Watch Sizes

[kazrich]

I can't remember who, but someone on here remarked that it would help them making buying decisions if they could see the difference
between a 36 mm and a 40mm Enicar Super Compressor.

Problem is that many factors are in involved in how a watch 'wear's on the wrist .
Wrist size, Lug size, case design and strap width are all contributing factors.
Many believe that smaller watches have a more authentic 'vintage' look and feel .
Others want a vintage look but a modern size.
Watch size doesn't bother me at all, but many will only purchase larger watches and
will pay significantly more to do so.

For comparison here's a 36mm Super Divette next to a 40mm Super Jet

Super Divette and Sherpa Graph.

I keep a Reverse Panda Graph from 1966 and another from 68. The earlier dial features a black
outer telemetre calculator. The telemetre band is grey on the later dial.
When viewed together, the earlier black telemetre Graph appears slightly bigger.
The grey telemetre version reduces the amount of black on the dial making the watch
look marginally smaller although they both use identical EPSA cases and measure
40mm without the crown.

External bezels can also make watches look bigger. A Jet Graph always looks bigger than
a Sherpa Graph although some sources claim the Jet Graph is 41mm . But it always looks
much bigger in photo's.
Can a Jet Graph owner confirm the size please ?

 

[JimJupiter]

Will measure both later, but if I recall correctly Sherpa graph and jet graph have the same exact size

 

[SteveHarris]

Totally agree - great post. I've always thought my sweet spot for a watch was between 40-42mm but recently I picked up a Big Eye and was very surprised how nicely it wears on the wrist, I've definitely changed my mind. Case shape, bezels and dials all come in to play when looking at how a watch wears on your wrist.

I seem to remember that Jet Graph is slightly bigger due to the bezel? If Nico doesn't dig his out later on, I will

 

[Joe_A]

One dimension that seems to me is often overlooked in discussion is overall height or thickness.

Fortunately, in the case of hand-wound mechanical watches such as our Enicar chronographs, height is rarely if ever a concern.

If one's wrist is small, in my case 6 5/8" (16.8+ cm) a watch that sits high on the wrist just does not look right. Apart from appearance, it does not slide easily under the cuff.

I bought a William L. 1985 chronograph through Kickstarter sometime ago and I'm sure that I'll never wear it. At some point I will either give it to my son (who has a larger wrist size) or I'll sell it.

At 41 mm diameter, it is only 0.5 mm larger in diameter than a Sherpa Graph, but oh, the height!

What attracted me to the watch is the a combination of appearance, technical specifications and an excellent write-up. At 600 USD . . . and thanks to a state of the art Seiko NE88A movement, one gets a three-register self-winder with column wheel and vertical clutch.

The one depicted on the masthead of the article below is the one I bought.

William L. 1985 Automatic Chronograph: The perfect budget chronograph?

The William L. 1985 Automatic Chronograph project from Kickstarter is a refreshingly original project introducing a mechanical chronograph with column wheel for a budget price.

www.fratellowatches.com

Reading the Fratello article, one does not think of height as it is not mentioned, but there are two photos there that ought to have given pause. It appears as though the guy wearing the watch for the photo session has a hefty wrist.

The watch was advertised as 14 mm thick, but on my caliper, I was quite disappointed to discover the height to be 16.7 mm. !!! That's truth in advertising lawsuit territory.

 

[JimJupiter]

Ok, My Sherpa Graph MK II is 40.1mm in diamter and I compared it to an Aqua Graph. The Case of the AG is als 40.1mm, BUT the bezel is a bit bigger, which means 40.7mm. So case size is the same, the difference is the bezel with 0.6mm more. I guess the JG is the same, but maybe Steve can confirm.

Best Nico

 

[kazrich]

Joe . Shame about the height because it's an attractive looking watch.
I had a similar problem with a huge 1947 Longines Czech pilots watch
which was approx 42mm without crown but wore like a 46mm watch.
I kept banging the tall crystal on doors so I sold it.

Nico. Thanks for the info. Even though the Aqua graph is just 0.6 mm bigger
I still think it looks a size bigger than the Sherpa Graph in pictures.

Richard

 

[paulb12]

Joe, I had the same experience with the Hamilton Intra-Matic Auto Chrono. I thought I could pull it off with my smallish wrist size (6.75"), as it was 40mm instead of the first reissue they did (which was 42mm), but it sat so tall on my wrist (they advertise it at 14.6 mm thick, but I swear it was bigger). I realize there's not much they could do with that movement, but I almost wished they went with an ETA manual-wound to bring the thickness down.