Manliness and the Size of Watches.

[terrenceterrence]

It is a bit disheartening to see that modern watches are being supersized to the point of rediculousness. IMHO a calibre size should atleast be big to justify a big case and not like sticking a small kancil engine in a hummer.

Also not to mention that traditional "sized" watches are touted as women's watches nowadays, when the manliest of all men wore these dainty watches in the past to charm the panties off countless women in days of yore.









Well except maybe this guy who prefers to charm those who wear light coloured v necks and carries big bags.

[Godzillaz]

Great thread.

I suspect most would find your message here pointless or even dismiss the thought of ever stepping down on size since all this 42mm madness came along.

I never like big watch unless the size is part of the watch design like PAM, Ennebi or G-shock Frogman. 46mm (or 48mm for IWC) pilot chrono is just plain silliness. 

Do the military pilot use 46mm chrono back in WW days? If not then why on earth do a 46mm watch 

Ah yes, because they saw some company make big bucks selling big watches and the trend point toward big watch so big watch here we come. 


It sadden me to see a an elegant dress watch with a nice movement get turn into a huge monster but still keep the small dingy movement. What's the logic of that? Definitely not because better watchmaking.


Anyway like I say most would disagree with me and continue the path bigger is better, heavier is holiness.

Believe me sometimes I feel it is the watch that is wearing us instead of the other way around.

For me I feel that especially on "The Hulk", DSSD and the modern Portugieser (I really wanted one  ) 

Regards
Tyler

[foowy]

i think the size-up trend would come back down to earth one day to more acceptable range from 38-42mm.
i'm still very happy with my 34mm believe it or not

[tonykpk]

I think 36mm to 42mm is the best for asian wrist.

[IWCking]

Panerai is actually stucking in relatively small movement in big casing. For your info, iwc 7 days movement has been the biggest movement for ages. So, i wont say the casing is silly.

Anyway, the pendulum is now moving back to smaller casing now. Due to chinese buyers who prefer a slim simple classic wear. We all know how important that market is. HK has been the biggest importer of swiss watch these days. Guess this is more healthy that we have a more balanced market.

[dennis.T]

I know Andy wear Cartiers but do not know which model.. Thanks for sharing.. U shd pay a visit to AW exhibition at MBS if u into Arts...

Back to the topic.. To me bigger the better for sport watch to project the rugged look. I ll say 40-44mm is ideally for sport watch.

Just my 5cents
As for dress watch, better capped it below 40mm.. Dress watch mean to be discreet..

[Kooks]

Now-a-days they sell you that manhood is having big things... what I think, bigger car, smaller pen**s 

[Godzillaz]

The 7 days movement is not available for the pilot chrono series.

Panerai is actually stucking in relatively small movement in big casing. For your info, iwc 7 days movement has been the biggest movement for ages. So, i wont say the casing is silly.

Anyway, the pendulum is now moving back to smaller casing now. Due to chinese buyers who prefer a slim simple classic wear. We all know how important that market is. HK has been the biggest importer of swiss watch these days. Guess this is more healthy that we have a more balanced market.

[GMTmaster]

I think a watch shoudn't be too heavy also. I found out that some watches are so heavy, the wearers need to conciously lift it up to read the time... 

[Kennypane]

Don't think there is correlation between manliness and size of watches. I have a 7" wrist size which when wearing a 45mm and a 36mm the only difference is if it's a Pam, people will look at it and say, wah so man, but the fact is they don't know the 36mm is an Explorer which is worn by real men. But as far as watches go, 36mm is the minimum size for me cos I once put on an Air King it just felt small in appearance although I like Air Kings. Max for me at 45mm and no way I can carry off anything larger. Manliness is something from within and not shown through watches, I think. So are we man enough to be wearing small Cartiers and LeCoutres?

[IWCking]

Nothing wrong for them to try 46mm case i will say. Well, iwc had made even larger pilot watch 70 years ago. "silly" or not is pretty personal i will say. One may say its 'silly' if JLC makes a 46mm reverso or PP makes a 46mm calatrava. But dont see any issue with pilot watch or any sport watch.

[tonykpk]

Yes JLC made a couple of biggie like the master comp. ewc, ew alarm at 46.5 mm n also the reverso squadra WC polo fields at 52.9mm x 36.5mm..regards tony..

Nothing wrong for them to try 46mm case i will say. Well, iwc had made even larger pilot watch 70 years ago. "silly" or not is pretty personal i will say. One may say its 'silly' if JLC makes a 46mm reverso or PP makes a 46mm calatrava. But dont see any issue with pilot watch or any sport watch.

[Kennypane]

Real pilot watches were cased large I guess for practicality easy reading of the time bcos we don't expect real pilot watches to be puny.

[terrenceterrence]

Real pilot watches were cased large I guess for practicality easy reading of the time bcos we don't expect real pilot watches to be puny.

The Luftwaffe b-uhren were made big because of the calibre and also because it's meant to be strapped on the thighs of the navigators/pilots for easy time reading.

Which means they were made for a purpose and not meant to be worn on the wrist as a "normal wristwatch" . After each and every mission the watch is to be returned for inventory check.

[Godzillaz]

When a 46mm watch house a 26mm movement, where is the practicality?

It gives a message that the watch company don't care about the product they sell. Big watch with a small movement doesn't make sense because it makes the watch fragile.

I think the big pilot line doesn't suffer this problem because it house the big 5001 movement but the new pilot chrono does't spot the same movement or a big movement.

Why?

Because no one have a big chrono movement except maybe Minerva so instead of producing one in-house IWC opt for old caliber but a small one. 

However the trend toward big watches is still hot so BOOM ... ... 46mm pilot with a small movement.

Personally I can't put myself up to buy something like that. For whatever the brand 

PS, the Big Pilot is not really a "Pilot" watch per se, as Terence have put it. It is a navigator watch. It was strap on the thigh of the person seated behind the pilot in the cockpit. Technically it is not a wristwatch. A thighwatch maybe.
   

Regards
Tyler

Nothing wrong for them to try 46mm case i will say. Well, iwc had made even larger pilot watch 70 years ago. "silly" or not is pretty personal i will say. One may say its 'silly' if JLC makes a 46mm reverso or PP makes a 46mm calatrava. But dont see any issue with pilot watch or any sport watch.

[tonykpk]

Yes IWC big pilot house the caliber 51111  , 37.8mm  seven days pellaton movement. And at this size its nearly as big as the the daytona case diameter .tony

[tonykpk]

I forgot the Pam Luminor base models also uses a huge 37.2mm eta 6497 movements, which is so delightful to look at fr the glass case back . In the Pam family, only the P.3000 movement has the same size as the eta 6497 the rest are only around 31mm.fr tony

[chrisyen]

I forgot the Pam Luminor base models also uses a huge 37.2mm eta 6497 movements, which is so delightful to look at fr the glass case back . In the Pam family, only the P.3000 movement has the same size as the eta 6497 the rest are only around 31mm.fr tony

  but all pam in house hv small balance wheel... No nicely decorated bridges... Some more Brush finish full piece bridge... 

Really nothing to shout.... Big watch n movement with small balance wheel is ugly

[tonykpk]

Agreed so better buy the base with eta before supply ran out.. just my opinion tony..

I forgot the Pam Luminor base models also uses a huge 37.2mm eta 6497 movements, which is so delightful to look at fr the glass case back . In the Pam family, only the P.3000 movement has the same size as the eta 6497 the rest are only around 31mm.fr tony

  but all pam in house hv small balance wheel... No nicely decorated bridges... Some more Brush finish full piece bridge... 

Really nothing to shout.... Big watch n movement with small balance wheel is ugly

[IWCking]

26mm movement in 46mm case??? Well, do correct me if I am wrong. Top gun miramar chronograph houses iwc inhouse 89365 caliber which measures 30mm (btw, this is their inhouse movement and not old valjoux modified movement eventhough i personally have no issue with valjoux or eta modified movement)

Anyhow, its normal pilot chronograph also measures at around 43mm now so top gun chrono is just 3mm bigger than its normal pilot chrono. If you conceive that "30mm" is not significantly bigger than "26mm", than you will see that from "43 mm" to "46mm" the 'gap is even smaller".

Anyway, if we can live with a panerai which houses its old OP caliber in around 30-31 mm in 44mm case, I dont see that we cant live with others? AP caliber 3120 which is not a huge movement has been house in 39mm 15300, 15400 and 42mm ROO Diver (more of 46mm lug to lug which wears like a big pilot). Yet, I dont hear anyone complain about AP ROO diver.

I also have no ideal how big one want their movement to be? Even big pilot 51011 movement which has long been the biggest inhouse movement only measures at around 37.8mm. Also, making big movement is not hard, making small or slimmer one will require greater skills.

As to the really big pilot watch, take note that original mark 11 pilot watch made in 1948 by IWC measures at 55mm. So the big pilot that you see today is already way smaller than the original pilot watch. Similarly, one may argue that panerai doesnt have to make a big diving watch since we could read the time clearly at 38-40mm since we are not diving and putting a '26mm' or '30mm' in a big 44mm will make 'watch fragile'. (I am not a scientist or engineer but i reasonably believe making a bigger case with thicker inner wall to accomodate "26mm" movement is a no brainer?).

Anyway, as far as i am concerned, watches are just our accessories. So long as it looks good and one likes it. It doesnt bother me as to whether it is 35mm or even 46mm. I still remember 5 years ago when I bought my first Pam, my sale told me, when they first started selling it, people asked her "u want me to wear it on my leg or neck?". Lol. Then "these days, when i bring out 44mm watches, they asked me got anything bigger?".

This will be my last reply on this topic as I dont want to get too personal and have nothing more valuable to add. it all boils down to the type of the watches and the DNA of the watches. Classic watch? Dress watch? Fashion watch? or Sports watch? Diff size have diff markets and needs. If the market cant accept any size, it will just soon be vanished from the market, as simple as that.

[Godzillaz]

Well, as it turns out you're correct. I check the 89365 automatic and is indeed 30mm not 26mm. I must apologize on that behalf.

I think I'm just upset of IWC making their new big watch without using a new movement.

I mean why make a 46mm chrono if there already a pilot chrono in the line up. (The initial size of the Pilot Chrono is 39mm by the way)

I understand IWC needs to make the numbers but I just don't think this is a smart way to do it. I might be wrong. I have already make a mistake of giving a wrong diameter of the movement.

Don't be offended. Let me tell you a secret... I've long for a Portugieser but don't have wrist to wear it so every time IWC release a bigger watch it sadden me.   

If only they make a 42mm version ...

Regard
Tyler

[IWCking]

No worries Tyler. Freedom of speech.

Well, i know you are purists so wont consider valjoux modified portguese chronograph which is only 40.9mm. I personally like it a lot and think thats the right size for dress watch especially for today's standard.

Actually, portguese 7 days automatic is only 42.33mm. I am sure anyone can pull that off.

Also, please do not hesitate to criticise iwc. I picked this nick merely because this is my first luxury brand name. I dont like some of the models made by them too.   We are good. 

Anyway, I have decided stop buying this brand after they opened first boutique in boleh land where more n more people learned about this brand. I also stop buying panerai after it captured more attention.

[Godzillaz]

Actually I have nothing against Valjoux movement. I just prefer the simple portugieser that's all.

Regards
Tyler

[terrenceterrence]

So i guess you dun play much with the plebians, eh?   

No worries Tyler. Freedom of speech.

Well, i know you are purists so wont consider valjoux modified portguese chronograph which is only 40.9mm. I personally like it a lot and think thats the right size for dress watch especially for today's standard.

Actually, portguese 7 days automatic is only 42.33mm. I am sure anyone can pull that off.

Also, please do not hesitate to criticise iwc. I picked this nick merely because this is my first luxury brand name. I dont like some of the models made by them too.   We are good. 

Anyway, I have decided stop buying this brand after they opened first boutique in boleh land where more n more people learned about this brand. I also stop buying panerai after it captured more attention.

[IWCking]

So i guess you dun play much with the plebians, eh?   

No worries Tyler. Freedom of speech.

Well, i know you are purists so wont consider valjoux modified portguese chronograph which is only 40.9mm. I personally like it a lot and think thats the right size for dress watch especially for today's standard.

Actually, portguese 7 days automatic is only 42.33mm. I am sure anyone can pull that off.

Also, please do not hesitate to criticise iwc. I picked this nick merely because this is my first luxury brand name. I dont like some of the models made by them too.   We are good. 

Anyway, I have decided stop buying this brand after they opened first boutique in boleh land where more n more people learned about this brand. I also stop buying panerai after it captured more attention.

Well, i decided its time for me to quit panerai when i notice some c9 in my office are running around with 44mm panerai on their wrists. My thought gets even stronger when i bumped into a taxi driver who is wearing a panerai... A c9 luxury good saleswoman wearing same green bezel as me and praised me of my 'good choice and taste'... several taxi drivers who wore submariner, explorer 2 and datejust (in auckland, sydney and HK).... 9 out of 12 commuters in a mini bus who wore nothing but rollie... also those sport shoes sellers who fancy rollies.... 

Nothing quite wrong with that. But as a watch nut, I just prefer i am different from them