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Are small men's watches done?

post #1 of 53
12/17/12 at 1:40pm
Thread Starter 

I wear fairly large watches (>40 mm), but I own a couple of smaller ones as well (say, 38 mm with a 16 mm band).  My question is, are small watches a thing of the past?  Have large, busy, watches taken over for good?  A small watch can be fine if hidden under a shirt or a sport coat, but on its own it look a bit awkward these days. 

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post #2 of 53
12/17/12 at 1:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dapperdoctor View Post

 A small watch can be fine if hidden under a shirt or a sport coat, but on its own it look a bit awkward these days. 

Depends on the watch - my dailywear is a 36mm Omega Seamaster, which I can hide under a shirt cuff and looks fine with a short-sleeve polo shirt

A small dress watch with jeans and a t-shirt would look very odd, whereas even a simple watch like Rolex's AirKing would look fine.
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post #3 of 53
12/17/12 at 1:55pm
I wear an Air King to work every day. I think it still looks great and don't have any plans to get rid of it. I also have a Seiko SKX007, which is a larger watch that I wear casually. I don't have huge wrists so both watches work for me.
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post #4 of 53
12/17/12 at 2:04pm
Thread Starter 

I'm actually thinking of selling off my leather-banded smaller dress watches because I never wear them anymore. 

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post #5 of 53
12/17/12 at 2:06pm
wear a watch proportionate to your wrist.
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post #6 of 53
12/17/12 at 3:17pm
I wear all sizes including a 36mm and a 38mm with short sleeves and I think they look pretty cool. (FYI, I have a 7" wrist).
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post #7 of 53
12/17/12 at 3:28pm
I wear watches from 34mm to 45mm. The small ones are almost exclusively vintage pieces. In the contemporary context, small watches have one foot in the grave.
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post #8 of 53
12/17/12 at 3:33pm

Dress watches definitely seem to be out of fashion currently, but they will never be out of style. In my opinion these current oversized fashion statement watches look crass when worn with a suit and tie. Casually, sports and or divers watches are fine.

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post #9 of 53
12/17/12 at 4:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnboy View Post

Dress watches definitely seem to be out of fashion currently, but they will never be out of style. In my opinion these current oversized fashion statement watches look crass when worn with a suit and tie. Casually, sports and or divers watches are fine.

IMO, hockey puck watches always look crass. I will judge you as a boor or a fratboyish douchebag if I see you wearing a giant 44mm piece of bling, no ifs, ands or buts.

Small watches pretty much always look better to my eye. They don't try to draw attention to themselves and scream how important the wearer thinks he is. Restraint is good, but in our look at me, reality TV culture, I'm not exactly shocked that subtlety and humility are out of style.
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post #10 of 53
12/17/12 at 4:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dapperdoctor View Post

I wear fairly large watches (>40 mm), but I own a couple of smaller ones as well (say, 38 mm with a 16 mm band).  My question is, are small watches a thing of the past?  Have large, busy, watches taken over for good?  A small watch can be fine if hidden under a shirt or a sport coat, but on its own it look a bit awkward these days. 

 

It partially depends on the times.  With many people wearing huge watches, what used to look "right" now might look a little small.  Particularly for casual watches.

 

It also depends on the size of the wrist. 

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post #11 of 53
12/17/12 at 5:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cptjeff View Post

IMO, hockey puck watches always look crass. I will judge you as a boor or a fratboyish douchebag if I see you wearing a giant 44mm piece of bling, no ifs, ands or buts.
Small watches pretty much always look better to my eye. They don't try to draw attention to themselves and scream how important the wearer thinks he is. Restraint is good, but in our look at me, reality TV culture, I'm not exactly shocked that subtlety and humility are out of style.

+1, I agree with every word you wrote

but prepare thy anus
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post #12 of 53
12/17/12 at 6:59pm
I only like smaller watches. I'd say the trend is towards larger watches but it's not more than that. There's plenty of smaller ones to go around.
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post #13 of 53
12/17/12 at 7:01pm


36mm formal, 40mm casual.
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post #14 of 53
12/18/12 at 3:16am
I've been pondering this, because I have small wrists, and concluded that rectangular faces are quite attractive in smaller sizes. Can't quite afford a Tank Americaine, sadly, but...one day.
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post #15 of 53
12/18/12 at 4:14am
I personally avoid wearing large watches, for the same reason that I wouldn't be caught dead driving an SUV. These things might look good on a fella who is almost 7" tall and has the physique of a blacksmith, but for the rest of us, they give off a really bad "boyish" vibe, in fact they broadcast the polar opposite of genlemanliness.
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