Watch sizing is stupid
This is my little guide on how to sort out watch sizing for your wrist.
Above is a Casio MRW200H. From that link you'll see there are several variations of that model. Some have numbers on the dial, some have dot and block markers, some are black dial, some are white dial, some blue dial, and so on. Lots of choice. And the watch is cheap. Cheap is good.
Casio is one of the damned few companies that will actually list what I consider to be the most important measurement, that being the lug-to-lug width.
On the Casio.com web site, the MRW200H page lists the following as its measurements:
47.9mm x 44.6mm x 11.6mm
The first number is the lug-to-lug width, the second is the case size with crown and the third is the thickness.
The most important number is the first one, lug-to-lug. That number will let you know what you can and more importantly cannot wear on your wrist.
I have small wrists. My left wrist that I wear my watch on measures about 6.75 inches at its thickest point according to my tape measure.
Now although I wear a Casio A158WEA as my daily wearer, the biggest watch I own is an Infantry IN-019, a cheap-ass Rolex Submariner diver clone. This is a bigger timepiece with a 42mm width (without crown) and a 50mm lug-to-lug width. And when I say lug-to-lug, I mean the measurement from the outside of one lug to the other and not the inside.
Does that significantly larger IN-019 watch fit my wrist without looking stupid? Believe it or not, yes it does - but just barely. A 50mm lug-to-lug width is the absolute maximum size that will fit my smaller wrist before things start looking stupid.
An example of a watch I cannot wear is the Casio MTD1069B. That timepiece measures 51mm x 45.8mm x 11.8mm. It's a big-ass watch, and there's no way I can wear that thing (which is a shame considering how good it looks.) You wouldn't think 1 millimeter would make that much of a difference, but it does.
Flipping things around however, if the watch lug-to-lug width is shorter than 37mm, I can't wear that either.
The Casio A158 measures 37.5mm x 33.5mm x 9.5mm. While the side-to-side measurement is short, the lug-to-lug is definitely enough to wear on my wrist comfortably and look proper even with its small bracelet.
An example of a watch I can't wear because it's too small is the Casio W59. This is basically a child size at 31.5mm x 32.5mm x 8mm. Way too small, even for me.
You would think the F-91W has the same measurements because it looks similar, but it's actually significantly larger at 38.2mm x 35.2mm x 8.5mm (which is, by the way, one of the reasons the F-91W is such a loved watch, as it's sized just right for a small-but-not-too-small timepiece.)
What about watches that DO NOT list the lug-to-lug measurement?
Casio lists the lug-to-lug measurement for just about every timepiece they sell.
Everyone else however only lists the case size but no lug-to-lug measurement.
What do you do then?
Your only option is to purposely buy a bunch of cheap-ass watches of varying sizes just to test fit them.
Before going on watch buying adventures however, buy yourself a Vernier caliper first. You'll need it to measure lug widths so you can take notes on what works best for your wrist. Yes, it is worth your time to do this.
Once you've acquired your caliper, start buying cheap watches.
In Walmart, there are cheap watches that sell for under 10 bucks each. These are the watches not behind the glass case and are in the open.
Online, there are watches that sell for less than a dollar shipped on eBay. No, I'm not suggesting that you buy pieces for that cheap, but the point is you can if you want to.
Your best option for cheap watches online is Amazon.
Here are all the watches on Amazon that sell for $25 or less. You'll see Casio, Armitron, Freestyle, Timex and a few others.
REMEMBER: On just about every Amazon watch listing, there is the option to buy with free shipping from the "Other Sellers" part of the listing, even for watches that sell under 10 bucks. Look for it.
Where to begin?
My suggestion for anyone unsure about where to begin with size is to start with a Casio MW600F:
This one comes in several flavors. Black dial, white dial, blue dial, red dial (shown above,) gold dial and silver dial.
What you've got here is a cheap quartz analog with date, along with a nice thick band on it, and measurements of 46.2mm x 41.5mm x 12.4mm.
While the Casio F-91W is a great starting point for a smaller watch, the Casio MW600F is very good for a modern men's size.
You should never have to "deal with it" when it comes to a proper watch fit
I own a bunch of watches. Mostly Casio pieces. The A158 is the one that fits best. Love that thing. But I had to buy several watches before that before I figured out that the A158 was the one my wrist liked best.
It's probably true you'll have to go through a bunch of watches before finding one that your wrist likes. And believe me, it's not just watch strap material that matters. The watch matters too. Size, weight, case shape... all that stuff matters.
If you like watches, just buy a bunch of cheap pieces until you find one that really fits right. After that, then you can put some bigger money into a more expensive piece because you'll know what your wrist prefers.
Better to do it that way than blow a bunch of money on a watch that will never feel right.
Published 2016 Jul 6
