With Father's Day just around the corner, watches and cuff links might be on the minds of some last-minute shoppers, but a crop of designers exhibiting at the Las Vegas jewelry shows is trying to expand the men's category even further with a range of new products intended to keep customers inspired well beyond the weekend.

At the March Baselworld exhibition, Italian jewelry brand Marco Bicego launched its first-ever men's line, "Marco Bicego L'Uomo," a line that made its U.S. debut at the Couture show earlier this month.

According to Moise Cohen, president of Bicego USA, while the brand has built its international reputation on its handcrafted women's designs, designer Marco has always played with making men's pieces for himself and friends, designs that have repeatedly been on the receiving end of enthusiasm.

"He would always wear this necklace he made for himself that everybody just loved at trade shows, and customers would constantly say, 'My husband would love that,'" Cohen says. "So basically he thought this year was a good year [for a launch] because he had such a strong demand from the Europeans, especially from people in London, Italy and Eastern Europe."

The result is a collection of 55 styles, including rings, cuff links, bracelets and chains, all crafted in Bicego's signature, hand-engraved 18-karat yellow, white and rose gold.

"It's a completely different inspiration in terms of design," Cohen says, with pieces featuring geometric motifs inspired by the New York City skyline.

While Bicego's women's line is well known for its organic sensibility, the men's pieces serve as a contrast given their structured, architectural feel.

But fans of the brand need not worry that the line strays too far off course from Bicego's signature aesthetic. The men's designs feature the brand's trademark hand-woven coils and hand-etched gold satin finishes, and the designer's commitment to handmade craftsmanship can be seen throughout.

In addition to Bicego's signature gold, the debut collection will feature styles crafted with black and white diamonds, colored enamel and Italian calf leather, with pieces retailing from $520 to $8,000.

Also in Vegas, a bevy of brands was expanding their men's collections, as was Couture exhibitor Scott Kay, which launched its "The Art of Man" line last year.

According to Chief Marketing Officer Dan Scott, response to the line has been "outstanding," and the brand has even found some retailers surprised to see sales of pieces they originally thought to be more over the top for men's jewelry.

"We had retailers concerned about progressive styles specific to Scott Kay's "UnKaged" collection, and those styles are the best-selling styles in the store," Scott says. "We can't keep the skull product in stock."

One key to the company's success, perhaps, has been in offering a wide range of product and promoting the men's pieces not just as "fashion" pieces but as "lifestyle" ones.

While the 2009 collection includes everything from the aforementioned skulls to more classic hand-woven bracelets and cuff links, the same design characteristics remain throughout, namely details realized through hand-forged craftsmanship.

Compared with some of the brands that have launched men's collections over the last few years, Tateossian, an exhibitor at JCK Las Vegas, is a tried-and-true veteran. The London-based brand built its name on its men's pieces, and for the company, its women's line is more of the newcomer, with pieces often taking design inspiration from the men's line.

The brand is renowned for its cuff links, which this year featured materials such as malachite, tigers eye and carnelian, among a veritable rainbow of gemstones. While one-of-a-kind cuff link sets remain Tatetossian's go-to pieces, entry-level bracelets crafted in braided Italian leather and featuring sterling silver clasps have also been strong sellers over the last year.

Unusual materials tend to figure into many men's designs, with materials such as leather, stingray and stones such as tigers eye or rough diamonds offering up a more rugged aesthetic.

Designer Sevan began using leather for a collection of hand-carved cuff bracelets introduced at Couture. Designed for both men and women, the cuffs feature 24-karat gold, sterling silver and colored diamonds. And Todd Reed was offering up some new rough-diamond pieces in Vegas, with cuff links, chains and wedding bands aimed at men.

Also buffing up its bridal offerings was JCK Las Vegas exhibitor Ritani, which launched a new collection of men's bands that the brand says "combines ruggedness and style with class and sophistication."