I was pleased to read this little exchange on the Tudor GMT thread:
Originally Posted by noidea
as just this week I was wondering if there was a general rule about bracelets making watches wear bigger. It seems to me they ought to, for the same reason that a white dial wears bigger - steel is brighter and lighter and shinier than the usual leather strap.
By coincidence, some of the most helpful side-by-side pictures I found were of Tudors. Here, the strap definitely seems to slim the watch down:
With the much smaller BB 36, the effect seems much less pronounced:
I was more interested in "does a bracelet make a 36mm watch wear bigger?" than "does a leather strap make a 41mm watch wear smaller?" so that second comparison made me think, perhaps not.
As I try to think it through, I get confused by all the variables - whether the lugs are polished or brushed, how long the lugs are, how thick the case is, and so on - and wonder if trying to find a general rule is foolish.
Nonetheless, if you've a 36mm watch you've tried both on a bracelet and one a leather strap, I would be keen to hear what difference you felt it made(do I recollect someone with an OP36 showing pictures of it both on leather and on the bracelet?)
A lot of people have been taking the bracelets off their new 36mm Everests, but mostly to put them on NATOs, which look completely different to straps, thanks to their filling the gaps in the lugs.
Good examples there, and I think the difference is the taper on the GMT strap. The strap on the BB36 is straight and so doesn't give the same optical illusion. I think the other factor that can be an infuencer is colour - for me, dark straps can often give the illusion of the watch head being smaller.
Interesting. Another factor, IMHO, is that because the endlinks of a bracelet fill the space between the lugs with more metal this makes the watch head appear more bulky and therefore larger.
F.T.F.A.
I have a slightly contrarian opinion. For those with skinny wrists I think a bracelet wears smaller, as it can be sized to hug the wrist right. On a skinny wrist a strap can drop straight down vertically from the lugs, rather than curving out and round as it would on a larger wrist, and in my view that rather accentuates the size of the watch.
Agreed, this is one of the main factors I believe. Another is that the bracelet links are often thicker (varies with different brands/ watches obviously) than the leather strap option, so the bracelet itself will often give a more chunky appearance to the watch overall.
Definitely. Couple of watches I have had, this is the main reason. Speedy & 41mm Everest the main two culprits of mine.
Doesn’t a solid end link add to the overall lug to lug length? Making the watch wear bigger.
If a watch is thick, with a tendancy to look like an ice- hockey puck on the wrist, a bracelet will disguise this and make the watch appear less clumsy. Some watches can look distinctly slab- sided on a strap.
Some solid end links have a central section sticking out (eg the new Everest 40) and some solid end links have a gap in the centre, into which the first proper link fits (eg the new Everest 36)
I've a 42mm Seiko with the latter, and so it still fits snug. My 40mm Seiko has the former, and as I think about it I guess I wouldn't like them on the 42mm.
Bracelets tend to be more bulky than a strap, so the overall look will be more bulky. To me, surprisingly few watches look better on a bracelet. Usually, they just make a watch less elegant, a bit coarser.
The most obvious case is Grand Seiko, where their ‘classic’ watches are dramatically improved by a nice leather strap.
The AP bracelet, the Rolex President and the Jubilee are exceptions. Otherwise, for me, good quality leather. Perhaps it’s just the greater contrast.
Thats right. 39mm Explorer wears like a 41mm.
As I'm searching for photos of 36mm watches with or without their bracelets, I'm wondering
firstly, is the fatness of the lugs a more important factor?
and secondly, who thought this was a good idea?
This was exactly my thought, it was the gap between the strap and watch head.
This is one thing I really don't like, I prefer a curved end strap or a bracelet!
Another thing with straps is I hate it when they are new. The watch sticks above the wrist until they soften but that is something very different to the subject of this thread.
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Good question.
My experience with the Speedmaster Pro suggests that with the bracelet, the watch does appear bigger on my wrist, probably because of the extended solid end links.
On a strap, it appears marginally smaller. Hence I usually wear it on a strap.
However, watches with a bracelet without endlinks (ie, straight across like a strap) do tend to keep the appearance of the size rather than make it bigger, in my view.
There are so many variables but for sure an all white watch and bracelet, say ceramic, will appear larger than the same thing in black
Gray
I would agree with your initial observation, echoed a few times since, that there are too many variables to be definitive. I think it would be a case of trying then watch by watch.
For instance, colour of strap and whether it matches the dial will also have a bearing. A black strap and black dial 36mm, Stella cased watch will look smaller than a black strap silver dial version. But a steel bracelet silver dial might look smaller again.
My 39mm Explorer wears like a 39mm. It’s on its bracelet.
I agree with this, a well integrated bracelet can help hide some size, help it curve around the wrist better.
Conversely, a very stiff thick leather strap can make a watch look and feel massive, if it's not sitting nicely in the wrist. I have a strap thsts a bit unyielding and rather than HD thr watch in place whet wit wants to sit, it forces the watch to sit whee thr strap tells it. Watch looks big and awkward.
Natos are another factor, the additional height, coupled with thr thin material can make it feel slightly top heavy and look bigger than it is.
That's why the NATO doesn't work on the Black Bays, IMO. It gives the game away that they're just too thick, revealing far too much metal between the lugs.
Trying to find comparable photos but can't find a shot of this one on a leather strap. Anyone got one?
If only ...Trying to find comparable photos but can't find a shot of this one on a leather strap. Anyone got one?
I've now peered at so much photos my eyes don't know what to think.
Except perhaps that train tracks have the effect of hemming in the openness of a white dial
And presumably all these would look a lot different if the bracelets were oyster rather than jubilee
At any rate, the answer to my original question seems to be, "mmm, perhaps, depends, what are we talking about?"
Last edited by Der Amf; 21st February 2019 at 10:55.
The red seven has blown everything out of perspective 😜
Gray
The what?The red seven has blown everything out of perspective
I’m going to offer a contrary view. I’ve had thick parallel sided leather straps made a few times to “bulk up” vintage dress watches and make them feel more suitable for informal daily wear.
Vintage Rolex in particular had quite dainty tapered bracelets and a thick leather strap or a NATO/Zulu can make them look and feel more substantial. One of my favourite grab and go watches is an old 5500 Airking Explorer (34mm) which I keep on a Watch Gecko Zulu for this very reason.
i will live in shame forever 😎The what?
Gray
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