How to Pick the Right Watch Size & Does It Matter? Trends, Times, Genres ...

The debate about the right watch size for men can be annoying. Watches are complicated things, connected to technology, culture, fashion and more. In this speech I deliver my thoughts about everything between delicate dress watch and the big Pilot timepiece.

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[davidlloydjones]

My current collection ranges from 42-32mm. Nice to have a differing sizes of watch on different days, and for different occasions👌

[marcgoulding]

Absolutely agree. I just picked up a few vintage (Longines, Astral, Rado...) pieces, all in the low 30s across. I'm accustomed to wearing 40 or 42 divers, but I am really pleased with the small diameter, as well. For me, both ends for different moods.

[Vox-Populi]

I pick my watch sizes based on whether I can easily tell the time at a glance, day or night, glasses or no glasses. The size of the bezel impacts that quite significantly on some watches. 41mm or 42mm are perfect for me.

[theintrnationlst]

The thing that no one seems to talk about but which I think makes a very meaningful difference is not case size but dial size. I have a Hamilton Khaki Aviation which is 42mm, a Zelos Hammerhead which is 44mm and a Ciga Design Blue Planet which is 45mm and on wrist the Hamilton looks bigger because it's all dial. How a watch is perceived has to do with so much more than just case size.

[xchazz]

Basically if the lugs are overhanging from your wrist it’s the wrong size.
And if the watch looks like a pimple on your wrist it might be a bit small.
For most men 36-42mm is the optimal standard size.

[trippgs]

Tim, thank you again for thoughtful commentary. I'd like to say that I've never thought of myself as the sort of person to wear a sub 36mm watch. Yet, my 32.5mm Omega feels like the perfect size. Case diameter, of course, isn't the only consideration as you have alluded to regarding lug width. There is also dial aperture and the shape of the watch.

[lefroy]

Most people are just following the fashion. Those who proudly wore 44mm Bremont's 5 years ago are now professing their love for small watches as if they have some prophetic intuition.

[day_changer]

Great video! As a good example - my father is shorter and a lot slimmer than me. His daily wearer is a Rolex Explorer 1 at 39mm. I am taller and a lot heavier than my father, and my favourite watch in my collection is a Breitling Avenger Chronograph at 43mm.

[eucitizen]

Thank you Tim. Words of reason and wisdom where spoken.

[TheGrenadier]

If men stormed Normandy with 32mm watches i'm all-right with them.

[joshuabriggs]

Nice perspective Tim.
I'm 190.5cm with 18.5 to 19cm flat wrists (60mm across). I have worn everything from a 36mm Smiths PRS-48 to a 47.5mm SBBN031 Seiko Tuna. I just wear what I like :)

[cohecency]

Express your personality with your style any way you see fit.
That’s the fun of it. 🙂

[ΔημητρηςΓιακαλης-σω]

Hi Tim your points are right personally I prefer watches on the smaller size of the spectrum I consider them more elegant

[matiasortuzar]

Im 1.95 mts and my favorite watch of my collection is a 34mm Rolex Airking

[watchalot]

I have a 17cm wrist. Dress watches 36mm-38mm, sports watches 36mm-40mm, dive watches 38mm-41mm. I think it's hard to wear a watch too small, but easy to wear something two large

[wingi]

Excellent topic with some excellent observations. Particularly about shoe size, this puts prejudice into perspective 😅. One aspect that you didn't cover is eyesight. One of the reasons that I wear larger sizes is that the small ones are simply too hard for me to see and therefore I can't enjoy smaller watches. Fortunately my wrist is reasonably large so I can easily wear larger watches as they suit me

[maxso]

“The highest people in the world are the Dutch, ” I bet they are. 😮‍💨💨💨

[ylee]

I'm surprised lug-to-lug length doesn't get discussed more. I only recently started looking into watches after I decided to buy my first one in over 20 years. I was surprised how big watches had become. I found one which fit well and that I liked (Seiko SRPJ83), and now I'm looking for a similarly sized dress watch. In the process, I tried on a Hamilton Murph 38, and I was surprised how well it actually fit despite the case being 2mm larger. It turns out the lug-to-lug length is almost the same as my Seiko. The Murph is still a bit too bulbous on my wrist when viewed at an angle, but it at least works looking at it from the top down. I'd like to see case diameter and lug-to-lug length--as well as case thickness--as the three distinguishing factors when people discuss watch sizes, not simply case diameter as the sole one.

[danielfrancis]

I just bought a second hand T W Steel TS5 watch and it's a beast at a jaw dropping 47 mm. I don't think I'll wear it that often but I will. By the way i have skinny forearms but that didn't put me off.

[peakrider]

I’m in agreement with you Tim. The extremes of oversize and too small are best avoided but otherwise I think the choice is probably most closely associated with the type and function of the watch. As you say, flieger’s tend to be larger as are various Casio’s such as G-shocks and Protrek, and more dressy watches are mid to small sizes.