Find the right size for your wrist
A watch that fits feels like part of your wrist. One that doesn't, you notice all day — it slides around, sticks out under the cuff or looks as if it belongs to someone else. Fortunately, most of it can be measured.
Measure your wrist
Put a tape measure or a piece of string around your wrist, just above the bone on the outside, where the watch will sit. Don't pull it tight — it should sit the way a watch sits. The circumference in centimetres is your starting point.
The diameter: a rule of thumb
- Under 16 cm: around 34–38 mm.
- 16–18 cm: around 38–42 mm.
- Over 18 cm: 42 mm and up.
Many women's watches are 26–34 mm, and a classic dress-watch size is smaller than a sports watch of the same width. The rule is a starting point, not a law — taste matters more.
The number few people look at
The diameter only tells half the story. The distance from lug tip to lug tip — lug-to-lug — decides whether the watch overhangs your wrist. It shouldn't be wider than the top of your wrist. Two 40 mm watches can therefore sit completely differently.
The thickness
If the case is under about 11 mm, the watch slips under a shirt sleeve. Dive watches and chronographs are often 12–15 mm and sit higher — it's part of their character, but worth knowing if you mostly wear shirts.
Bracelet or strap
- A steel bracelet is delivered at full length and fitted by removing links. A watchmaker does it in a few minutes.
- A strap should close with a finger's room underneath. Tighter, and it gets warm; looser, and the watch turns around.
If you're unsure, try the watch at home first. You have a 99-day right of return — but wait to have the bracelet shortened until you're sure, because once the bracelet is shortened, the right of return no longer applies, and if you withdraw within 14 days, we deduct the loss in value.
