Lug to lug frustration

Yes it’s an issue but a lot of YouTube reviews are mentioning it now. Teddy Baldasarre does a great job in his videos breaking down watching, almost from an academic standpoint.

Yeah im a big fan of teddys stuff. It seems like such a simple issue to solve lol

That's the reason I have two 20mm straps without any watches with 20mm lug spacing.

I have 16mm, 18mm and 22mm. Not one 20. Not one at all.

Here's an unpopular opinion. I don't think it matters. If you need to worry about lug to lug and overhang the watch is most likely too large either way.

I have a small wrist, 6.25" give or take, and one would think that I would want to know. But the truth is, the diameter of the watch is usually the bottleneck, at least in my opinion. For one, buying a watch that fits barely on your wrist is like buying a bed the width of your shoulders, but unlike in the case of a bed the watch can wear comfortably even if it overhangs quite a bit. So fair enough. However, it will look weird and not just if it overhangs. A too large watch head looks clumsy no matter how you attach the strap. A watch with a lug to lug of 44mm does not overhang on my wrist by much, a little maybe, but it can have a 38mm face which is arguably still going to be too big to look balanced. On the extreme end you got Ochs and Junior (a favourite of mine) who make a 40mm cylindrical case with a 40mm lug to lug (drilled under/inside the case sort of). Can I wear that without looking like I'm carrying a clock, I wish, that cca would be mine in a heartbeat. On the other hand, if I look at watches with a 34mm case, which look very balanced, it will almost certainly be fine and the lug to lug, whether 43mm or 38mm is really not that critical.

Unless the watch has excessive lugs (which can often be picked out from images), like Nomos or IWC pilots, it really doesn't matter in my opinion.

Edit: there are also exceptions in the other direction where a seemingly too large case wears fine because it was measured with crown guards or side protectors (the Speedmaster is 39.7mm but listed 42mm for example). Ebel is another one, their 39mm 1911 case is actually 37mm from 12 to 6. But they include the bulges in the width... around 44mm lug to lug btw 😉 overall the exceptions are just that, exceptions, and under normal circumstances it won't matter too much.

It seems that many brands don't care, and they even seem they like long lugs. 🤦🏻‍♂️ I don't know what goes through the designers' minds.

You are spot on. Some more attentive watch brands have started to supply this as a matter of course but not enough. It's a much bigger deal than diameter and should be disclosed as standard. Even some watch blogs fail to put this info front and centre which is annoying. Don't bury the ledge, people! First things Iook for when a watch I like the look of drops: diameter, thickness, L2L, cost. Not in that order.

Lug to lug measures from the top lug to the bottom lug. You are referring to lug width.

I just realised that. I saw the word "lug" and went on my rant. This is what many would call a "bruh moment."

I have a 6.2" wrist. My 42mm watch has a shorter lug to lug than my 39mm and wears more comfortable

YES IT MATTERS

100% very important stat - I can wear up to 38mm diameter watches, provided they have a short enough L2L which few watches do, and fewer still have it listed so I can know beforehand. That really limits me to 36-37mm watches, which is not blessed with diversity. And then you have Nomos, who makes wonderfully classic-sized pieces but with lugs long enough to ski with.