one, it became clear that you did it for no reason at all. Or at least that's how the reasoning mistakenly goes. As much as people have tried to bury the watch, it has proven surprisingly unburiable.

Men's fashion magazines are beginning to realize that they've made a mistake. Men wearing jewellery isn't such a strange idea anymore. Male fashion magazines and other influential authorities are beginning to go after Rolexes, Omega Speedmasters and Cartier Tanks with a gusto that hasn't been seen in the watch market for ages.

The thing is, the new trend in watches for men aren't about technology. If that were so, Casio with its bombastic products, would be well-positioned to take advantage of the development. Right now, watches are not about telling the time at all. And if people wanted to get a bunch of functions in one small package, they could always go back to their iPhones. Watches are just jewellery now, plain and simple. And that means nothing but proper mechanical watches will do.