Smallest Case Size You Can Handle (?)

I have 8 inch wrists so I think the smallest I can wear is about 41mm. 42mm to 44mm is my sweet spot. Anything smaller than a 41 looks too small for me.

I’ve never measured my wrist but rock the 58 with easy I’m sure I can do a 36 but I have had thoughts about trying some 34 mm Tudor prince watches

That’s a great looking Khaki! Love the clean look of the white dial with no fauxtina.

I have a 33mm in my collection and it's fine if that's what I'm in the mood for. If you collect vintage watches it shifts what you consider to be "small."

I have a couple 34mm watches that I consider fine. I find that most watches that appear tiny when looking down at your own wrist, look totally fine from a few feet away.

The smallest watch that I wear regularly is the 34.5mm Mathey-Tissot MT369.

I have an 8.5" wrist and don't like to go below 42mm. But I do have a vintage dress watch at 38mm.

I spent time , money and energy to bring back to life my grandfather’s dress gold watch. It’s a 34mm and I love it… for sentimental reason obviously but not only.

I’d say smaller case size work better with dress/dressy watch. But it’s more than that. Smaller case size also make a sports watch more elegant: hence the Rolex explorer 36mm (and/or the OP / DJ etc.) which can look so classy with a shirt on. It also makes watches less conspicuous which I like as well.

My wrist size/shape means I can get away with the majority of (mainstream) case sizes

For me, I find that dial size is more the determining factor on whether a watch wears too small or too big (to my eye)

I've found my sweet spot is around 31mm. Any smaller than about 30mm tends to look too small; any bigger than about 34mm tends to look too large.

As an example, my 34mm Smiths A404 (as with many vintage watches, it's all dial) wears fine, as does a 42mm Speedy (with a 33mm-ish dial). Conversely, a 40mm Nomos Tangente (again, all dial) I feel wears too big.

I'm a bit of a meathead and a former boxer/gym addict so I'm a wee bit on a heavier side.

So are my hands and wrists.

I have around 8 inch wrist so I dont usually own watches under 41mm.

Interesting thought here, man!

38mm for me on my 7.5 inch wrist is probably the smallest I’d go. But I’ve never tried anything smaller so I might be wrong.

While I mostly stick around the 40mm mark I do occasionally wear watches anywhere from 52mm down to about 32mm

I occasionally wear a vintage Oris military watch that comes in at a whopping 31,5mm. I don't know how well I pull it off, but I reckon anything smaller is a no-go.

28mm

I wouldn't go below 37mm myself

Here's my smallest, 36mm on my 8.25" wrist.

41mm is great for me. 40mm is absolute borderline.

This is the kind of topic that brings people out of the woodwork who enjoy teeny-tiny watches, and good for them. I take onboard the historical arguments, etc, but I like to see watches that are 'in balance' with a person's overall look. From my POV, if you're 6'5" and 300 pounds, a 34mm watch looks out of proportion. That same watch on a guy under 6' and 170 pounds will look a lot more in proportion. Maybe still not even 'right' but a lot better. This is the thing; the watches stay the same, it's the people you need to match them to, not vice versa. Yet in watch circles, people will try and say a watch suits 'everyone' when it doesn't.

It depends mostly on the dial size. There are 40mm watches that wear bigger than some 43mm diving watches if the former have thin bezel

Totally agree!

My 35mm gold Zenith dress watch. It's a bummer I have 0

occasions to wear it.

This is the smallest watch I have (at 36mm); it’s nearly 50 years old, has had a hard life but is really accurate and very precise in day/date changes. The case does extend out a bit beyond the dial so I’m guessing 35mm would be my limit - with a 17cm wrist.

My smallest was 35mm PRX, niw Murph is the smallest, however i will buy the New PRX 35 with POWERMATIC in couple of months …

I find that what size is too big or too small really depends on what my eye is used to. I used to wear 42mm to 44mm, and now wear 36mm to 40mm. I once bought a 30mm dive watch for my wife, but then decided to wear it around the house for a few days for fun. My eyes adjusted and the 30mm seemed normal. I then put on a 40mm watch and the 40mm seemed comically large. It took me a day or so to readjust to such a "large" watch :P.

Honestly, I wish more watchmakers would make their small watches unisex, or remove gender branding entirely. The anti pattern of "If it's for women, make it sparkly and make it pink" sucks for all genders.

I think it may depend on the model's lug design or perhaps having an integrated bracelet but 36mm is my low.

From 36 to 40 mm. Butt the lug to lug size is most important. Under 48mm

I have a 30mm vintage watch I found at an estate sale

I have an 8" wrist. The smallest watch I own is 42mm. The largest is 51.5mm. All look "right" to me.

That being said, I doubt I would go smaller than 38mm, and I'd prefer to stay at 40+mm.

I have a 6 3/4” wrist and I prefer larger and “bulkier” watches vs small and thin. Grew up wearing mostly G-Shocks and larger watches because the wrist presence. 38mm is the smallest I can possibly go, but prefer 40-42mm sizing. Just a personal preference.

32mm 2 hand Seiko from 1988, my Father’s retirement watch. 7” wrist, I think 36mm is probably the smallest I would buy for myself.