Too small?

Been considering an Explorer 1 for a while now (in silver not bi-metal). But always been unsure of the size. 

I usually wear larger watches and this Seiko is my smallest, at 37mm. Think it wears similarly to an Explorer though. 

My question, do these pieces look too small on my 7 inch wrist? Or can I pull it off. 

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Looks great. Fits perfectly.

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Explorer fits perfectly ,I also prefer in it  silver 

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You can't go working with a classic 36mm Explorer 1!  I wear everything from a 42mm Seamaster Pro to the 36 Explorer 1.  Kind of just depends on the mood...   I seem to be liking the 36-38mm range more however.  

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I find I am wearing smaller watches lately. Because of the lug to lug on the Explorer and the thinner bezel with a more prominent face, it seems to wear a little larger than you would think. We have a similar wrist size, and I have no problem wearing that size; it looks great. 

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You can do it!  Remember, the men who stormed the beaches at Normandy on D-Day were, by and large, wearing A-11 watches with 32mm case sizes, regardless of their wrist size.  If they didn’t worry about it, I wouldn’t worry about it. 

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Model41665

You should never wear anything less than 48mm. No one should. When in doubt, overcompensate. I think Aristotle said that.

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I have a 7.5inch wrist and 36mm fits fine, each watch looks different on the wrist. And its also about your wrist profile and perception how you view the look. 

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The Explore 36mm wears slightly larger because of the long lug design and larger face because of the thinner bezel. Its a classic size and it is never going to look small on a 7in wrist.

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Looks fantastic ! Not too small at all. 

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Looks great on wrist.  If it feels good it looks good!!

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I have a 7.5 inch wrist and can wear as small as 32mm watches. 

The Explorer should be a great size for you. 

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I think we have become conditioned to look at a large watch and think it wears perfectly when it's probably just a tad too large. By comparison, small watches appear relatively slight when, in fact, they are probably perfectly proportioned.

I have a 25mm x 25mm square watch that was my father's. I don't wear it because it's dainty and vintage, but if I'm being honest with myself. It feels too small for me and looks like a ladies watch. But does it wear OK? Yeah, probably. But in my head, I can't get over that people will think I'm wearing a ladies timepiece, so I don't wear it. But I probably could, and should. It's a solid gold, elegant dress piece by Hamilton. There is no shame in wearing it. But I can't get over my own internal biases.

That watch looks great on you, btw.

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Nope not too small at all you can totally pull it off. Looks great. I like a bigger watch sometimes but the 36mm size works so well I think it's less conspicuous sometimes and very understated and classy. 

👍💯

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This is on my slightly over 7 inch wrist

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How it makes you feel matters most. I also tried my first 36mm not too long ago and really fell in love with it. Don't know if it was the size, or design, or both, but I just like it so that's why I wear it.

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For me, I found the Explorer 36 really too small for that type of watch (7 inch wrist), where as the OP 36 (116000) I find perfect, I even wear sometimes a vintage Tissot Seastar 34 mm and I find it perfect........but the Explorer....nah, not for me, too small....but, you should not judge it on others opinions, you and only you have to like it, it´s all that matters.

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Good to go.👍

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Also, which Seiko 5 variant is that ? Looks really nice and expect it didn't break the bank ! 

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woodcut

Also, which Seiko 5 variant is that ? Looks really nice and expect it didn't break the bank ! 

SNK381K. 🙂

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That's what she said.

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I also have a 7-inch wrist and the 124270 looks just fine.  It will seem small for an hour or two if you are switching it on after wearing a 40mm or greater case, but that goes away.  The Explorer is insanely comfortable and low key, and yet the white gold finishing on the dial markers are such really pops.  I wear my Explorer more than anything else I own.  

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By wrist watch police do you mean there could be some sort of uhhhhh ”time cop” or something?

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I think it fits you perfectly. Looks damn good. 

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I hear ya, I was just mesaing around because the term and the OP user name was too perfect

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To me, 36 looks small for a diver or something with a bezel, just like 41+ looks big for a three hander. But neither a 36 three hander nor a 42 diver look disproportionate if done correctly. It’s about the lug to lug, the bracelet shape, and the dial size to me.

I have sizes from a 34 to a 44 in my collection that I actually wear.

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The link below is a really good article for judging the right watch size for your wrist...

The ULTIMATE Watch Size Guide [COMPLETE] • The Slender Wrist

Remember, the most important measurement is lug-to-lug as you never want a watch where the lugs hang over your wrist. 

With a 7 inch wrist you can wear a diameter from 37mm to 44mm provided that the lug-to-lug doesn't exceed 55mm. Even a 36mm will look just fine and not too small.

As you get to the smaller diameters below 36mm, it gets a little bit trickier from a modern interpretation of watch size.

However, big burly soldiers who fought against tyranny in WWI wore wristwatches that generally maxed out at 32mm, even as late as the 1960s in the Vietnam conflict, soldiers wore watches that were 34mm or less.

Here is a Swiss military watch from 1948 (Helvetia being another brand from Omega) that is 32mm shown on my 7.5 inch wrist. I think it looks just fine...

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Here is a vintage 1920s TH Picard Fils with case size of 34.5mm that I think looks just fine...

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Bobofet

To me, 36 looks small for a diver or something with a bezel, just like 41+ looks big for a three hander. But neither a 36 three hander nor a 42 diver look disproportionate if done correctly. It’s about the lug to lug, the bracelet shape, and the dial size to me.

I have sizes from a 34 to a 44 in my collection that I actually wear.

^ What he said 

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Perfect size for your wrist, anything bigger would look disproportionate in my opinion.

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Looks great to me. I have the same doubts. Now I can hardly imagine me with larger watches while I still love them, specially the Ranger.

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It depends hugely on the model. What's saving the Seiko in that image is that it's nearly all-dial. If that was a diver with a chunky bezel, for example, it would be wearing a lot smaller looking.

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I think part of the prob as an enthusiast is having a collection that varies in size.  If you have Divers in 42mm and a field watch in 36mm and rotate you end up thinking the Diver is large and the Explorer is small.

Wear either of them for a extended period of time and you adjust and the watch will just seem normal. 

I have worn 42mm watches for years , for the past couple of months I have been wearing 39-40mm watches, just got bought a 42mm watch and it feels mammoth. Give it a week or so and this watch feel normal sized again.

I am willing to bet if you would get used to the smaller size of the Explorer. 

In answer to your original question though, the Seiko looks good , especially on that NATO 👌