Size does matter

I've gone in a completely different direction. For years I've worn vintage watches of around 34mm to 36mm but in the last few years the sizes of watches I'm wearing has increased to around 39mm to 42mm. It's not been a conscious decision just a natural lack of fashion. 🤔

I think there is a math in aesthetics that can not be recognized by every eye. The relation from the dial and all the elements on the dial to the case. The ratio between case size and bracelet. An finally the relation from the whole watch on your wrist and in addition with your style and the occasion is what watch size is all about. I also started wearing big watches. Now my sweet spot is 37-39mm (case size) x 43-47mm (lug to lug) mostly on 18-20mm lug width for my 17.5 cm wrist.

I agree. I can't wear anything with an effective diameter over 38mm or over 12mm thick without looking out of place. That alone removes a sizeable portion of modern watches from contention which, in my opinion, are simply not designed for people with my wrist/hand size as I don't want the head of the watch look like a second fist. Some people don't seem to care and if that is really the case then more power to them, but I have a hard time believing that. Especially if the watch is commonly viewed as a status symbol, i.e. not a giant G Shock (or tiny vintage watch), and given how many "size posts" there are all over the internet. I think that being able to admit that something I like in isolation may not look right on me, instead of pretending that "nobody notices my watch", is part of growing up and being an adult. Also, it's good for the wallet. We, as in the people who like watches, buy far too much and enjoy the stuff we have far too little.

Just my opinion which, of course, may be wrong and misguided. If anyone feels so, please feel free to ignore me (or correct, if you cannot resist the urge 😉).

Agreed, there's nothing wrong with smaller watches at all but for my size and build its 40mm and above it just feels good on the wrist and I like a chunky watch, this behemoth is arriving today and I can't wait to see how it feels 😁

My greatest watch affectation occurred when mechanical watches became larger, additionally my favourite brands have been Breitling and to a lessor extent, Panerai so many of my best watches are over 42mm in size, they remain my comfortable daily wears, despite purchasing quite a number of contemporaneous watches. I own as small as 38mm, admit they do not wear well, in fact have gifted new personal watches smaller than my preferred size to my wife and daughters. I understand that we cannot exist in fashion vacuums but imo the recent trend to smaller cases is motivated in part by manufacturers who need to offer alternatives. Fashion is cyclical, I notice men’s suits returning to styles similar to garments that I wore during the 80s, oddly also the period when watches grew larger, so now we are being encouraged to return to so called more classical watches even as the garment industry is moving back to suits of another era again.

I finally got to try on the Explorer I the other day. Very nice watch.

The Internet will tell you 36mm is the perfect size for the Explorer.

I think it wears small but perfectly acceptably on my wrist:

…Except this is the 40mm

It’s astonishing the amount of people who can’t seem to understand that not everyone is the same size, shape and/or preferences as them.

It's not "the internet" who says that. It's the people with small wrists who are salty and jealous that, after the Explorer went to to 39mm, there was not a single "sports professional" they could wear without looking like they stole daddy's watch. The people who like the bigger Explorer 1 will just be happy and go along buying it, the insecure men will bash the bigger version because they don't want to be left with the "women's" model. It makes a vocal minority look much larger than it probably is. At least that is my explanation.

I find that quite understandable to be honest. The insecurities are real and not unfounded. I get bullied to this day for having small hands and a "weak handshake". But I am a white male with decent income so I have to shut up and eat it because most people have it a lot worse. Sometimes people like to "poke fun" by squeezing my hand real hard, broke my hand once that way. I got past it, but at first it does things to a person. If the frustration can be vented by calling a random watch an "abomination" and that's where it ends, it's just cheap therapy 😉

Everything is wrong whith watch sizes because is cheaper for watch industry to produce one size per product and pay big money in marketing to pretend that this is the perfect size for everyone and if you don't like it, you are the problem.

Imagine all clothes produced in one size for everybody.

Imagine shoes produced in one size.

...

Having small wrist is one of the few insecurities I don’t have!

You should see me try and squeeze into a slim modern-cut suit - it looks frankly ridiculous!

To be fair, suit cuts are often even more out of touch with reality than watch sizes. They seem to come in "slim", "skinny", "super skinny", and "how the f@ck are you not dead"... whith some makers, when I get in shape for a 20km+ run I am a "slim" cut. Almost everyone struggles somewhere I guess 😅🍻

Great insight. Overall, I agree. I tend to buy smaller nowadays but will reach up to 42 - 44 depending on the watch. No matter the size, it is sometimes difficult to admit a particular watch doesn’t look right on me. I’ve made some expensive mistakes in the past so I tend to delay purchasing (most of the time).

Wauw, thats the 40mm on a 18.5cm wrist?? I have a flat almost 18cm wrist and felt it looked much bigger on me when I tried it.

Looks fantastic on you by the way!!

Yep; 18.5cm

I have weird wrists.

Here’s a 39mm Heuer Glasssbox to prove it’s not a fluke :-)

Looking at the measurement photo it looks like your wrists are close to 7cm wide!?

Good for you mate, not everyone can rock the 40mm explorer like that!🍻

In summary, a guy that wears a size 9 shoe should not be allowed to complain about a size 13 shoe looking bad. Wear what fits. But shut up about criticizing what works for someone else.