Why do people insist on wearing huge watches? When did this start?

[wsoto002]

Can anyone remember when the "big" fashion watch trend started? I wear my 41mm Longines and 42mm Mido and I have been told that they are both way too small. It really shocks me to think that the average person considers 45mm+ to be just about the right size. I understand if you are a big guy but still, whatever happened to thin, sleek, sexy looking watches? Not to mention the fact that it is more difficult to pack a great movement into a small case while maintaining great detail and craftsmanship on the case itself...I want to know what you all think and if you have some funny pictures of planet-sized watches, please post them. Thanks.

[Likestheshiny]

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.

[billiybop]

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.

[Brendan12]

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....

[dbakiva]

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

Kids today, I tell 'ya!

[Aerofish]

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 . 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 lol

[LesserBlackDog]

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.

[gouverneur]

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.

[wsoto002]

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.

[SBD]

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