Object of desire: Givenchy’s series of luxury unisex wristwatches

Though some may say the arrival of the smartphone has put a dampener on the watch industry, it certainly isn't something that the most important of all fashion houses have tuned into as they compete to bank on the market held by the large Swiss names. Everyone from Chanel to Burberry has dabbled in and still continues to take their piece of the wrist watch pie.

In 2013 Givenchy joined in on the timepiece game, whose Creative Director, Riccardo Tisci has shown himself to be a man of many talents after trying his hand at jewellery design with an ultra limited edition range of collectable gold rings, followed by perfumery. Taking an entirely new direction with a line of specially designed watches, the French fashion house released the "Seventeen" watch, designed by Riccardo himself.

Inspired by folklore from his native country, Italy, the somewhat superstitious designer named the range after his lucky number 17, and other models with similarly numerical names are said to follow. The neo-gothic luxury timepiece has an androgynous appeal. The bold and large size watch (40mm) features a stainless steel casing, with scratch proof sapphire glass housing a Swiss-made quartz movement. Feeling more military than designer, the watch is uniquely cool playing off of both formality and sport in a hybrid approach to design, idyllic for everyday wear.  

The sophisticated unisex watches come with two strap choices, each being NATO style straps in either traditional nylon or leather. Prices range from $770-$890 among four variations. The collection is exclusively available in Givenchy stores worldwide and online at Barneys.