Most collectors would agree that a watch is more than a timepiece. It’s an extension of your personality. So, how better to show that you really know someone than buying them their dream watch? We’ve put together a starter pack to help you on your way, with watch suggestions that’ll show you’ve been keeping up with horological happenings. Choose carefully and this could be the highlight of any holiday season – plus, it’s easier to conceal under a tree than that motorbike, drinks cabinet or Mr Richard Orlinski sculpture they’ve been dropping hints about.

“I’m easy to buy for” is their ultimate contradiction. And while it’s tempting to simply get that infuriating epitaph embroidered into a Fair Isle sweater, the short cut to satisfaction for this picky peacock is classic refinement, every time. You could set your watch by a Ballon Bleu de Cartier – an elegant choice from the esteemed maker of one of the very first wristwatches, but also not the obvious one. And as Cartier itself has experienced something of an uptick in interest, so, too, should this model, crafted here from polished stainless steel with an eye-catching blued sunray-brushed dial.

We all know someone who’s all about the spec sheet. How much horsepower? Titanium shaft or carbon-reinforced polymer? Hand-sourced from where, exactly? Give him a watch that’s loaded with little touches, every one a potential conversation-starter, such as this Bovet Recital 27. It’s capable of keeping time in three time zones, and has a skeletonised display revealing the painstakingly hand-polished movement within. The double moon phase display tracks the lunar cycle in both north and south hemispheres, to a level of accuracy that only needs adjusting once every 122 years, making this a true heirloom piece.

What’s cooler than an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak – already a watch that’s nigh-on impossible to buy in its basic, iconic form? One that’s been customised by MAD, a secretive Parisian cabal of experts, turning a 50-year-old design classic into a one-off item that’s part watch, part artistic statement. Coated in diamond-like carbon for a matt black finish, this 37mm steel Royal Oak has had its dial replaced with a hand-painted original, styled after semi-precious stones. That ought to keep your resident trendsetter calm for a while. It’ll certainly give them time to track down the latest streetwear collab or score a rare pair of sneakers.

Happily, in the world of watches, you don’t have to choose between achingly minimalist, contemporary looks and mechanical quality. However, it’s definitely the former that’s guiding our hand here. If his tree decorations have a strict colour scheme, his wrapping paper is actually a Ms Bridget Riley print and his mistletoe’s been turned into topiary, then you need to put aside the traditional Swiss creations and turn to the likes of Ressence. The Antwerp-founded brand’s signature style, based on rotating discs that tell the time in a surprisingly intuitive manner, is never overdone, but in the titanium-cased, cobalt-blue Type 8 is distilled to its absolute essence.

Watches are carefully assembled pieces of engineering, decorated and polished to a dazzle. But they’re also tools, designed to go wherever you do. If your gift recipient is the kind of guy who can’t wait to scuff up a new pair of sneakers or break in a spotless set of skis, be prepared for the fact that their pristine new watch won’t stay that way for long. They won’t mind – they’ll be too busy having fun, whether they’re halfway up El Capitan or hanging a mountain bike off a trail in some pine-forested wilderness. But they’ll appreciate that when they’re pausing between adrenaline surges, the watch is also holding up. So, go for something tough, such as IWC Schaffhausen’s Ingenieur Cased in stainless steel. It’s shock-resistant, waterproof to 100m and impervious to most magnetic fields.