Throughout history, the timepiece has been important to help men meet schedules and get to meetings on time. With the overabundance of clocks and digital time-telling devices we see at every turn, men's watches do not hold the same need they once did. At this very moment, you can probably see the time somewhere around you whether you have a watch or not.

Some people still work in situations where they do not have clocks or cell phones to supply the time of day. This usually occurs where work is outdoors and in remote locations.

The people who need to know the time in these areas are not looking for expensive men's watches, only a dependable timepiece that can be purchased for a few dollars.

Fine watches are used by people who enjoy jewelry and nice things. Wearing a watch today is much more of a status symbol than it is for knowing the time. That makes the purchase of one a well thought out activity for the buyer, and it demands good selling skills by the merchant who wants to deliver the goods.

Because sales are more often based on preference than they are need, the tastes of the buyer are even more important now than they were in yesterday's world. It might not be possible to carry enough inventory to suit everyone's desire for men's watches, but it is possible to have digital photography that allows selections to be made without the physical product on hand.

If a man is buying a watch, he wants to know physical details that can't be explained in written text. For this reason, photography must be clear enough to see movement of sweep second hands, date boxes, or any item that is a strong selling feature when the person sees the watch in person.

If jewels are set in the wristband or around the face of the watch, they should appear reflective, just as the actual gems would appear off the printed page. Contrasts of photographs should be deep to give more three-dimensional detail and depth of screen.

At one time, photographic artists went through a phase in which all pictures needed a live subject who was photogenic and aroused the desire for the buyer to look the same through the purchase of the product.

Although that is still done for many products, it is not as strong a marketing point with elegant watches as the highly detailed photograph of the watch itself.

The two primary ways that photographers present men's watches today both represent the timepiece as the central point of interest. Some like the realism of the watch on the wrist of a model, as long as the human parts do not negate the attraction of the watch.

By and large, the most often seen advertisement is the watch clasped and lying on a rigid surface with some undistinguishable background. Depending on the watch, it might be necessary to have two separate pictures from different angles, giving all the visual information a shopper should need. Photographs sell many men's watches, so detail is very important.