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Hugo Boss: From Workwear to the Boardroom

Founded 1924 making work uniforms. The company's wartime record is public, acknowledged and worth stating plainly before anything else.

Fossil: The American Company That Sold Nostalgia

Founded 1984 in Texas on a business insight rather than a horological one. Today it manufactures for several of the brands sitting beside it on our shelves.

Jacques Lemans: The Austrian Nobody Has Heard Of

More watch than the badge suggests. There is no romantic founding story here and we are not going to invent one.

Cartier: The Jeweller Who Made Watches Wearable

Before 1904 a wristwatch was women's jewellery. Then an aviator complained that he could not check a pocket watch while flying.

TAG Heuer: Timing Things That Move Fast

A patent from 1887 is still used in mechanical chronographs today. And the Carrera was named after a road race discontinued for being too dangerous.

Guess: Denim to Dials

The buyer at Bloomingdale's took two dozen pairs on condition they could be returned. They sold out in hours.

Daniel Wellington: One Idea, Executed Perfectly

Named after a man the founder met on a beach in Australia, wearing a vintage watch on a worn NATO strap.

Calvin Klein: Removing Everything Unnecessary

The first order came after a department store executive got off the lift on the wrong floor. And unusually for a fashion brand, the watches are Swiss made.

Tommy Hilfiger: American Prep, Exported

The first shop went bankrupt. The billboard was widely mocked. Then hip-hop adopted the brand and Hilfiger leaned in rather than away.

Emporio Armani: The Italian House's Second Line

Giorgio Armani removed the padding from a suit jacket and changed menswear. Emporio is the line that made the aesthetic reachable.