Left handed watches?

[merkur]

..

 

[braindoc]

I am left handed and generally wear right handed watches due to the paucity of left-handed watches. I do however own a left handed Cartier Tank Americaine. It was a limited edition of 5 made back in the early 2000's and is one of my favorites. Cartier has made several other limited edition left handed watches including the Santos. The only other company that I know of that makes left handed watches (although again in limited numbers) is Panerai. I spoke with Vacheron and they would make a left handed patrimony for me through their atelier program. The cost, however, for this "bespoke" service was quite expensive over the regular patrimony.

 

[gsugsu]

I wear a Sinn EZM1 on my left wrist. That way the crown pushers do not poke into the back of my hand. When I dive, the pushers don't snag anything. I've always worn my depth gauge on my right hand. In addition to the Panerai Destro, Chronoswiss makes a Timemaster and Timemaster Chrono with large "onion" left-handed crowns. I don't think it is a matter of paying a premium for the left-handed crown they are just not done that often and usually done by high end watch makers. There are cheaper Invicta models that have or have hand left-handed crowns.

 

[gazman70k]

Originally Posted by merkur

I know that left handed (crown on the left hand side of the case) watches exist but does anyone here (left handed or otherwise) actually own one or wear one? Are they really worth the extra premium that one has to pay for one of these oddities?

I am a natural right hander and have owned two Panerai "destro" pieces, the 115 and the recently released 26K. Both pieces, I have worn on my right wrist rather than my natural left just for novelty sake.

From a manufacturing perspective, here isn't much extra work done to these as all they do is flip dial, everything else then falls into its "mirror imaged" place.

Could you share with me which brands caught your attention? There is usually very little premium charged for these pieces as you would expect lesser demand for these which the brands account for by smaller supply.

Historically, Panerai had designed watches for the right wrist because the WWII Italian combat divers wore a depth gauge on the left wrist. The 115, 217, 123 and 26 are the immediate 4 that I recall off the top of my head.

The Graham chronofighter has the trigger on the left side of the case since it is a discomfort and the ETA movement necessitates that the crown be also on the left side. It is not really a leftie watch as it is mean to be worn on the left wrist, as is the same for the new Sinn U1000 chronograph.

Gaz

 

[merkur]

..

 

[Patrician]

One should always wear ones watch on ones left wrist. End of story.

 

[gazman70k]

Originally Posted by merkur

I was just interested in the topic as I saw a left handed Baume & Mercier Capeland which apparently is a limited edition of 500 (not as limited as an edition of only 5).

Beware the second tier luxury watch brand seeking differentiation for the sake of differentiation.

I will highly advise against B&M unless you really love their designs. Your money can be spent more wisely with other brands.

Gaz

 

[gazman70k]

Originally Posted by gsugsu

I wear a Sinn EZM1 on my left wrist. That way the crown pushers do not poke into the back of my hand. When I dive, the pushers don't snag anything. I've always worn my depth gauge on my right hand. In addition to the Panerai Destro, Chronoswiss makes a Timemaster and Timemaster Chrono with large "onion" left-handed crowns. I don't think it is a matter of paying a premium for the left-handed crown they are just not done that often and usually done by high end watch makers. There are cheaper Invicta models that have or have hand left-handed crowns.


An excellent choice. Sinn makes some great value time pieces. I once owned a Sinn, which had to be sold to help fund something else. Still regret letting it go but its common enough for me to pick up another one.

Gaz

 

[gazman70k]

Originally Posted by braindoc

I am left handed and generally wear right handed watches due to the paucity of left-handed watches. I do however own a left handed Cartier Tank Americaine. It was a limited edition of 5 made back in the early 2000's and is one of my favorites. Cartier has made several other limited edition left handed watches including the Santos. The only other company that I know of that makes left handed watches (although again in limited numbers) is Panerai. I spoke with Vacheron and they would make a left handed patrimony for me through their atelier program. The cost, however, for this "bespoke" service was quite expensive over the regular patrimony.


VC's bespoke service is quite impressive. But as I mentioned previously, it is a simple task of flipping the dial, nothing more.

 

[zippyh]

I've got a couple Panerai Destro models. I'm right handed and wear them on my left wrist. I got them because I like that they're different. I also wouldn't wear them on my right because I know I'd bang the hell out of them.

As Gaz says, they're pretty clearly not much more than a different dial.