The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I know I have LARGE wrists (read 8-3/8"), and IMHO, a LOT of modern watches are just TOO big. I know that the Old Navi was considered a large watch at one time. I went out looking for an everyday watch to wear with a suit, and my 1st impression was that almost ever 'ling was too large, which is why the used Chronomat GT called to me - It's smaller

I think you are right. I bought a vintage Oris earlier this year and at 34mm it seemed small as I thought my ideal size was 42mm on my 7.5" wrist. However I have an old watch from 1980 which I keep even though it does not work as it was a present and that was 34mm and I wore that for years. I have a few watches going up to 46mm but I am finding that I am going back to 38./40mm watches more and more. I had the old Oris on yesterday and it did not look small at all. I think I am on the front of the bandwagon to move back to smaller size watches.

Large watches have been around for years. The original Panerai Egiziano from the 1950's was 60mm ; the Navitimer 1806 from the late 60's early 70's weighed in over 48mm ; and there were plenty of other large watches around too. I agree that there are definitely MORE large watches around today, but I maintain it's not a new thing. Anything from 34mm to 48mm is generally (IMO) considered the range for a standard gents watch. (34mm is where a number of dress Pateks sit incidentally).

However, a huge amount is down to wrist size. If you are small build, you can probably wear a 34mm watch and it would look fine. If you have huge wrists then 48mm may look normal. It's all relative. A mate of mine is quite small and he wears a mid-size SMP (36mm) as the 41.5mm version looks too big on him. His 36mm watch on him looks like a 44mm does on me..... so it's in proportion to his size.

To me, proportion is the key. If you have arms like chopsticks, then 48mm of Bentley is going to look daft IMO. But then that's just my opinion.

I can comfortably wear anything between 42mm and 48mm without it looking daft. That said, my absolute preference these days is the 43mm to 45mm range, but that is just what happens to look and feel right for my wrist size.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I also think that the thickness of the watch head has a lot to do with it. I had a beautiful Super Avenger for a bit and even with 7 1/2" wrists I thought it was too big and I didnt like how it felt on my wrist (heavy). I recently tried on a few U-Boats and thought they were a lot more comfortable, because of the slimmer profile and weight.

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Breitling Steelfish(black)
Breitling Steelfish(silver)
Panerai PAM 312
Bell & Ross BR03-92 Phantom
Steinhart BreitlingSource LE #5/15

I really like some of the Breitling dial designs (Seawolf, Skyland, SA, SOHC) but they just get too thick and heavy for practical every day use for me.

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Chrono Jetstream
Montbrilliant 1903
Aerospace E79362

I've said this before, but I really don't get the whole size thing. I have watches under 40mm and watches over 50mm and don't have issues with any of them - maybe that's just being completely out of touch with fashion. The height is definitely an issue - I always want to try on tall watches to see how much they move and how comfortable they are, but otherwise if I like the watch then the size is largely irrelevant for me.

It's ironic that in the first years of wristwatches post WWI the trend was to produce watches that were as small as possible as a sign of technical superiority.

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"I don't got the bright watch I got the right watch" -Jay Z

thickness is a problem. a 42mm dial with a 17.5m thick case would look out of place on my wrist...while a 44-45mm with 12-14mm thickness would be downright elegant.

is it too radical to suggest maybe breitling produce a few handwind pieces to cut down on that automatic winding rotor thingie?

As the reigning champ of big wrists, i am so excited about the fact i can buy new watches that actually excite me and fit. my crosswinds special i thought was big, till i got my superavenger, my goal is to own one of everymodel thats 48mm and up in the breitling line, i have superavengers, 675, bentley gmt, chronospace 2010 on order so it just leaves me a few, i'll probably skip the bentley gt, because i dont love it and i sm looking for the right deal on a chronomat 49.

if i owned NORMAL wrists, there are literally dozens of watches i would have but i have to live with what god gave me

For me, thickness is as much of an issue, or perhaps more so, than case diameter. On my 6.5" wrist, a Chronomat Evo looks too big, although it's hard to say if it would look as out of place if the the thickness were down to, say, 12 - 14mm. Regardless, not only does the Evo make it look like I'm wearing an alarm clock on my wrist, but the weight and balance are such that it actually hurts to wear it. By contrast, an Omega Seamaster chronometer, at 41mm diameter and 11.5mm thickness, is ideal.

Based on that, I'm not sure I can proclaim that watches are getting "too" big, since that's really a subjective call. But given that the Evo is a relatively conservative design by Breitling's current standards, it does indicate Breitling is moving in a direction I'm not inclined to follow.


I don't think the rotor is the problem. The older Chronomat used a 7750 just like the current one (Evo) does, but it was only around 14mm thick. This suggests to me that the current Chronomat is as thick as it is by design, rather than out of necessity.

Unmodified 7750 is a fraction under 8mm high.

When designing the Evolution, do you know if Breitling modified the 7750 to be thicker than it was in the earlier Chronomat, or is it the same calibre in both generations?

Breitling don't release the changes that they make so I'm guessing without comparing side to side, but I highly doubt that they would change dimensions - that could have all kinds of consequences and would be unnecessary. Just about the only change that would affect dimensions would be a different style of rotor and that would be minor.

Way too much info!!

I don't think watches have gotten too big...we're all built differently and have different tastes. While there are some HUGE watches, there are still plenty of beautiful mid-size watches on the market. I found that the perfect size for me is the JLC MCC 41.5 mm case..it's the perfect fit. I used to wear a 6.75 but now that I look back at some old photos I realized that I looked ridiclious with a watch that huge on my small wrists.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

You raise a good point. A number of makers still offer watches that are plenty small. Although I didn't post the OP, if I had, I might qualify the question to ask, "Are Breitlings getting too big?" As someone who doesn't want a watch with a diameter much, if any, larger than 42mm, or a thickness greater than 12 - 14mm, my options seem to be increasingly limited among Breitling's offerings. I have plenty of other options outside of Breitling, but I feel like Breitling is intent on becoming to go-to brand for lovers of big watches.