How Small will You Go?

[Ben]

OK, so the topic of large watches is pretty regularly discussed. I have to admit that I'm one of the ones who like larger watches, though 44mm would be about my limit.

But going through watch annuals and such I notice that many watches, mostly of the "dress" type, are between 35mm and 39mm. That seems to be the size range of many models made by Breguet, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Phillippe, Lange & Sohne etc.

I have a LeCoultre Memovox that I inherited from my grandfather. It's really a lovely watch and even after 40 years it still runs very well (+10 secs/day). But the darn thing is only 30mm. I'm not a small guy and every time I wear it I always laugh. It doesn't just look small on my wrist - it is small. My Hamilton, which was my other grandfather's watch (which I wish was running), is also pretty small.



I would really enjoy wearing this more often, but it really does look kind of silly when I do. So, the question. How small will you go? What's your smallest watch?

-Ben

[CHIP]

I used to have a vintage Seamaster 30 manual wind, that was 34mm.
Great watch, and very accurate for it's age.
However... it looked ridiculous on my wrist. (at least to me). And I have s very small wrist.
Because of that, it never got any wear, and it got sold to BobB.

I miss it quite a bit.

[Archer]

Ben - that is a fantastic Memovox!

If I had that I would wear it no matter what the size, especially since it's a family piece.

The Bulova that I just restored is quite small - don't know the dimensions but it's small!

For a new/current watch that I would buy, I like something 37mm or above. I could go smaller but I think it's a lot to do with what you are used to.

My smallest right now in terms of size is my JLC Master Moon at 37mm. However the BP Leman looks smaller (the dial is smaller than the MM), but is actually 38mm.

I once considered buying a JLC Master Ultra-Thin, and at 34mm it's pretty small. I ended up buying the Master Moon instead, but it was a close call......not many other modern watches that I would go under 37 or 38mm for though.

[atomic]

I've been ruined by Panerai on watch sizes. That, and i'm a big guy, so small watches look really small on me.

I think the smallest I would go would be 39mm or whatever those Dufour models are size wise and only for a dress watch. The smallest I'd go on a sports watch is 42mm.

BTW, that's a honey of a Memo!

[langnam]

Tough question. I wouldn't buy any watch now less than 38.5 mm. That's the width of my Lange1 and it suits me fine. Like Atomic, I've been spoiled by larger sizes. The Master Tourbillon is 41.5 mm and stands tall. It's the perfect size for me, while the 44mm GO Pilot's watch looks good, too.
Interestingly, I sold the Lange Perpetual (even though its case size is the same as the Lange1) because the multiple dials on the face were getting too small to read.
Now, if I had your Memovox, I'd wear it! It's a beaut! I have some pre WIS watches that are small. I wear them for various activities, but because of their sizes, they just aren't daily wearers.

[Ben]

OK, so here's a wrist shot. Funny. It doesn't look nearly as small on my 7.75" wrist in the photo as it actually looks in person, to me anyway. Maybe it's just that everything else I wear is 40-42mm.



I don't know. Maybe if I start putting it into the weekly rotation, on days I don't wear scrubs to work, the smaller size will start growing on me. It really is a pretty nice little watch that has a family history.

I wish I knew more on the history of LeCoultre. I've always figured that it was made by Jaeger-LeCoultre, but have never been able to figure out where the "Jaeger" part went. Anyone know?

-Ben

[redwatch]

For me, it is 35mm. I cannot wear my dad's vintage watch which is only 33mm but 35mm and above seems to fine with my wrist size (6.75).

[Archer]

behrman said:

I wish I knew more on the history of LeCoultre. I've always figured that it was made by Jaeger-LeCoultre, but have never been able to figure out where the "Jaeger" part went. Anyone know?

-Ben

My understanding of that situation was that there were tarrifs in the US to protect the US watchmaking industry, so many Swiss companies had to make some changes to get around those rules. I believe this involved sending movements over and having them cased in the US, and having a name change.

Don't quote me on this, but that's what I've gathered in bits and pieces.....

[gj]

I have both and I wear both...

When I switch from a Speedy to my Connie for example the first hours the Connie seems way too small on my wrist.

But after a couple of hours these vintage beauties seem to ''grow''...

Then the size looks normal to me.

Does this one looks small?

[gj]

Ohh and Ben.....Gorgeous JLC you have there buddy...

[atomic]

behrman said:

I wish I knew more on the history of LeCoultre. I've always figured that it was made by Jaeger-LeCoultre, but have never been able to figure out where the "Jaeger" part went. Anyone know?

-Ben

" The Coming together of Jaeger & LeCoultre
In 1903, the Parisian Edmond Jaeger challenged the Swiss to manufacture ultra-thin calibers of his own design. Jacques-David LeCoultre, grandson of Antoine undertook the challenge."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaeger-LeCoultre#_note-5

[wasatch]

gj said:

Does this one looks small?

I think it looks great, Gerard.

[Sam]

36mm is about as small as I like. 40mm seems perfect.

[mike]

My "Happy Zone" is 40-42 MM.

[Archer]

Follow-up:

Since I'm wearing this today, I thought I would check the size....



It's about 25 mm wide, and 34 mm between the spring bars, so pretty small in the scheme of things. I would never buy a modern watch this small.