When watches became less about telling time and more about wearing jewelry. Jewelry needs to be seen or there's not much point to it.

 

I don't know but an interesting question.
Whenever I watch a classic movie on the TV I always like to notice what watches are worn for that time period, 30 to 33mm mostly.

 

Is it fashion changing or just an irrefutable fact of life? Eg: like a modern Toyota Corolla having more space and power than a "large" car of 15-20 years ago. Now as for TV sets....

 

It really shocks me to think that the average person considers 45mm+ to be just about the right size.

Kids today, I tell 'ya!

 

Big watches are in vogue now......on second thought it has been moving in this direction for a while now, as I remember having a Seiko (38mm) back in the 70s that at the time was considered big. By today's trendy standard it would be considered small, go figure :-d. I think it has pretty much run its course unless the size of the average man takes a huge evolutionary spike. I really love watches but the big watch trend is one I haven't really bought into..........yet lolb-)

 

I think there are a few driving factors: The first is that, for the first time ever, we can wear huge watches. Modern society is extremely and increasingly casual. Only a tiny fraction of men are expected or required to wear suits or coats to work. Not many more have to wear long-sleeved shirts at all. Today, the daily uniform for many men is jeans or shorts and a polo or t-shirt. For the first century or so of the wristwatch's existence, its size was largely constrained by the need to fit easily under a shirt cuff and jacket sleeve. Now that so many men wear short sleeves on a regular basis, watch manufacturers have been more free to bulk up the size of watches.

The second is, quite simply, the peacock effect. Western culture, particularly North American culture, tends to equate big, heavy, and flashy with cool, tough, and masculine... though many of us find that equation questionable at best. Many men think it's cooler and more attractive to wear a large, flashy watch than a subtle, understated one. That seems to be a matter of taste, perception, and circumstance.

The final factor is that Western people are getting fatter and fatter at an alarming rate. A lot of larger men think they need to wear a huge watch to look proportionate, or at least, they are self-conscious about wearing a smaller watch that they feel may emphasize their size.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the huge watch trend. I think 35-43mm is a size range that actually accommodates the majority of men.

I was shopping around for a GPS/heart monitor at REI the other day and tried on a Timex that nearly gave me a heart attack... 50mm wide, 60mm tall. And that's basically a lightweight, plastic computer strapped to your wrist... I can't imagine wearing some of the oversized, metal clunkers that are available today.

 

Just started to read the post, seems interesting... but I think for TImex, they tried to make it as easily visible as possible? so they make it large.

 

I hate this trend personally. Proportionality is crucial to aesthetics, so it blows my mind when people wear watches that are too big for their wrists or wear a watch that is the maximum size their wrist can sustain. It's much better to find a watch that is properly proportioned to your body -- there are definitely guys who should be wearing 42mm+ watches, if you have thick forearms and are over six feet tall . . . but if you're an ordinary sized guy, 38-40mm is perfect and anything bigger does not look great.

 

This trend is extremely obnoxious. I saw a waiter recently wearing a diesel watch that looked like it was pushing 60mm wide. I wish the trend was more about movements, finishing, designs, reliability, etc...oh well. I just purchased a 35mm, it will be the smallest in my collection and probably my favorite.

 

I miss the good old day of 24mm watches. When did folks start wearing those obnoxious 35mm gigantic things?!

 

I don't wear a watch at all. Now that is classically minimalist, huh?!

 

Add me to the dislike column. I did once read somewhere that pilot's watches may have started the trend but that was conjecture. 37mm to 43mm (round) is my comfort zone and I used to think that 43mm was pushing it and I am not a small guy at 6'-4" and +/-200lbs.

 

In the late 1990's a Rolex Sub was still concerned large - blame it on Rolex - they started it

wink/wink

 

Anyone else feel slightly awkward talking to a woman who's wearing a much, much larger watch than yours?

 

One of my female colleagues wore a 55mm TW Steel and it was dangling loosing on her wrist like a hanging exercise weight. She's 50-ish, so the trend isn't just for young people. Thankfully she works in the adjacent building so I don't see much of that hideous watch.

 

Biggest my wrist can take is 44mm and no even though I am new to the scene I am very glad I didn't get caught in the trend

Big watches are perfectly fine if you have thick wrist and looks proportionate

 

If one requires a belt to hold the pants up then one is probably wearing the wrong size wrist watch.

 

It really shocks me to think that the average person considers 45mm+ to be just about the right size.

I must move in the wrong crowd because I see very little evidence of this. I notice people wearing watches 45mm + because they are the exception rather than the rule.

 

+1

 

I think that the 42-44 mm range is nice, its enough to get noticed, and have the dial and bezel well readable in most situations.

This also makes the design features of the watch noticeable to people around you, and the fact is that we men don't have a lot of accepted accessories.

I think the importance of the larger watch has something to do to the gradual disappearance of the neck tie, and formal clothing, cufflinks and such. Not only because people don't need to fit a watch under a shirt anymore, but also the fact that we have less things to "bling" for us men. If you don't have a tie, or cufflinks, or a nice suit or a tie, what can you use to show some of your personal style better than a watch, and specially a watch that people don't need to be within one foot to be able to appreciate

 

Sociologists call this dressing down part of The Casualization of America. When jeans and shirt tails became the norm, shoes and watches became more important.

 

People should, can, and will wear what they like. Big watches have become a fashion trend like others have said and will stay so until the next one comes along, like maybe triangle or square cased watches will hit it big. For my own tastes, if the watch lugs are bigger than your wrist, then your watch is too big. I see lots of wrist shots here with guys wearing 44mm or bigger watches on 7" or smaller wrists, with the lugs hanging way over the edge of their wrists it reminds me of a child wearing daddys watch But it doesn't bother me, their choice

 

 

Hit any club in the Manhattan Meatpacking District and see what you find. LA, too.

 

compensation. for lack of a better word.

 

Napoleon Complex?

 

Medieval times

Modern times

Edit: better picture

 

Erm, news flash....the big watch trend is sooooo over! Only young posers wear big blingy watches anymore. Proper gentlemen with style wear elegant timepieces measuring less than 40 mm.

 

If that's the case, I think the majority of WUS members are not proper gentlemen who lack style.

 

I think the gradual trend towards larger watches from 34-36mm up to 38-42mm has taken many years and is likely here to stay, but I believe the very large watches are a fad.

Most of the huge watches I see are either fashion brands made to be eye-catching, or the occasional extra large model put out by a somewhat reputable brand (whose primary line-up are regular sizes). The fashion brands will die off when the fad ends, and the reputable brands will discontinue the larger models and still have their regular line up.

In my opinion there aren't very many tasteful and timeless watches bigger than around 43mm.