Small(er) Watches the Next Big Thing?

Definitely opens the door for better SKX013 modding options. You're right, that teal is nice.

38 to 40mm seems to be a sweet spot for many (most?) folks. my wrist is a bird-like "6+ish" inches and this is my preferred watch size. Hell my Casio Duro is 44mm and that behemoth doesn't really look outa place on my left wing! 😎

Those new Seiko's look awesome BTW!

The dimensions are great on this one. 38mm case, 44mm lug to lug and 12mm thickness. Knowing how the SKX wears, its going to be really snug and even smaller on the wrist.

The teal version is going to be the most sort out for sure.

That would be great. I can finally dig out all my old 38mm and 36mm watches. Maybe find some polyester bell bottoms in a drawer somewhere too. Joking aside, I agree that sizes seem to be (slowly) rebounding to smaller sizes for some brands. I like the teal dial version in your post.

Having been a collector for 5 decades I'd say that 43+ mm watches were a trend and now the hobby is returning to normalcy.

I've always visualized the prevailing size preferences as a pendulum. Brands were making larger watches and people said they want smaller. Now brands are moving back toward smaller sizes - until people get bored with that, then they'll be calling for larger again. So the pendulum will just keep swinging from one end of the spectrum to the other, forever!

It's funny how on WatchCrunch, everyone says that 42+mm is gargantuan, and on places like the Invicta group (on Facebook), 50mm-52mm is the norm, under 50mm is "small," and 53+mm is considered large. 🤣 Personally, my sweet spot is between 48mm and 50mm, but then again, I have an 8" wrist. 😎 I have a 52mm that wears well, and looks within normal parameters, but I think that if I were to wear anything beyond that, although it might feel fine, it would look oddly large. My Duro, my Tissot, and my other watches that are less than 44mm feel too small for me. I guess I am just a big guy.

Anything over 39mm looks ridiculous (to my eyes) on my wrist, so I am more than happy that companies are returning to more sensible sizes.

As a vintage collector I take issue with calling 38mm "small"

But yeah! I'm glad the trend is moving away from "HUGE" towards "medium" because I think unless you're trying to wear a BIG watch in an intentionally BIG way it usually doesn't work. 38-40 looks like a watch to me.

38mm small? Don’t go vintage, you’ll have a heart attack... I do believe some of you have never seen a watch older than 20 years.

I like it, but I kinda bored with SKX style case. It is overused by Seiko.

The downsizing of cases has been going on for years. This seems par for the course.

38mm isn't small. It's just that our perception of a standard watch size got skewed by two decades of oversize.

When I got my Certina Action Diver in 38mm, the lady working at the shop actually told me it was too small, and that I should go for the 43mm for my 7-inch wrist. I got the 38mm and couldn't be happier. I also just bought the 46mm Citizen Orca, so I can go both ways. 😜

I hasten to add, I never thought 38mm was small, the word just makes for a more catchy title.

These watches are actually advertised as the 'Mid-Sized' range so even Seiko doesn't classify them as small.

I own a few watches in the more vintage/ classic sizes <38mm that are 40+ years old so I know what actually small (by modern standards) is, I'm just trying to generate some conversation.

I’ve been looking at this since I got my 38mm Breitling which is small by their standards but seem to be in line with what most other makers put out. Even Panerai are releasing smaller versions

A <40 watch exudes confidence and knowledge (depending on model). A watch guy will have no problem dropping a smaller little number with confidence, knowing it harks back to a golden era of icons wearing iconic watches.

‘Smaller’ is certainly coming back. Ben Clymer says in his talk with John Meyer on IWC that he rarely wears anything above a 36

My apologies on offending you sir...

I do think the tide is turning, Tudor with the new BB 54. But my sweet spot is still 40-42, depending on the watch. I had a few 38mm watches and they just felt small, even though I only have a 6 3/4” wrist. I think my issue is that I’m a stockier build so to the right of my watch my wrist is 6 1/2” to 6 3/4”, but to the left of my watch I quickly go to 7”, and I have larger forearms. So I don’t think it’s all about just the wrist circumference. I think it’s also about how a watch looks on your arm as a whole, especially summertime in short sleeves.

I'll stay at my 39-42mm zone. Once had a 37mm Seiko, and it just looked comically small.

To be honest the trend towards smaller watches started a few years ago. More and more manufacturers have been making sensible sized watches. I haven't bought anything larger than a 40mm for quite some time, and my favoured size is 36-38mm

I have three watches from the 1980s: 2 that are a petite 34mm, another that is 38mm and they all actually wear pretty well on my 7" wrist. I also have a couple of 42mm and a 46mm that don't look out of place either.

I have seen plenty of older watches, being the age that I am. (54.) But because I never started wearing / collecting watches before the "bigger dial" trend, I just got used to 40+mm. The first watch I ever bought for myself (back in the mid-1990s) was a Citizen ProMaster Model 5502 which had a 41mm case. As time went on, I got used to seeing bigger and bigger watches. But I didn't start wearing the much-bigger watches until my eyesight started worsening. (I'm not going blind or anything, I just need reading glasses for more and more tasks it seems, including checking the time on my "smaller" watches.) Now, my favorite watch to wear is my Invicta Pro Diver (51.5mm case) because I can read the hands and date without using my glasses. And to be honest, I like bigger watches on an aesthetic level as well. I am not quite sure why, LOL. 🤣

I appreciate that 1997 might now be considered vintage, but you really need to go much further back than 1980 to fully appreciate the fact that a gentlemen’s wristwatch could be anything from 28mm - 36mm.

Like I say, it’s not limited to dress or civilian pieces; the ATP watches issued for WWII ranged from 28-33mm. The Smiths A404/A409 was 33mm. The Lip Annapurna was 34mm. The original Rolex Explorer and pre-Explorer Oyster Perpetuals were 36mm. WWWs were 36mm. Don’t forget, these were all designed to be worn against the skin, not over a suit.

The Egyptian Navy divers Panerai made in the 1950s were 60mm, so you know, you are still on the small side by comparison.

Completely agree with your comments.

No. Why do you think watches have grown over the last century? They didn't by themselves, it's what the market wanted. In other words, they were probably too small to begin with (having been developed based on a women's product pretty much), but even if not they eventually became too small for their new purpose and growing wrist sizes.

• Modern people are bigger than vintage people. Modern people want bigger watch to look like it used (proportion-wise) to on vintage people.

• If you are fighting in a war you don't want the watch to be in your way when re-loading a gun, so small and light is functional. But modern watch wants to be noticed, so big is functional.

I would like it to be true but I keep hearing small is coming back for years and still nothing "men's" fits me. There is and always will be unisex but that will never be the in demand hot seller. The behemoths are gone but 42mm is here to stay if you ask me.

Smaller watches are indeed the trend, and a rather annoying one if you have a large wrist.

I love the look, not the size.

I don’t have a large wrist, but I have a wide wrist. Anything under 39 looks tiny on me. It also depends on the lug length. I have an older Aquaracer in 42, but the lug length is 46.

These smaller case sizes can work for more people if the dial is big and the bezels are small.

As the case size shrinks so do my purchase options.

As someone with smaller wrists, finally!

I also hope they can start doing some special editions in this size. Really liked the Kamen Rider edition, but it's too big for me. Sold the standard edition SRPD last year due to the size.

I think the giant diver fad has had its day, thank God I didn't waste any money on anything over 44mm. I find I'm wearing my (38mm) sarbs, and other similar sized explorer types almost exclusively nowadays.

Smaller watches are definitely making a big comeback but brands are still shy of releasing sub 36mm unisex watches that are not clearly targeted at women.

Maybe bigger watches can be explained by why we bought watches in the last 20 years: to tell time? No! I hope everybody can agree that that with technology surrounding us, we don’t need wristwatches as a tool like we needed them in the past. So, in my opinion , having lost its first meaning ( to tell time) watches became before all statement pieces, and therefore becoming bigger and bigger.

I, myself, love smaller watches ( I have a small wrist anyway). I consider it as more refined , less blingy. I love vintage inspired watches most, so it makes more sense and helps for the “ vintage” wearing experience