Reply With QuoteI think you are spot on regarding the current trend in watch sizes. I agree with you and feel the same way, but for some odd irrational reason I find myself drawn to a big diver's watch. Crazy...
Over the past few years, starting in 2005 with my Dornblueth which when it arrived looked as a big as a clock, my watches all grew in size with the largest being 45.5mm PO's. Subconsciously (at least I wasn't that aware of it!) over the past 6 months or so I've started to move to smaller cases, the PO's have gone, replaced by a 42mm liquid metal, the Panerai has gone, as did the DSSD and now 42mm is the largest size in my modest collection (the PO LM, a Bremont Supermarine , Tutima Chono and a GO Sports Evo). A couple of weeks ago I picked up an SD at a decent price and initially thought "that's a bit small" but its now rarely off my wrist so it looks like my big watch days are over. Has anybody else gone through this modification in taste as me?
Cheers Keith
I think you are spot on regarding the current trend in watch sizes. I agree with you and feel the same way, but for some odd irrational reason I find myself drawn to a big diver's watch. Crazy...
Yep me too. The largest for me is the 40mm Nautilus and that wears very thin. I too went through 42-45mm with various brands including panerai. But similarly i have a Seadweller and that wears perfectly.
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Yep me too. The largest for me is the 40mm Nautilus and that wears very thin. I too went through 42-45mm with various brands including panerai. But similarly i have a Seadweller and that wears perfectly.
Sort of, some can be far too big, my biggest is 45mm and smallest being 40mm but wears bigger than that, can't see me going any smaller though .
I remember My Dornblueth feeling 'too big' and to be honest I was thinking of flipping it because of that
but now after 47mm pams and the like - it really feels 'just right'
though I still wear the occasional 38mm watch - which after a few days stops feeling small.
Its an interesting phenomena that smaller watches "feel" OK after a couple of days of wearing them, my first Rolex was a datejust from around 1987 and that must have been about 36mm but felt perfectly fine at the time!Originally Posted by Xantiagib
Cheers Keith
After getting a 38.5mm Aqua Terra my tastes have changed, to the point where 41-42mm watches felt too big. Really think 39-40mm is the sweet spot for me
Fifty Fathoms (45mm), Radiomir (45mm), IWC PC (44.2mm) etc all gone.
I think the largest is around 42mm, my Duometre - and sometimes I think that looks too big! 40mm please... which means I might also want another 16600 at some point!
Depends,
With dressy watches 40mm seems the right way to go, but with a diver I don't mind a bit of heft on my wrist.
That said, my grab and go beater, Eddie's PRS40 with its 40mm and very slim profile, fits like a glove :)
Daddel.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Mine are all 36mm now - two datejusts and a seiko beater.
I've done the big(ish) watch thing and moved on.
Agreed, a lot of posts I read seem to have just that phrase "40mm is the sweet spot for me".
Says me who has just agreed upon a 42mm PO and will sell my 38mm SMP to fund it.
Smaller versus bigger watches is an argument that comes up almost as frequently as Rolex vs Seiko.
As do the comments that the fad for bigger watches is over ( something I have been hearing for several years now.
And, the complaints that watch brands don't listen to the customer and keep on making bigger watches.
I fall in no particular side as I both in my collection though more larger ones.
It all depends on the look you are trying to create , whether it is for yourself or others.!For a dressy, elegant look Incould wear a 40 mm watch but when dressed casually and for sportier look,I prefer bigger watches.
What jars is not the actual watch size but the mismatch between the watch and the wrist size or between the intended look and the watch. Overall, a small watch on a big wrist is something that repulses me more than a big watch on a small wrist.
It would seem that people who prefer smaller, slimmer watches are over represented on this forum compared to general public ( my preception ).
Anyway,!its a matter of personal taste.
No such thing as a ' sweet spot' for me as I wear all sizes.
I wear big and small and today I have a small (35mm I believe) on.
I am not convinced that tastes are changing in the sense of big being out and small being in though. I think many a punter still wants a big watch to show off that they have spent a chunk of change on a timepiece.
I wear what i like and don't discount anything until i have tried it on my wrist
6.75" wrist here
My favourite size is 36mm though 38mm isn't too bad
I do make an exception in the case of The Pogue (41mm) and Seiko 7002 (42mm) - well I forgive them the day/date windows which are a far more serious issue in my book
I had no idea there were so many fashion trend followers in the watch community.
Ive always liked watches of a variety of sizes, usually larger but I am biggish, and a bloke.
I value the the choice without favouring a trend.
Gray
Re:
. I think many a punter still wants a big watch to show off that they have spent a chunk of change on a timepiece.
A rather silly, unfortunate, disingenuous comment.
It is as dishonest as saying someone who wears a small watch wants to show they are lady like and want to attract men!
Why can't we accept people like and wear what they want and may not be the same as what we like instead of trying to
Pretend we know why they like to buy and wear what they buy and wear. It is really asinine .
A lot of people buy cheap large watches like Invictats which certainly doesn't suggest they spent a chunk of change.
For me it's fit more than size. I like a watch to be snug on the wrist, but have a round wrist so watches with curves lugs work best. I find a 38mm Hamilton Khaki not quite right ( long straight lugs ) but the much bigger Citizen Nighthawk sits perfectly ( short curved lugs ).
After wearing for years a small Oris the next watch at 38mm felt really big. Soon got used to it. I'm a fairly big guy at 6ft but would not go above 40mm most watches come in 38 to 39mm.
You've hit the nail on the head here, except for me it's totally the other way round!! I actually think a smaller watch on a large wrist looks alright in a lot of cases.
What really eats my lunch is a massive watch on a tiny wrist (or man for that matter). One of the other parents at my sons old football club was about 5 foot tall, skinny and angry looking, and he wore a Breitling chrono that looked size of a dinner plate on him not sure what it was but must have been at least 46mm.
This very same thing happened to me. I started at around 40mm. This crept up to the late 40s with big chronos and shrouded divers. But what I found Is a large diameter on its own isn't too bad provided the watch isn't very thick. Top heavy watches are a pain.
My ideal watch size for my wrist is about 40-44mm. Omega Speedy is perfectly proportioned in my opinion, the right diameter to thickness ratio.
Gs
For me it's never been about fashion - just finding a watch that's in proportion not just to a 6.5" wrist size, but also to height, build and wardrobe. In my case that's 36-40mm, with Omega's 38.5mm midsize AT absolutely nailing the sweet spot for a modern watch. The upper limit is the 40mm 16570 which works due to the large bezel. Other good choices are the 37mm old style VC Overseas, and the 36mm Oysterquartz which wears large, down to 36mm dressier vintage watches.
The many 'standard' 42mm watches of the last decade have all been out of the question for me. If I were a different size and shape I'd see it differently, but a certain size has always looked right to me in a full length mirror. I believe that bracelet watches should show a little of the bracelet, not just the face, and I've never understood the 'fashion' angle of wearing anything other than what fits.
For me, the most important thing is lug height. I like there to be some space between where the lugs end and the edge of the wrist. IMO having lugs that overhang the edge of the wrist looks daft.
I have 7 inch wrists and my 35mm 1972 Omega Geneve is a perfect size, as are the 36mm Rolex cases such as Explorer 1 that I don't (yet) own. My latest watch, a Helson SD 40, has quite tall and pronounced lugs like the SubC and is the largest I would go.
Yep I'm with you Keith, the biggest is my 5513 and down to a couple of 34 mm watches that wear larger than they suggest and are far more comfy for my circa 7" wrist..
Lol :)
I also see a lot of huge watches - Breitlings, recent Omegas as well as Diesel etc - on the "larger boned" gentleman. By which I mean fat, of course.
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
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