Can ‘Women’s Watches’ Have Case-Size Diameters Sized Like ‘Men’s’?

Why not?

Wife wants 38mm-41mm watches. I see more and more women sporting larger case dials. As an enthusiast and someone with poor eyesight 🤣, it gives me an opportunity to eye the watch. I see no issue with it...

I agree; just curious about opinions in the way see world. I honestly can’t understand why smaller watch dials/faces are expected to be seen as easily as larger ones.

I think what's happened is women have become used to wearing Apple/Smart watches, which are obviously much larger than traditional women's watches. I personally wore a 25mm ladies Longines watch daily for around 15 years, which I swapped for a 38mm hybrid smart watch for a while and it got me used to the idea of different sizes.

With a bit of recent trial and error as I've got more into watches, tried some of my husband's etc I see some ladies really rocking 40mm watches, but I've decided 34-38mm is my ideal size (realistically how it sits on the wrist etc).

Having said that what's more important to me than dial size is the lug to lug. I'm therefore loving the trend towards smaller/more unisex sizing overall as it means I get more choice!

That’s an interesting take. I appreciate you offering these insights. Thank you.

Why would anyone see this as an issue? Watches come in all shapes and sizes, that’s the beauty of it.

I don’t disagree. I’m just curious what points of view people have, including yours. I appreciate it.

I think a woman in a largish watch looks confident while a man in a big watch looks like he’s trying too hard.

That’s kinda funny…the trying too hard part. If you’re a G-Shock fan, sometimes you don’t have much choice but go big.

Oh, I have several G Shocks, so I’m included here. But what I was thinking of was more like this

That right there is 57mm of golden overcompensation. But if a woman rocked a 42mm gold watch I’d probably think it looked good.

My wife wears a 40mm Aquaracer which I think looks super hot… but I admit I may also be a little bit bias. 😂 It’s a watch that makes so much more sense for her as a practicing veterinarian versus 99% of what is traditionally marketed to women. I am sure if we were to get dolled up, she’d steal my tank though.

Men deciding what women should wear! This is like WC circa 1950

I find it so cute when I see women in public with a big watch on and my ignorance tickles me and says "she's got her hubby's watch on, how cute"

but realistically most of the women's watches I've seen in stores are tiny! Like, how does one even read that without a microscope???

I've been hoping my lady gets into watches the right way, she's slowly coming along but I mean to the point where she goes shopping for her own instead of... You know... Having me buy them 🙄. If she gets into larger sizes, she can wear mine (which she already does) and I can hopefully borrow a few of hers.

Here's to hoping she buys an Oris, I'm very curious about them as a brand.

The Mrs has 37s in her collection that are 20 yrs old, it's nothing new. She still has plenty that are too small to read, and her largest is an old PopSwatch and then the MoonSwatch.

My wife wore a medium sized Breitling more than 30 years ago has never wanted to return to so called ladies watches since. She wears a 36mm Cartier Ballon Bleu and has taken over my black ceramic Tudor which is 41mm, she has been eyeing my Grand Seiko timepieces. Our two young adult daughters prefer and rock men’s watches, mostly because they are mine, they are too smart and too cheap to buy their own!

My sales agent at the Toronto boutique informs me that Tudor hopes to make one size for men and women customers, trending in that direction. I still want a watch that is more a guy’s item than uni sex because I still enjoy the differences between a man and a woman. Larger watches are great on confident women but how does a larger case on a gent make him appear to be trying too hard? This is the single question that puzzles me more than almost all others in the current watch community. Wear whatever watch or watch size makes you happy! I think it was Butch Goring who wore a same hockey helmet from his first years playing organized hockey to a brilliant career in the NHL. It did appear a little odd for a man to wear a child’s protective helmet but his head his choice.

This site is roughly 70/30. I suspect that most women lurk.

Women in general have good fashion sense so they will not be out there wearing a watch that makes their arm look like a little kids arm with a hockey puck attached unless thats the specific point. The under 30 mm watches are really hard to read anyway and from a bygone era.

This isn’t exactly new. The increasing size of women’s watches over the past 15-20 years contributed to the increase in men’s watch sizes. Men’s watches need to be larger than women’s watches, right?

On a related note, I just got my 16 year old daughter a 40mm automatic men’s watch.

You may be right; however I’m getting lots of input from women on this. It’s nice to see.

I think it’s kinda hot when I see a girl wearing a men’s sized dive watch or a unisex dive watch like the Tudor bb58 or something from a brand that markets their tool watches as more unisex maybe. It’s sort of a statement and i think it works. I recently asked my girlfriend to wear my BB58 because I was curious about this and it looked really good on her, and she agreed. My only rule is that man or women, I don’t think lug to lug measurements should ever hang over the sides of your wrist, then it just looks bad no matter what.

I bought a car last year and the finance manager at the dealership was very well dressed, wearing nice clothing and he had a beautiful Tissot watch… However it was a large model (don’t know the model) hanging prevalently over the sides of his wrist and strapped down very tight. It just made the watch look ridiculous… to this day I remember that. It looked like he was trying to cinch down a small clock to his wrist. I think the same applies for women.

You just gave me an idea! I wonder if a poll would identify how many women exist on this site? Though some may want their anonymity and others might want it known women can be watch enthusiasts. Might be a big poll…😆

I can see my small women's watch just fine, that doesn't mean I don't like a larger watch. What I don't like for the most part is "women's watches"

No thank you to rose gold, mother of pearl, diamonds on the bezel, low water resistance, or leather straps.

You wouldn't like it if you were forced to buy dress only watches!!! Told the only way to be right is to be pretty. That only women can buy a 300m dive watch or have rugged PVD coating.

I want the majority of my watches to have 100-200m water ratings, steel or titanium, lume on the hands, anti-shock properties, easy strap changes for a 20mm nato or rubber, and a lug-to-lug of no greater than 48mm with 44-45mm preferred

I am tired of anything that equates women's watches with "we'll make it smaller, mess up the proportions on the way if we can, put an inferior mouvement in the back and diamonds on the front." Stepping in an Omega boutique I can guarantee you that someone will tell me I should wear a small Constellation. No, thanks.

Now, that has never stopped me from wearing "larger case sizes." I grew up wearing Swatches that were meant to be unisex. Some watches look sportier when oversized on my small wrist. Still love my BB58. Though as I recently related on WC, a perfect stranger started chitchatting with me just so he could tell me that my watch was too big!

All in all, I like to see things like what Breitling has done with the Superocean line: one model, many colors, many sizes. Pick what works for you regardless of gender.

Wear whatever one likes and feels looks ok.

But if I think it looks goofy, I reserve the right to smirk and judge you quietly.

I had forgotten how to knot a proper necktie and decided to check out for fun a video from a very well known Canadian menswear company, noticed the highlighted personality was a senior VP that I recall meeting years ago when I was looking for sponsors for my daughters’ swim club. She was now a confident fierce attractive professional but most notable was the steel 41mm Datejust on oyster bracelet she was wearing in the video such a huge upgrade from the little Seiko she wore when she first started in the company. Sometimes optics matter.

My girlfriend wears a Moonswatch Venus often. I like to see a large watch on a lady looks cool. She tried on my speedy pro once but I had to put a stop to that 😊

Yes, if the wrist size is compatible

I've said this before: In my opinion, size does not determine whether something is men's watch or a ladies' watch. It's the design, the materials used, the color that determine "gender" in watches. A large Audemars Piguet Royal Oak--if it's iced out--is a ladies' watch. The Rolex Rainbow Daytone, to me anyway, is a ladies' watch. A 31mm stainless steel Rolex Datejust is a men's watch. Just my take.

Funny you should ask, my wife and I had this very discussion last night. Her view is that she would like a bigger sized watch so she can actually read the time, opposed to those little tiny watches generally marketed as "Ladies Watches". As if Time knows or cares about gender🤣. I'm thinking a case size between 30-35mm range would fit her nicely.

The large watch trend and Michael Kors watches seem to have contributed heavily to this, too.

My observation has been that 34-38 mm is the better sizing for for women who wanna watch that fills out their wrist a bit more, but isn’t taking up the whole space like a “big” watch