Reply With QuoteBeers Mark, beers, sort it out!
Lovely collection pal!
There's been a fair bit of talk lately about watch sizes. IWC appear to have gone size-crazy. No more Mk XII 36mm loveliness. Nope. Instead the new Ingenieur is knocking out at a pretty whacking 45mm. The Portofinos range between 42mm and 45mm.
Now that's fair enough. Just because wearing a Westclox Big Ben on my wrist isn't my idea of fun doesn't mean someone else won't love it. Each to his and her own. I like smaller stuff. So, we've had the "how big is too big" debate, so how small is too small?
My 1016 is just 36mm diameter:
My 114270 is the same size:
My Nomos Club - likewise, tictchy by modern terms at 36mm:
All are fine for me - I wear the watch, not the other way around - as is the case with some of the bigger stuff.
But how about 23mm across? Surely's that's waaaaay too small - almost a ladies' watch? I thought so too. In fact, when this one came out of the box I thought I'd made a huge (or, rather, a very small) mistake. I'd seen the pics but not appreciated how tiny this looks when you're not wearing it. But it works. Somehow, for me at least, it works. And I love the cal 846/1. So, 23mm is fine:
So, the moral - if there is one at all - is don't worry about the size, it's the watch that matters.
Beers Mark, beers, sort it out!
Lovely collection pal!
36-38mm is i think the classic size. the biggest of my watches is the seiko at 42mm and is as large as i would want to go with a watch. tried on a PO big size last year and it was huge, along with the extra weight it just did not feel comfortable to wear and that decision was made in less than 30 seconds of it being on my wrist.
my ellesse is 25mm and 28mm with crown, oblong shaped but it doesn't get very much wrist time.
I couldn't agree more.Originally Posted by MMC
Love my 35 mm Tangente
My 1930s Eterna is the same size as your classic Reverso, and I think looks just the right size on my average sized wrist.
The size depends on your wrist-size.
My wrists are huge, so anything untill 49mm looks good.
If I wear a 38mm it looks like a peanut.
Jur
on a 47mm
I prefer 40mm or below but you will find that increasingly difficult to find. 42mm seems to be the new norm! Each to his own.
It wears big, otherwise...
Last edited by J J Carter; 26th January 2013 at 18:04.
Well,36mm i've had a few.
and more recently
And
Some beauties there, Dr F - that Nomos and the 1016. Gorgeous.
My wife wears a 40mm that looks perfect and her wrist is 2/3rds the size of mine. 38mm in very open style dials can work, but most are too small IMO.
Some lovely smaller watches in the thread - thanks for posting. In particular, I was inspired to check the Nomos website for info about the Club watches. Starting at $1500? Wowsa - that's more than I thought! Pretty things, though.
Im sure the 36mm club is just under £1000 from Jura or Stewarts.
They are very good buys used....
Who am I to disagree? :)
35mm, works for me.
Its obviously not the size, its the proportion - whilst I have tiny wrists and so can't wear huge watches without looking like a clown, someone with a different build would look silly with my watches. Each to their own ...
Agree 100%. I've tried and tried bigger watches. 36-40mm makes me happy.....and I have an 8" wrist!
i would think as stated above it's more about proportions, i have an 8 inch wrist and much as i love lots of these vintage pieces, on my they look like i've just mugged a boy scout, for me 47mm looks about normal, but i've seen people which much smaller wrists wearing the 44/45mm pams and they look huge and wrong
36-38mm is definitely the sweet spot for me which has always been annoying as so many good watches are more than that. Recently I have become comfortable with wearing up to 41mm - but not sure if I could ever get used to 42mm which is annoying as that is how large the Speedmaster Pro is.
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Yes I agree -lug to lug length is more of an ultimate restriction for me rather than diameter - I can't go more than 47mm lug to lug as then it overhangs my wrist.
I too prefer smaller sizes in watches cases. 36 - 42 is size range I prefer. I think that the big cases fashion is starting to fade, so not sure if this a right strategy from IWC. This is probably because most brands sell to the Far East nowadays so they have to decrease their cases at least a little bit.
I agree, almost all of my watches are 40mm or smaller.
Regarding IWC, I was just reading about one of new Ingenieurs - 40mm - looks rather nice.
http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/introdu...automatic-40mm
Maybe IWC have seen sense!
My Rolex and Tudor subs at 40mm is as small as I go on my 7.25" wrists, anything smaller looks out of proportion to my eyes.
44mm is my sweet spot, with 48mm being the largest I wear.
But lugs make a big difference.
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