Too large or too small?
If you had to pick between two identical watches in two different sizes (e.g. Steinhart diver in 39 mm or 42 mm) and your wristsize is right in between. Would you rather go for a watch that is slightly too small or for the one which might be too large?
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Severin Frank
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Germany
Member since
Last active: 23 hrs ago
6.69” / 17.00 cm
The comfortable one will not sit in the watch box all the time and only come out when you feel guilty about it. Usually that's the bigger one.
If in doubt, smaller is better
I say go larger because a dive bezel shrinks the dial.
My own wearing range is 32 - 42 and 13 mm max thickness (sans crystal). Most watches fit into that, but my sweet spot is 36 - 38. Unless it's below 36, smaller is always better.
Tool watch goes larger for legibility and bezel use. Dress watch goes smaller for a subtle tailored look.
A size too small will look classy, dressy and elegant. A size too big will make you hate the watch and it will remain unworn.
I didn’t vote because I have a different thing to consider. More important in a case like this it lug to lug. If the larger is going to pose an issue where the lugs are visibly over hanging, you’ve got to go smaller. Lug to lug is going to matter more than dial mm being 3 one way or the other, to me anyway. Generally, I prefer larger for more visibility. I have a Steinhart with a 42 mm, and I love it. It is running at +1 / sec a day out of the box.
I didn’t vote because I have a different thing to consider. More important in a case like this it lug to lug. If the larger is going to pose an issue where the lugs are visibly over hanging, you’ve got to go smaller. Lug to lug is going to matter more than dial mm being 3 one way or the other, to me anyway. Generally, I prefer larger for more visibility. I have a Steinhart with a 42 mm, and I love it. It is running at +1 / sec a day out of the box.
That is correct. For other cases I feel comfortable with a lug to lug of 49 mm, as this size uses the most of the available area. For everything above 50 mm it feels on the edge so to speak. Which means that it can work if the case has some rund shape towards the lugs. For Steinhart the Ocen One has a lug to lug of around 47 mm in 39 and around 51 mm in 42. However, the lugs seems to go pretty straight out from the case and thats why I'm afraid a 42 version of this watch might look too bulky on my wrists.