Buy some vintage. Vintage Bulova are very nice and American.

 

I wouldnt describe it as pushy ... but I can see how they can be distracting, being more intriging than a plain old 3 hander.

 

Be more interesting.

 

Pretty sure nobody cares what he’s wearing. Or judging by this thread - what he’s saying 😜

 

Nah just shiny arse polished stainless steel gets in the eyeline.

 

From a fellow educator - divers and chronos may appear more expensive, therefore distancing you from teachers.

 

This might be a thing, if you know you know. 😂

 

I also do quite a bit of public speaking, and everyone seems to focus on a particular thing regarding the speaker. For some it is the presentation style, voice cadence and how you communicate to people you normally don't know, clothes, the use of the hands and eye contact, body movement, posture, the topic, and on...

I have found the best thing to do is stick to your presentation and game plan and after you visually work the room a few times, you notice what certain people focus on.

This is noted because quite a few times I wear some pretty expensive watches, and only a very occasionaly has anyone commented about it to me after the meeting. I use my hands a lot and always dress to make the watch look good, so it is not like I don't have one on? Non-watch people are funny....and I speak to some fairly large groups.

However, when wearing something thick, colorful, almost anything Chrono, and maybe not nearly as costly, I get more comments, which still in not a large number is nice and noticeable enough to response to this post.

I always try to look nice and never let my watch get in the way of my program, and if I get feedback afterwards, I always consider this a good day for a watch guy.

"Bling does sing"......

Weird and cool both at the same time.

 

I also do quite a bit of public speaking, and everyone seems to focus on a particular thing regarding the speaker. For some it is the presentation style, voice cadence and how you communicate to people you normally don't know, clothes, the use of the hands and eye contact, body movement, posture, the topic, and on...

I have found the best thing to do is stick to your presentation and game plan and after you visually work the room a few times, you notice what certain people focus on.

This is noted because quite a few times I wear some pretty expensive watches, and only a very few times has anyone commented about it to me after the meeting. I use my hands a lot and always dress to make the watch look good, so it is not like I don't have one on?

Very few notices in close to the last ten years and I speak to some fairly big groups.

However, when I wear something thick, colorful, almost anything Chrono of lesser quality, (interpret this as you wish.....), I get more comments, which still in not a large number, is nice and noticeable enough to comment to this post.

"Bling does sing"......

Very true, bling does sing. I use my hands quite a bit as well so I know I draw a lot of attention from that. I’m a conveyor of messages from my management so many times I have no control of the content and so there, where are the eyes going to be drawn to when it’s a message you’re not excited to hear? 😂

 

It will certainly be an unpopular opinion here, but divers as GADA watches are mostly ridiculous looking, especially if above the 40-42mm threshold.

Many of them even wear larger than their measurements would suggest. Most are THICK, heading north of 14-15mm, so dress shirt sleeves won‘t slide over them.

Divers, when off the boat, are the breast implants of watches. LOOK AT ME!!!

When you’re casually dressed they dominate the arm, when you’re dressed for success, they are an oversized distraction.

Depending on the pilot, which can also be garishly large in diameter, they are less problematic, because most lack bezels that have glove real estate built onto their edges, but they can also look way too busy on the dial and become distraction devices themselves.

There are solid reasons most dress watches playing the role are thin, elegant on the dial, markings and hands, as well as modestly sized.

 

Divers ... are the breast implants of watches. LOOK AT ME!!!

This is quite the take on divers 😂

 

I'm an administrator in education and have that exact same SO you have, a 7.5" wrist and am 6'4". I don't wear it to work, not because it's pushy, but because it doesn't blend too well with my wardrobe or the setting in general. It is a diver, after all, and a big one at that.

I'm more likely to wear something like

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I'm an administrator in education and have that exact same SO you have, a 7.5" wrist and am 6'4". I don't wear it to work, not because it's pushy, but because it doesn't blend too well with my wardrobe or the setting in general. It is a diver, after all, and a big one at that.

I'm more likely to wear something like View attachment 17248237 View attachment 17248240 View attachment 17248243

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You get it! I’m glad you can relate. However, kids love my watches. And of course, they always ask, “is it a Rolex?”

 

Anyways, I just feel that as much as I like my divers and chronos they seem too pushy in these kind of contexts. Opinions?

Reason why there is an all but forgotten 'formal / dress' watch category....

When you don't want to draw unnecessary attention to your wrist..

 

I (obviously) don't know the SES of the students in your school district, but if you are training teachers who work at Title I schools they may look at a showy and/or expensive watch and think you are disconnected from the schools/students. This could lead to you losing credibility.

 

I get this on a profound level. However, without bringing in other divisive issues let’s just say that I fit the demographic of not having issues with my Title I kiddos and have enough rapport to garner the respect of my students and other stake holders in my community. My trinkets on my wrist are not a factor of my credibility or lack thereof. But it’s also a thing, you’re right.

 

I think some people look at all divers as a "Rolex Submariner style" watch. My SKX007 got called a "Rolex style" watch a few times. Unfortunately that's all some people know, and an external bezel is definitely an easily recognizable feature that would be noticed from across the room.

 

I'm a software engineer and sit in my cubicle all day. I never have to make eye contact but I do make magic with a keyboard.

I wear anything I want, wrist dinnerplate if it suits me.

I feel sorry for you suits.

Oh, when I do have to stand and talk, everyone in the room is sound asleep within minutes. It's really a handy skill.

 

Trust me, it is all in your head - no one cares what watch you are wearing!

 

Kinda agree with this 👆

You may be overthinking this a bit. Even if they might take a peek at your watch, I doubt they’re really putting too much thought into it. 96.8% of people really don’t care what’s on your wrist.

Wear what you want and enjoy it!

 

Stuff a large sausage into the front of your trousers to distract people from what's on your wrist.

 

(reading along interested in this socioeconomic tangent) But I've gone through the same realization as @SammyD84 , only I dispensed with my bezels and pushers at stops on a full on feature purge, and with them size, weight, and attention garnering in my probably warped perspective. But I consecutively deleted more features, that I learned I either don't need, or was actually better off without.

REalizng I don't need the level of shock resistance from impacts that would kill me anyway, is smaller, lighter, & less resin-y. Similarly I can enjoy the convenience of a push-pull crown, because as it turns out I don't need 200m+ diver for a shower after all (100m, 50m, even pushing my luck with 30m so far so good for a month). This is also smaller, lighter, thinner.

I love dive bezels, especially some of these lumed sapphire, polished or brushed ceramic🤤 but for my purposes I have to balance the weight, thickness, and nondial diameter (and the fact that maybe one of over a half dozen of my bezels have not gotten sticky or froze at some point). I also think my preferences have been corrupted by electronic device value transference, where big displays little bezels I've learned to associate with "the good ones". That'd be a shame.

Not so much that I'm worried about pushy designs (because I'm not😨). Just losng things I don't need. I'm a simple man. All i really need in life, is a second hand that steps at least 16 times per second (or not at all), my rocket car, and my house of gold.🙏

 

Let me explain this. First of all, I’m a big fan of chronos and divers. I have many and they’re some of my favorites. However, my new quasi administrative job in education as a teacher on special assignment (TOSA) has me conduct a lot of professional development training that involves public speaking.

I'm a school administrator as well. I've worn a Pelagos, Aqua Terra, Seamaster, etc at work and have no concerns about it and have never heard anyone comment on them. The one thing I won't wear at work is a watch with a cyclops. I think it could cause some potential issues if it was perceived I was wearing a Rolex, but outside of that I don't think anyone in the buildings I am in would recognize the the difference between a Tudor, Omega, etc and a Seiko during a meeting.

 

yup, youre nuts they are my 2 favorite styles.

 

Ha me too. I have to remind myself to wear my poor three-handers

Sammy: I don't know the sizes of all of your models off-hand, but I wonder if it's just that the divers and chronos you listed are naturally bigger anyway. The Turtle and Sumo you mentioned at least. A three-hander smooth bezel watch that was the same ~45mm as those would sound even way louder and pushier than the diver/chrono.

A 40mm diver/chrono vs 40mm three-hander of similar other dimensions and aesthetic (polished areas, etc.) might be a more fair test. But a fun discussion made either way

 

It really depends on the chrono/diver. There are many non-blingy examples that would be completely stealth in most any setting. One of my favorite watches is my Sinn 756. It’s the anti-bling of the chrono world. All functionality and little flair or fluff. Unfortunately, though, there are so many examples of chronos that are just way over the top…

 

...I’m also a big dude with 7.5” wrists...

Your wrists are actually rather small.

 

Not sure if you're just trying to stir the pot, but 7.5" is larger than average.

"Average Wrist Size Male
The average wrist circumference for males was 6.86 +/- 0.33” (17.42 +/- 0.83 cm). In other words, a typical man’s wrist is 6.53-7.19” (16.59-18.25 cm) around."

From the source below. The actual report is available in PDF, if you don't mind perusing through 500+ pages.

 

Anyways, I just feel that as much as I like my divers and chronos they seem too pushy in these kind of contexts. Opinions?

I think you're reading too much into it, because more than 90% of people in "real life" are still not the least bit interested in watches, and many more don't even pay the slightest bit of attention to what their counterparts are wearing on their wrists.
But if you feel more comfortable teaching with a sporty dress watch, then wear the ConQuest, the 1926 or the Aqua Terra.

 

It's interesting how on WUS divers are viewed as 'utilitarian', but to the average person dive watches are the most attention catching.

 

I’m a professor ( so different educational audience) and I’ve never noticed anyone paying attention to my watches, except one aspiring watch guy I had in a class a few years back. I have gotten comments on my large collection of glasses…

I think it depends largely on what kind of diver we are talking about. If it’s reasonably sized and black or blue dial/bezel, I think they are pretty unobtrusive. The one watch I have that could probably attract attention is a hazard yellow Spinnaker Dumas, which is big and very yellow….

 

Divers are generally big and bulky with an added rotating bezel right on top. So, yes in general they are more in your face. Chronographs vary. Some bezel-less dressier versions are not busy, and the only extra material from what you'd get from a dress watch would be two pushers on the side.

These are just some of the reasons I have fliegers and dress watches for 99% of my collection.

 

I’ve casually observed that there’s too much attention on my wrist when I’m wearing my chronos and divers (Superocean, turtle, sumo, monster, etc.).

Can you expand on that a bit? What sort of attention are we talking about?

The reason i ask is because your experience is quite different from my experience (and i wager the experience of most of the people here). I wear short sleeves most of the time, and wear watches ranging from pretty non-descript to shiny-AF, and cant recall anyone even glancing at the watches except friends who know i like watches and occasional acquaintances who are into watches themselves.

Edit - the subsequent posts have provided some clarity. I dont know the degree to which a diver vs a different watch really attracts attention, but in the context the OP is talking about, i'd likely wear something pretty low key as well. Falls in the category of "if you arent sure, dont do it".

 

I doubt many of your listeners will notice but divers and chronographs are of course the "busier" watches, with their bezel and dial complications. A tool watch will never be as understated as a thin, three handed dress watch.