The Breitling Watch Source Forums :: View topic - Wearing your watch upside down

or better said on the inside of your wrist.

I don't do it or ever have, but I know some people do. Is there a reason behind it?

My father still does it and he had a very practical reason. He was a Navigator in the RAF during WWII and by wearing his watch on the inside of his wrist he didn't have to move his arm to see the time - as a right hander he could just keep his left wrist on the chart desk of the aircraft and immediately see the time.

He explained that you didn't want to lift your arm off the desk because when the plane was in turbulence, making evasive moves or if bullet holes had created air movement in the plane the maps would fly away if he lifted his arm.

i think in tactical situations people wear them "upside down". but i say this based solely on jamie foxx in miami vice which featured IWC product placement. i'm thinking if you're holding a rifle it's easier to see the time/chronograph in this position... after all, the wristwatch was invented for soliders at war.

Author:	Tunnel Ling [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 8:18 pm ]
Post subject:	Wearing your watch upside down
or better said on the inside of your wrist. I don't do it or ever have, but I know some people do. Is there a reason behind it?

Author:	Driver8 [ Wed Dec 17, 2008 1:45 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Wearing your watch upside down
Tunnel Ling wrote: or better said on the inside of your wrist. I don't do it or ever have, but I know some people do. Is there a reason behind it? My father used to wear his watches on the inside of his wrist for years, abut now he wears them "properly"! Not sure why he did, but as far as I'm concerned wearing the dial on the inside strikes me as a little odd as surely you're more likely to scratch the crystal/bezel as it's more likely to come into contact with desks etc. I've never understood it personally, but as with everything, it's each to their own.

Author:	Breitling Bloke [ Wed Dec 17, 2008 2:26 am ]
Post subject:
I guess it's a little like people who wear them on the right side instead of the more usual left. I suppose being left handed may be a reason for that though. I think the face would be less likely to be subject to damage in every day tasks but as Driver8 says it would get a bashing if one worked at a desk. Imagine wearing an SA like that! Horses for courses.

Author:	Roffensian [ Wed Dec 17, 2008 5:56 am ]
Post subject:
My father still does it and he had a very practical reason. He was a Navigator in the RAF during WWII and by wearing his watch on the inside of his wrist he didn't have to move his arm to see the time - as a right hander he could just keep his left wrist on the chart desk of the aircraft and immediately see the time. He explained that you didn't want to lift your arm off the desk because when the plane was in turbulence, making evasive moves or if bullet holes had created air movement in the plane the maps would fly away if he lifted his arm.

Author:	Driver8 [ Wed Dec 17, 2008 7:25 am ]
Post subject:
Roffensian wrote: My father still does it and he had a very practical reason. He was a Navigator in the RAF during WWII and by wearing his watch on the inside of his wrist he didn't have to move his arm to see the time - as a right hander he could just keep his left wrist on the chart desk of the aircraft and immediately see the time. He explained that you didn't want to lift your arm off the desk because when the plane was in turbulence, making evasive moves or if bullet holes had created air movement in the plane the maps would fly away if he lifted his arm. That's an interesting reason. It doesn't exactly hold true for my father though as the nearest he's ever been to being a navigator in a plane is telling my mother how they are from their holiday destination when they're on a 747!

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Author:	siglo vi [ Wed Dec 17, 2008 9:02 am ]
Post subject:
i think in tactical situations people wear them "upside down". but i say this based solely on jamie foxx in miami vice which featured IWC product placement. i'm thinking if you're holding a rifle it's easier to see the time/chronograph in this position... after all, the wristwatch was invented for soliders at war.

Author:	Tunnel Ling [ Wed Dec 17, 2008 9:05 pm ]
Post subject:
A lot of this makes sense. It is indeed easier to read the time under certain situations. Sure does make typing a bear though.

Author:	thelynchmob4 [ Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:06 am ]
Post subject:
I have many military friends that wear them for the reasons mentioned above. Several pilots I know wear them this way so that they do not have to remove hands from controls to see the time. I have never worried about this in the cockpit as there are many other places to read the time in a cockpit. I do know one other man who wears his "wrong." He says that it is because when he talks to people, he folds his arms across his chest. As not to be rude, he can just glance down at his folded arms to check the time instead of turning his arm over to check. Interesting reason me thinks!!

Author:	peezie [ Thu Dec 18, 2008 3:40 pm ]
Post subject:
siglo vi wrote: i think in tactical situations people wear them "upside down". but i say this based solely on jamie foxx in miami vice which featured IWC product placement. i'm thinking if you're holding a rifle it's easier to see the time/chronograph in this position... after all, the wristwatch was invented for soliders at war. I think if you look closely, the watch is on the side of his wrist. That tells me it's too loose.

Author:	In2Deep [ Fri Dec 19, 2008 11:20 am ]
Post subject:
Yes, it does look too loose.

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