Are 36 millimeter too small for a watch?

I am interest to understand better the watch size trends, comment down below your favourite watch size and leave a wrist-shot if you like it.
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40mm is my sweet spot. But this doesn't mean I wouldn't own a 36mm. But 36mm is the smallest I'll go since it puts a strain on my poor eyes. I found that 40mm is near perfect for me and the biggest I am willing to go is 45mm, unless it is a G-shock. G-shocks are expected to be big.

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I have 10 watches 36mm or smaller. 

I have 14 watches 40mm or larger. 

The size doesn't matter to me if the watch looks cool. I'll rock anything if it fits my vibe.

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UnholiestJedi

I have 10 watches 36mm or smaller. 

I have 14 watches 40mm or larger. 

The size doesn't matter to me if the watch looks cool. I'll rock anything if it fits my vibe.

That said, I really prefer a 40-45mm

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https://www.watchcrunch.com/Bessio/posts/i-need-some-honest-opinions-16019

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36mm is not a bad size for a field watch and I guess it's not too big for a dress watch nowadays, but I consider it a medium size. 

Full disclosure: while I may have a 37.5mm Seiko 5 on my wrist today, for most of the day it was a 32mm vintage. My penis didn't fall off. Nobody pointed and laughed or kicked sand at me. I was able to read the time with no trouble whatsoever. I'm not sure in what way it, or anything, is to be considered too small.

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The Casio's 38.8 x 29.8mm, so the surface area's around 1156mm2. 36mm watch would be around 1017mm2. There are other dimensions to be considered of course but I feel like my Casio wears perfectly for a dress watch.

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The Cartier's 40mm, and in terms of fit it's great. I do feel that it's a bit large in terms of it supposing to be a dressy watch. 

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The Citizen is 45mm, but it wears well due to its relatively short lug-to-lug. It's also rather busy, so when I look at it I don't feel that it's large.

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The Hamilton's 42mm but I feel that it looks huge. By no means a small watch of course, but the thin bezel with a dial that's on the cleaner side makes me think that the watch is huge every time.

What I'm trying to say is I think it's not always easy to determine if a watch is big or not just by the numbers. It really depends on whether the watch is dressy vs. sporty, clean vs. busy, etc.

Oh but regardless of everything said above, yes, Invictas are big.

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38-41 is my go to, but I’ll go larger for a special watch. I’ve got a 7.25” wrist, so that helps. Below is a 39mm Ball and a 44mm Omega. They feel very different, but both work For me. 

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Even with an 8+ inch wrist, 36 feels super at home for me. 

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I like them in all sizes, all they have to do is look pretty. I am still talking about watches. I wear it from 36 mm to 50 mm and in my mind I pull it off every time. 

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The perceived size of a 36mm can vary quite a bit depending on case shape, etc., but I would say it’s not too small. It usually takes me a day or two to adjust to a drastic size difference. But I can be comfortable with a 34mm up to about 42mm. 

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38-42 is what I usually look at though if it's pretty or striking enough I don't mind a couple of milimeters off up or down (though I'd prefer down). 

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PoorMansRolex

36mm is not a bad size for a field watch and I guess it's not too big for a dress watch nowadays, but I consider it a medium size. 

Full disclosure: while I may have a 37.5mm Seiko 5 on my wrist today, for most of the day it was a 32mm vintage. My penis didn't fall off. Nobody pointed and laughed or kicked sand at me. I was able to read the time with no trouble whatsoever. I'm not sure in what way it, or anything, is to be considered too small.

We’ll, I mean…you know some things can be too small right?  If you can’t read the time, your watch is too small isn’t it?  If you can’t fit them on your feet, those shoes are too small, aren’t they?  
 

Personal preferenc for me is 34-42. At the top and bottom of that range, I need the watch to be pretty great. 42 has to be big for a reason like the Speedmaster. 34 is usually vintage, and those are cool because they just are.  To me 32 is smaller than I want, but I don’t see a problem with it. But what about 12?  Or 7?

Edit: funny, I didn’t notice all the folks saying 34-42 was their range. Smart people around here. 

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I used to think 36mm looked a bit too small on me but I've grown to appreciate it. I still like 40-42mm more on my 8.25" wrist but I'm wearing a 36mm now fwiw.

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Hell nah I have a 33mm Seiko SACM150 and it is awesome! 33, 36, 38mm are my favorite.

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FYI. My wrist is 8 inches in diameter and I still wear my 1997 Rolex Explorer without issue. Looks great. Feels great 

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❤️ old man rants !! 😂🥳

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Size doesn’t matter it’s the motion of the ocean !! Oh wait wrong site…

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36 works for me, for sure, but my sweet spot is 38-39, BlackBay 58 style

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I guess my perfect size is 38mm but it of course depends like a lot of people mentioned here. Below you can see 2 38mm watches, which are looking different in size. Imo MeisterSinger looks bigger than 38 but seiko is just 38, so if the bezels are small and the lug-to-lug length is a little bit bigger than the watch looks bigger. Another important thing is the lug width, seiko is 19mm which makes it look smaller I guess but the meister is 20mm (which is the perfect bracelet size.)

So as i've checked a few times some Rolexes in 36mm case size, since they have 20mm and 19mm lug width they didn't look small to me at all.  

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I'm one of those guys who could have "Make it 36mm and I'll buy it" tattooed on the forehead. Today (as on most days) sporting this little firecracker on my 7 inch wrist:

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I think 38 is about right, although my wife did look at my Serica the other day and say "huh, that's really small", so maybe 40 would look better?  :-)

If forced to have a crown on the 3:00 side, I want the watch as small as possible.  Crown on the left, anything under 50mm is good.

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I think it depends on the watch. Because some watches are actually very elegant in a smaller size, and it is not only the 36mm what counts but the lug to lug size and thickness.

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My sweet spot is 36 to 40. I own quite a few that are larger, especially lots of 42s (it's after all the answer to the question of the universe, life and everything, so...). At that size things begin to tilt for me, some watches wear too large, others are still fine. Some even largers ones (45-47) wear ok, not sure why. TBH having so many big watches was a rooky mistake, I am now consciously forcing myself to stick to 41mm max. 

I like field watches a bit smaller, but my dress watches larger - I don't use them as such (I don't own a dress, I don't even own a suit), they are just GADAs to me. I do own a 32mm vintage dress watch which wears fine, is readable and all that but I find it a bit too... inconsequential?

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I have one 36mm watch, it looks great on me, but the main thing I watch out for is lug to lug. Of course since I tend to wear chonky G Shocks all other watches feel small. 

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This is a tough one for me because there are times that I feel 36mm is the perfect size and times where I would prefer to wear a bigger size I would say my perfect watch diameter is 36mm - 42mm but then again I also enjoy wearing my 44mm Seiko Samurai as much as my 36mm Datejust - I wear all sizes 

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i like to think that the size depends on if it has a bezel or not. Watches without bezel work best for me at 36-38 and watches with a bezel 38-41

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my sweet spot is 38, 36 is not bad though. my collection ranges from 36-40

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As a 1960’s child all wrist watches in those days were around 36mm.

im a 38-41 sweet spot, however will go to 44 if it’s a short lug to lug.

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When I was beginning my watch journey, I lamented sizes all the time. Which size was perfect for my wrist, overall style etc etc. I hear life is short - I wear what I feel like wearing. I have watches that are 36mm, all the way to 50mm. Love em all !!!!

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36 is perfect and probably the smallest I will go. The datejust 36 fits so much better than the 41 on me, but I also have a 39, 41, and 42 sized watch. 36mm is perfect for dress, and good up to 39. Sports from 39-42 are good for my wrist too. The 36 explorer wears too small to me, but the datejust is perfect. So it's all context based on each different watch in that size range.