Men, watch size, and insecurity – Why Less is not always More

Why you shouldn’t ask the internet: “Is my watch too big?”

Watch snobs are the worst.

“You know what they say about a man who wears a big watch… he’s compensating for a small something else“

Yet that’s almost always uttered by someone (often of modest stature or build?) sporting and showing off a luxury time-piece which cost him thousands. If wearing a hyper-expensive grossly outdated piece of “technology” as a status symbol isn’t deafening insecurity, then what is?

Or to put it more bluntly: Whoever smelt it, delt it.

“Yeah well, whoever made the rhyme did the crime.”

Stop it.

The American assembled Nodus Avalon II – $700.
43.5mm diameter. Also shown at the top of the post. Full review in the works. 

“Okay, so what watch size SHOULD I wear?”

Short answer: whatever size you want.

Longer answer: if you’re going for aesthetics (which that’s why we’re here, right?), favoring proportionality over trends works not just for suit fit, pant-leg width, and eyeglass frame size, but also for watch diameter. 

There’s sort of a rule-of-thirds (or, 2/3s) thing going on here between your watch, your wrist, your forearm, your upper arm, and your overall size. Watches that match your body type will look more “right” to most eyes than those that don’t. You’ll know it when you see it. Or maybe more importantly, you’ll know it when you feel it.

Pretty much the spectrum. 44mm to 34mm
Both can look great. Even in the same collection and worn by the very same guy. 

Which is precisely why the blanket smaller-is-better wristwatch trend is so misguided. Yes, a 43mm brick might look a bit “off” on someone with a slighter frame. But a more “classically sized” watch might look oddly dainty on someone broad-chested with pythons for arms.

Can guys with thinner frames wear bigger timepieces? Absolutely. Can broader guys wear smaller watches? 100%. There are no rules. Just guidelines.

So why does the “your watch is too big” thing persist?

An example of a man with a slighter frame making a larger timepiece work.
There are no rules.

Wrist-shot pictures are grossly misleading and often make a watch look bigger than it actually is

• Reddit: Do watches look bigger in pictures taken close up?
• watchuseek: Why do wrist shots make watches look bigger?
• RolexForums: Why watches look too big on wrist shots

Science.

Most pictures of watches shown worn on the wrist are taken at a distance and angle that make the watch look significantly larger than it actually is. Once again, forever and always, photos on the internet fail to accurately represent reality.

Combine that photo/lens illusion with the hyper-judgmental #menswear culture on the internet, and too many of us have started dressing for the camera instead of real life.

A 38mm Dan Henry dress chrono.
Wears much smaller in real life. Because the internet isn’t real life.

TL;DR:

• The current less-is-more watch size #menswear zeitgeist is an overblown trend.
• This trend has been fueled by a hyper judgmental internet “culture” misled by warped wrist-shot photos.
• It is sometimes (but not always) exacerbated and perpetuated by men of modest build, upon which smaller watches naturally look more proportional. Thus, they’re more likely to favor smaller watches, and then the False Consensus Effect (believing their experience is universal) takes over.
• Saying “if you wear a big watch you have a small dong” makes you just as bad as those who wear big watches in an attempt to project masculinity. You’re the same guy. Hurt people hurt people.
• We should all be nicer to each other. The vast majority of us are insecure as hell. I sure am.
• Wear what you want. None of this matters.

“Hi, I’m some random guy on the internet. Do you have a second? I think your watch is too big.”
“Do you have a second to eat my farts?“