Yeah I would say when it gets to the point there is some overhang, its too big. In the end, its whatever you feel comfortable with. I've seen tiny watches on large wrists and huge watches on tiny wrists - I think it looks odd but if the wearer likes it, who am I to say it is wrong.

For me, I find the 53-55mm lug-to-lug to be a comfortable size for me. This is usually found on 44-45mm wide watches. Example: Kobold Seal or Korsbek Oceaneer.

 

The Panerai looks large on your wrist....but it's a Panerai and it is supposed to look big....I think they all look fine (well except the yellow G, but that has nothing to do with your wrist).

If you are happy with them, and you should be happy with the Panerai and the Explorer (great pieces), I say wear them and enjoy them.


Best,
Rob

 

The Panerai looks large on your wrist....but it's a Panerai and it is supposed to look big....I think they all look fine (well except the yellow G, but that has nothing to do with your wrist).

If you are happy with them, and you should be happy with the Panerai and the Explorer (great pieces), I say wear them and enjoy them.

Best,
Rob

True, the Panerai looks large and is supposed to look large. When you see it in reality it is not quite that large as in the photo. I took that with a DSLR and had to set the zoom to wide to even get that close. So they all look slightly bigger in the photos.

But the idea wasn't so much to get a feedback on how my particular watches fit. I just put those as examples to get some feedback if the lug-to-lug rule makes sense to others, too.

Cheers,

Till

 

There's always a little "fish eye" effect when shooting wrist shots. It makes the watch look bigger. Take a picture in the mirror and see how it looks then. For example, this looks too big for me in the first pic, but fits nicely according to the second:

 

There's always a little "fish eye" effect when shooting wrist shots. It makes the watch look bigger. Take a picture in the mirror and see how it looks then. For example, this looks too big for me in the first pic, but fits nicely according to the second

Nicely done! I usually use the self timer and step away from the camera, but your way works even better. Yes, a wide angle lens will make the watch look larger on your wrist, telephoto will make it look smaller.

As for the OP, I think all of the watches look fine, size wise. It seems like your wrist is still wide enough so the lugs don't hang off. That's my personal limit of what I think looks good. Even the PAM looks fine on your wrists. I do think that the straps on the G-Shocks are a bit long, although I don't know if they come in shorter lengths. With the PAM you'll be able to find just about any length strap so that shouldn't be an issue.

 

Absolutely. Slightly big in the first picture but still ok. Perfect in the second picture.

If I were to use the G9 (I got one, too, great little tool.) I could probably do alright without the mirror. But the DSLR is so bloody big with it's f2.8 24-70 lens that it sits almost on my wrist.

The reason I use it is laziness. I can simply pop my CF card into my PC. But for reading the g9's SDHC card I need an extra reader. I don't have time for this. Too busy wasting it on the forum to take decent pics.

Till

 

My watch wearing wrist is a hair or 2 under 6.75". I prefer the watch's case length to be no longer than 48mm........max diameter 42mm.
I wear the "baby" Panerai....40mm diameter, 48mm case length.
I have watches from 35mm-42mm

 

It looks like you're blessed with relatively flat wrists. Mine are a bit larger in circumference but only about 50mm 'wide'. Because of this I feel like I really can't go bigger than about 47/48mm lug-to-lug.

 

Yes, true poseur wrist of mine: Large surface area for a big watch but not much behind it.

6.3 inch wrist here with with about 50mm of watch wearin' real estate up top. a 40 mm watch is as big as i'll wear. i passed on a speedy 'cause i thought it looked a little too big.

Passing on a Speedy is tough. I thought the classic manuals were 40mm but I just looked it up and they are 42. Did I miss something?

Of course, the length of the lugs and how they are bent also plays a huge role, as well as the flexibility of the bracelet/strap and size of the end links. Finally, a white watch face will look bigger than a black one.

Till

 

6.3 inch wrist here with with about 50mm of watch wearin' real estate up top. a 40 mm watch is as big as i'll wear. i passed on a speedy 'cause i thought it looked a little too big.

 

Michael, the G-Shock straps mostly come that long. The idea is to fit a very wide range of buyers. I wear mine on hole four. There are seven more! Some straps are also shorter. Some G-Shockers will actually cut and bevel the strap end to make it fit. I'm just too lazy for that.

The bracelet on the PAM is a custom job where they actually measured my wrist and then made bracelet. It has held up very well. I think it's nine years old at least but I don't wear it very often.

Did you guys see the thread I linked to? I didn't want to usurp someone else's pics in my post but this is the classic case of lug overhang, as you put it. Good word. The rule of wrist should be "No lug overhang".

Till

 

My wrist is 6.5" (during summer 6.6+") and I like 44 ~ 46mm (lug to lug). Also, the size of the face matters to me. 30 ~ 33mm diameter (dial or face) looks just fine on my wrist. The Seiko diver is actually 2mm larger (case size) than the Railmaster, but the dial of the Seiko diver is smaller than that of the Railmaster. So, the Railmaster looks larger than the Seiko on my wrist.

- Hiro

 

That railmaster is beautiful and suits and fits you perfectly. So does the Seamaster. The Seiko fits, too, but it doesn't look as good as the two others on your arm. Is that because it looks like it's the other wrist or is the photo upside down?

Till

 

Good question though. The case size of the Seiko is between the Railmaster and the Seamaster. So, size-wise, it should fit well on my wrist, but somehow it really doesn't look right.

- Hiro

 

No, no. It looks just fine. It's just that the other two are spot on despite one being bigger and one smaller than the Seiko. This just shows that there is something like an individual fit or style where shape and skin color and the little things I mentioned above all come into play.

So, after all, you have to try it out. But the lug overhang is a good guideline.

Till

 

This just shows that there is something like an individual fit or style where shape and skin color and the little things I mentioned above all come into play.

So, after all, you have to try it out. But the lug overhang is a good guideline.

Till

That's what I'm thinking too. ;-)

I really liked the precise movement and the look of the Seiko, but I wasn't 100% happy with how it looked on my wrist. So, I sold it and it found a great home. :-!

And I agree. You just need to try it out. I agree with the lug overhang thing too.

- Hiro

 

A watch is too big when you feel it is too big.

Or, if people point at you and snicker.

 

If you take the watch off and people still point and snicker, you should consider checking your toupé.

 

imo it's too big if it overhangs your wrist at all or if it is uncomfortable because of size or weight.

 

Nice Heuer!

 

It's too big when you think it's too big or if it won't sit in place with the strap or bracelet slightly loose. Appropriate watch size is driven by both fashion and what you think looks good.

 

The OP has a good rule of thumb. To me, there should never be any "lug overhang."

6.75" wrist, max L2L=48mm-50mm, max case size=42mm

 

I agree about the "lug overhang". Yes, it truly is a matter of individual taste.
For me, if the band goes straight down the sides of my wrist, it's too big. I really wanted one of those Parnis B&R knock-offs(the 46x46), but after making a piece of cardboard that dimension......well.......Too big(my wrist is about 7.25"). It would look like I have a wall clock on my arm. Too bad, really as the "cockpit gauge" look of it is very nice, indeed.

Josh

 

Excellent thread! I would say it is very much personal, regardless of overall rule-of-thumb

I have 7,5 inch wrists and the 45mm I tried were somewhat "off" which leads me to believe it is not just circumference but also bone structure and feel. Another factor into finding the perfect match would be thickness of the watch.

A 15mm thick 40mm diameter will sit perhaps worse than a 10mm thick 42mm. Just my take on the topic - might very well be totally wrong :-d

 

Excellent thread! I would say it is very much personal, regardless of overall rule-of-thumb

I have 7,5 inch wrists and the 45mm I tried were somewhat "off" which leads me to believe it is not just circumference but also bone structure and feel. Another factor into finding the perfect match would be thickness of the watch.

A 15mm thick 40mm diameter will sit perhaps worse than a 10mm thick 42mm. Just my take on the topic - might very well be totally wrong :-d

I think that's rather totally right. The shape of the wrist and the watch plays a role. Like my wrist having a small circumference but a large wrist top for the circumference. Flat.

Hurly Burly, that's the same surface area I have. But my wrist is only 16.3 around. So do you mean anything above 42mm watch diameter looks too big? Or 42mm lug distance?

For example the Casio in my picture is 45x45mm (case length=lug distance in this case) and the Pam is a 44mm case with a 50mm lug distance. I think both still look alright but I shouldn't go bigger. However, the Casio looks smaller than the Panerai but in reality it's the bigger watch.

Till

 

I don't agree with the "it's only too big if you think it's too big" idea. My wrist is 17cm in circumference, with 55mm surface area. Anything over 42mm looks too big an anyone I've see with similar wrists.

By the way, let's get some more wrist measurements in here. What are you guys?

 

I mean 42mm diameter. But I will totally agree that wrist shape and case thickness play a very large role too. How many can really pull off the new Sea Dweller?

 

I think it still depends on the watch. I can wear a JSAR comfortably, and used that rationale to try a Nixon 51-40. That watch was just too big and looked too Flava Flav to me. It sat up on the strap more than the JSAR, and was somehow less tapered or something.

 

I'm with the rest that think the line gets drawn with overhang. If the lugs overhang, it's too big and just looks silly. Interestingly, the OP has a small wrist but the Pam looks fine to me on his wrist. I've seen others that have bigger wrists not be able to pull off the Luminor like that.

 

Thanks, Geof. Yep, it is quite funny that it looks alright on my rather small wrist. When I go to a shop and try on watches they are always genuinely surprised that a rather big watch still looks good on my wrist. I'm lucky because I like big watches. I never took the medium size of my collection. With a bunch of G-Shocks added lately it has no doubt increased. The two watches that get the most wrist time are usually the Explorer I and the Oris TT1 Diver GMT. That's a 44mm but wears more like a 42 because of the curved case. So that's what gave me the idea of the lug overhang, especially when I saw the pictures of the young man in the thread linked to in my OP.

I'm glad somebody came up with that term "lug overhang". Very helpful. :-!

Till

 

Excellent thread on watch sizing and aesthetics.

Perhaps a new MO to post wrist diameter in centimeters and wrist top in millimeters when posting pictures or discussing fit?

It is clear to me from this thread and others that including wrist diameter alone in discussions about fit is inadequate as a flatter wrist can tolerate a larger watch and a shorter wrist a smaller watch.

 

7" wrist. IWC aquatimer.

 

7" wrist. IWC aquatimer.

In these photos we can see three things very nicely.

A 7" wrist isn't small at all. Yet you probably have a round and deep wrist so the wrist top is small. I suppose the L2L distance is 50mm yet this is very close to overhang.

A white dial always makes watches appear bigger on the wrist.

When you wear a watch low on the arm, under the wrist bone, it often also seems bigger.

I used to do that but have since resized my bracelets and wear them on or over the wrist bone but not under it anymore. Looks better to me. However, in the summer a looser fit is preferable. Fortunately the micro-adjustments make that an easy task. They should all have sliding clasps like Citizen and Rolex do.

Till

 

It's too big if the wife says so. And if you know what's good for you, you'll listen to her.


And then buy the thing when she isn't looking.

 

It's too big if the wife says so. And if you know what's good for you, you'll listen to her.

And then buy the thing when she isn't looking.

I like it! Rules to live by! I can only buy white dialed watches or my wife will notice I have more than one!