The trend for understatement - from toning down the diamonds to trading down to plastic - is a reaction against huge, glitzy watches of the Jacob & Co ilk that a few years ago became popular with rappers such as P Diddy and Jay Z, and then found favour with footballers such as David Beckham. The status watch became cartoonishly obvious; simultaneously, watch theft became hot news, with Rolex owners from Juan Sebastian Veron to Steven Norris being targeted by robbers. The whiff of naffness was unmistakable: it was said that Liz Hurley referred to the gold Rolex bought for her by her then boyfriend Steve Bing as "a pimp's watch".

("What is it with men and their watches?" Jess Cartner-Morley, The Guardian, Thursday December 1 2005)