The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

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H0rati0
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by H0rati0 »

I wear 36-56 and I would not rule out bigger or smaller. It's all about design.
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Re: The Perfect Size!?

Post by 5oclockhero »

So what's your perfect size then?
[/quote]

Sorry if I answered your specific question with a general reply ! I've got a 7" / 18cm wrist...
For 20 years I wore a Rolex air king 34mm that I was gifted,...but I always felt it was a little small but I liked it anyway. For my 40th my wife bought me a Bremont 43mm because she liked it ! So at a stroke I went to the opposite extreme! Thing is I never found it to be too big even though I reckon I've probably an average wrist size (I have no statistics to back this claim !). Subsequently I've added a couple more 41+ size watches that I like very much.
But now... I've been tempted by a C63 and asking myself if 39 is too small (in common with several forum participants it seems). I've decided I'm going to go ahead next month...I think it's more to do with whether you like the watch itself and then just getting used to it. So hopefully my perfect size is...whatever size watch I've got on today ! I think I've failed twice now at this question.
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by Noush »

For me it is a 39mm, 47 L2L and <12mm thick that wears best and with enough presence on-(skinny, 6.25") wrist.
For me this morning the BB58 Blue and what do you know? :) Crazy for this one.

I have plenty of 40s, even a couple of 41s, and they work just fine but the Goldilocks is 39mm for me. Skinny wrist talking, a slim bezel 36 (Stowa Marine, as last night) is also just fine.
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by nbg »

Whilst I have watches of 34mm-43mm, my wearing and buying habits point to a perfect/ideal size for me.

There are two sweet spots, that are dependent on the style of the bezel.

Twisty Dive/GMT bezels, or fixed bezel GMTs (I.e. where the bezel is generally wider than on plain bezel watches):

Weight on bracelet 120g-140g (ok up to about 160g)
L2L 47mm (48mm also fine)
Case size 40mm (albeit that generally 39mm no discernible difference)
Dial size 30mm
Case thickness 12mm-13mm
Lug width 20mm
Bracelet taper at clasp 17mm

Plain bezel sports watches:
Weight on bracelet 100g-120g
L2L 43mm (44mm also fine)
Case size 36mm
Dial size 30mm
Case thickness 12mm-13mm
Lug width 20mm
Bracelet taper at clasp 17mm

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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by CW257 »

I have very skinny 6” wrists, so I don’t own anything over 40mm. The sweet spot for me is 36mm really, although most of the watches I own (or have owned) are 38mm.

This is probably my own personal bias, but I seldom see men wearing watches that I think look too small on them, whereas quite regularly I’ll see a guy wearing a watch that I think looks a bit too large for his wrist.

Again this might be wishful thinking on my part, but I think larger watches became a trend and, like all fashion trends, we may start to see things moving the other way in coming years.
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

CW257 wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 9:45 am This is probably my own personal bias, but I seldom see men wearing watches that I think look too small on them, whereas quite regularly I’ll see a guy wearing a watch that I think looks a bit too large for his wrist.
Unfortunately many of them just don’t see it.

I spoke of round watches earlier, but of course I have one very special rectangular piece, and to me it’s perfect.

Case width: 31 mm (35 mm including crown with cabochon)
Case length: 33 mm
Lug to lug: 40.6 mm
Strap width: 23 mm
Case height: 7.5 mm
Weight: 55 grams.

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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by gannet »

Size is so subjective...

I'm another with a skinny 6" wrist. The biggest watch I have is the CW C60 trident 300 @ 43mm... Certainly wouldn't want to go any larger!

Sweet spot for me seems to be about 40-41mm
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by JAFO »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 10:03 am
CW257 wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 9:45 am This is probably my own personal bias, but I seldom see men wearing watches that I think look too small on them, whereas quite regularly I’ll see a guy wearing a watch that I think looks a bit too large for his wrist.
Unfortunately many of them just don’t see it.

I spoke of round watches earlier, but of course I have one very special rectangular piece, and to me it’s perfect.

Case width: 31 mm (35 mm including crown with cabochon)
Case length: 33 mm
Lug to lug: 40.6 mm
Strap width: 23 mm
Case height: 7.5 mm
Weight: 55 grams.

Image
Of course a 31x33mm rectangular case has a diagonal of 45mm, and an area equivalent to 36mm case diameter so maybe that gives a clearer appreciation of the effective size of the Cartier. Are there larger rectangular watches? Maybe 31*33 is fairly representative of the standard watch size when it was developed.

Thinking about it I was looking at velcro straps yesterday, and saw that they were similar to NATO straps, but attached slightly differently. The rectangular apple watches seem to be between 38and 44mm wide at the lugs, so noticeably bigger than your Cartier, and they look very big on the wrist shots. A 40mm rectangle is equivalent to a 46mm watch
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

^^^ Square or rectangular watches were very differently to round ones anyway. Proportionally to the area of the watch, they always seem to work bigger. My Solo XL is the largest Tank, I think. The early ones were smaller, of course.

When you think of something like the CW Henley (39×39) or the TAG Monaco, they look absolutely massive.
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by welshlad »

There are lots of different size metrics to consider for a watch and I have tended to find that case size is one of the least useful of these in determining if I will like how a watch looks on me.

For me, the most important single metric is dial size (excluding any rehaut or internal bezel). This is what my brain registers and considers when judging whether a watch is too small, just right or too large. Everything else (case size, L2L, height, crystal size) is just noise, as long as it is within normal parameters.

I prefer watches with dials in the range 27-31mm. If I had to choose a single sweet spot it might be 28mm.

Some of my watches in this range (in ascending order of dial size and, hence, roughly ascending order of how large they wear) are:

C65 Super Compressor 27.0mm (41mm case)
Omega AT Skyfall 27.1mm (38.5mm case)
Rolex Submariner 14060 27.5mm (40mm case)
Rolex Explorer 27.9mm (36mm case)
Zenith EP 29.2mm (38mm case)
Omega Planet Ocean 29.7mm (42mm case)
Omega Speedmaster 30.3mm (42mm case)
C65 Diver SH21 LE 30.7mm (41mm case)
C70 GP Series 30.7mm (42mm case)
Omega AT 2500 30.9mm (39.2mm case)
C60 Mk3 Ombre 31.4mm (42mm case)

(These dial sizes are my own measurements, rather than any official statistics.)

As can be seen from the above, the case size is not directly related to the dial size or to how large the watches wear (to my eyes at least). So, for example, my 40mm Sub and 36mm Explorer wear about the same size to me. My 41m C65 SC wears smaller than any of my watches. My 42mm Planet Ocean wears smaller than my 39.2mm white Aqua Terra, although the extra height of the PO compensates a bit for that.

One additional note: I have found that crystal size is not necessarily a good guide to how things wear. For example, my C65 SC has the smallest dial size, but the 2nd largest crystal size in my collection. It definitely doesn't wear the 2nd largest!

There are a couple of exceptions to all the above that I've not included yet. The first is my 40mm C3 Mk1, which has a dial of 33.2mm, i.e. bigger than anything above. This does mean that it wears a little large for its case size, but this is offset by its very low profile height, making it perfectly reasonable to wear.

The second exception is for Aviator/Flieger watches. To my mind these are meant to be larger, outsized watches, and I normally wear them with short sleeves so size becomes less of a practical issue. So my brain is happy to accommodate them being bigger. Hence, I have two 44mm C8s which both have dials of 36.4mm, well above the normal sweet spot above - but both a great and perfectly fine for me.

As a final point, the big downside with dial size being the key metric is that hardly any manufacturers quote what the dial sizes are for their watches. Instead, you have to infer it from photographs. Pet hate! :)
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by JAFO »

^^^^^
Yes, i realised that my Versace 41mm actually has a wide Greek key decorated non functional bezel, and the watch itself is only about 30mm.
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by nbg »

welshlad wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 1:36 pm As a final point, the big downside with dial size being the key metric is that hardly any manufacturers quote what the dial sizes are for their watches. Instead, you have to infer it from photographs. Pet hate!
I agree that dial/crystal size is the key. In most instances, I see little visual difference in measuring to the edge of the crystal, as opposed to the slightly narrower dial measurement. Probably why my recorded measurements for the 114270 and 14060M are slightly larger than yours.

I have found that on a brand that understands the importance of the ratio between dial/crystal, case size, L2L, lug width it all falls into place naturally.

Where there is an internal bezel of a contrasting colour, the dial is the key. However to me if the internal bezel is the same colour, then I would look to the outside edge of the crystal, as to how a watch wears/registers with me.

An example for me was the 41mm no date JLC Polaris that I really wanted to buy. However the same colour internal bezel meant it wore (to me) “all dial”, even though the L2L and other aspects were spot on. The 42mm date version looked slightly better, because of the dial/case ratio.

The C65 is to me a good example. The contrasting bezel versions, being ideal for me. The all blue, being all dial, therefore a no from me.

As to knowing measurements like dial/crystal size and L2L before buying.

Easy. Never travel without a bit of tape measure in the wallet. More likely to make a rational call, when trying a watch on, than thinking “ah new shiny lovely, I will buy it”. :lol:
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by welshlad »

nbg wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 2:34 pm Where there is an internal bezel of a contrasting colour, the dial is the key. However to me if the internal bezel is the same colour, then I would look to the outside edge of the crystal, as to how a watch wears/registers with me.

...

The C65 is to me a good example. The contrasting bezel versions, being ideal for me. The all blue, being all dial, therefore a no from me.
Completely agree with this. My C65 SC is the Ocean Blue with the white internal bezel. So the the blue dial is small and looks that way. The Deep Blue version where the internal bezel is also deep blue seems to wear much, much larger - indeed, too large for me.
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by Viognier »

42mm is dialled in for me (no less than 41mm and no more than 44mm) from years of trial and error.

C63 might be that exception I am hearing, however will need to see it live on a larger wrist (or mine if I ever get to the UK)
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Re: The Perfect Size - FOR YOU?

Post by iain »

Don’t get fooled by wrist photos which make a watch look oversized. Here’s a typical wrist shot of one of my larger watches. In this photo it appears to overhang the wrist and looks a little too big.

32285801-ECC2-41DB-BB67-D87EE85AA282.jpeg

But then when you see it in a mirror from the kind of distance most others will view your watch it’s perfectly normal.

B6794358-CBA1-4C29-916B-D87FFB154EBE.jpeg
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