15 Watches That Wear Better Than You Think

Let me paint a picture. So say you're looking for a new watch, you have a price in mind, you have a style in mind, and you find a watch that perfectly meets those needs, but then you see the size and you can't pull it off. Well, today we're gonna be looking at watches that are gonna show that in those moments, it doesn't really tell the full story, that there's more to the case size than meets the eye. And this is going to be a list of watches that wear better than you might think. So what we're gonna be doing here, looking at a list of different watches, variety of different price ranges, and mostly going to just kind of demonstrate how some of these watches wear differently than you might think, based on just the general look across the board. Now, before we jump in, I wanna recommend two great articles on teddybaldister.com. One is the story behind Dr. Strange's watch that he wears on the big screen, which is pretty cool. I actually also learned that this was not paid any way by the brand. So if you wanna learn the whole backstory about that watch, check it out in the description down below. Also, if you're some of my friends from over the pond in the United Kingdom, we have also a list looking at some of the top watch brands, British watch brands that you should know in 2023, have about 10 different brands on that list. So if you wanna learn a little bit more about British watchmaking, we'll have that in the description down below as well. First, we have the Orient Kamasu. So the Orient Kamasu at 41.8 millimeters, even on its best day, you might be thinking, okay, where's like a 40 millimeter. But the weird thing about this watch is it wears almost like a 39 millimeter on wrist. Because of the compact lug-to-lug, as well as the dial-to-bezel ratio, this is a watch that I would say is pretty much in alignment with what you would expect from something like a Tudor Black Bay 58. Beyond that, you're getting the specs across the board that are pretty class-leading for Orient at this price range. Sapphire crystal, F6922 movement on the inside, which typically are regulated better than the competition from other Japanese watchmakers. 200 meters of water resistance. No, it's not an ISO compliant dive watch, but still it does the job for most people, and wears much smaller. This is a watch that I would say almost wears like a mid-sized diver than it does at the 41.8 millimeters. So something to consider when looking at the Kamasu. I don't think many people write this off that way, but this is one that I really wanna stress, don't write it off. Now I'm going to just throw a couple Seiko watches, and you can pretty much say every Seiko dive watch for the most part wears smaller than the case size will indicate. Two examples here, we're gonna look at something more from the sports collection. This is the SRPD55, the Seiko 5 Sports. These come in those SKX style cases. If you are familiar with the SKX design language, you know this case, you know this design style. The reason why this watch wears smaller, yes, the lug to lug, but also the crown position does help as well. It doesn't extend out to the same extent. These watches wear like a 40 and a half on wrist. And I think most people, they get kind of scared. They see 42 and a half millimeters, a little bit larger, has some presence, just not the case. Another watch I'll just mention from Seiko, and you can mention a lot from Seiko is watches that wear smaller. Again, most of their dive watches probably do wear smaller than the case size indicates. You have the Turtle family, which here we have the SRPD43, 45 millimeter diameter, not small by any means. It also has this cushion style case, but the way the lugs just are compact, the curvature of those lugs, it almost just makes it more visually appealing, even on a medium to smaller wrist. Like I wear a Turtle, like I will wear a Turtle, no problem. And I don't think it looks out of place. Now, some people might disagree, but I think that people should be less dismissive of different case sizes. I think you should be a little bit more open. I've opened up my view on this, and I feel bad because I think I have perpetuated the now pervasive world of smaller is always better, but that's not always the truth. When you are thinking about this whole list, why a lot of these are trending to more smaller is because I think what often happens is people with larger wrists are way more open about having a smaller watch than the vice versa. So that's why I thought it was more important to kind of lean to this angle. People just need to be a bit more open. If you try a Turtle on, even if you have a smaller wrist, I think you'll be surprised about how it wears. Now, next up, we have the Bulova Lunar Pilot 43. And I know some people are probably saying that's still not small enough. And sure, I think people would probably have liked to see even myself, something around like the 40 to 42 millimeter range, because I think that would have been a more of a separation from the 45 millimeter original. But I think this is much more wearable than the 45 millimeter variant. And I put these on wrists, and I can show this on some different wrists here. I think it looks the part in terms of being viable on some different wrist sizes. You see 43 millimeters, and you're like, oh, I can't do it. This is one to definitely, I think, maybe consider. I also think a thing that's helping this watch compared to some other chronographs at 43 millimeters is just the shape of the pushers. Because they're more elongated rather than more of a pump style, that also is helping in the perceived wear on wrist. And across the board, then you're getting a watch that has some great things it's bringing to the table. I think primarily with its movement on the inside, high accuracy, quartz movement, plus or minus 10 seconds a year, eight times the oscillation rate of a traditional quartz, which is already blistering fast, and some cool history to go along with it. For our next two watches, I'm going to mention two Zinn timepieces. One, the Zinn 556, and then the honorable mention also will be the Zinn 104. For the 556, this is a watch, 38 millimeters. Yes, it's not necessarily big to begin with, but I think it's in such a good sweet spot for size. I think some people think that this is going to be too small, but then other people are thinking that it might be too large. They think about the khaki collection and how the extended lug-to-lug makes that watch wear a little bit larger. This is one that can kind of cater to both sides. If you want something that wears a little bit larger, get on the H-link bracelet, wears like a 39 to 40 millimeter and doesn't look so small on the wrist. To some of those larger wristed individuals, they'd be right at home with wearing this watch. And then on the other side, if you wanted to just have something with a bit more presence and lean into that as being more of a field watch, but having good proportions, the 556 is so well done. It's just a really well proportioned watch overall. Same can be said for the Zinn 104. The weird thing about the Zinn 104 is you see this larger case diameter, or just say a little bit slightly larger than average case diameter. And then this compact lug-to-lug distance, it's 46.5 millimeters. For a watch with a bezel and factoring in that lug-to-lug with the dial-to-bezel ratio, it just breaks up the different elements of the watch and it wears much smaller than you would expect. I had one of these watches. I actually still miss it. And I've been talking about getting one of these again. I actually want to get one of these again at some point. Just surprisingly wore really well on wrist. Next, we have the Marathon GSAR. And I can also talk about MSAR, but I think the GSAR specifically. Now this hurts the MSAR. As an authorized dealer of Marathon, I just see this a lot. People think, oh, I want a medium size dive watch. I'm gonna go for the MSAR at 36 millimeters. But the thing is here with all the Marathon models is they are going to wear much smaller. The difference here is not the lug-to-lug that's affecting it. It really is the case itself. Where they're measuring the diameter is actually the bezel, not the central case. So for the GSAR, you have a 39 millimeter case watch, a 41 millimeter diameter when you measure at the bezel, but you don't really feel that in wear. So these watches wear like a 40 millimeter. Very mass appealing. The same can be said for the Jumbo. If you want something that wears like a 43 millimeter, you could probably look at something like that. And the numbers are large on those watches, but that is one thing about the whole search and rescue collection I think gets lost on people. Next up, we have the watch I'm actually wearing on my wrist right now. And this is the Rado Captain Cook, specifically the 42 millimeter. When people look at the Captain Cook, you have the 37 millimeter options. That was the model that is true to the original 1962. It was revived in 2017. So that's really where they started. Then they came out with the 42. One thing I do think gets lost on people is the fact that these watches wear smaller than you might think. And for the 42, I think that works in its favor to make it viable for way more people. I picked out a 42 millimeter for myself. I personally own one and I didn't get a 37 because the 37 wore more like a 36. And just for my preferences, some people might love that, but I like kind of like a dive watch a little bit more just presence to it. I don't want something that's very kind of dainty on the wrist when I'm looking for a dive watch. I'll stick to vintage dress watches if I want that feeling. But at a 48.3 millimeter lug to lug, that is actually more compact than a Nomos Club at 38 millimeters. So four millimeters in difference in terms of diameter, but more compact in that lug to lug. Also when factoring out the bezel ratio with the dial and the curvature of the bezel, which kind of is slanted, just kind of creates a little bit more of a viability for I think more wrists out there and wearing much more compact than you might think. Next on our list, we have the Oris Aquus. And the Oris Aquus, I wouldn't say it wears better than you think, but it wears very different than you think across the board. You have several different Aquus case sizes, but I would say just down the aisle because of the integrated bracelet and how the bracelet meets the case, you're not dealing with that solid end link type of fact where we'll add to the theoretical lug to lug, you're getting the opposite in how it meets the case. So I would say they all were smaller than what you might think. 41 and a half, wears like a 40. 39 and a half, wears like a 38. 43 and a half, wears like a 42. That's how I would look at the Oris Aquus. All of them were probably at least a millimeter smaller than you might think. Next up, we have the Tudor Pelagos Fixed. This is a watch that if you see it without the strap, you see the lug to lug, you're freaking out, you're thinking, no way I can pull this off, way too long, can't do it. But this was one of the great surprises for me when I put this on for the first time. Not to say that the 39 millimeter wouldn't be my choice if I had to pick one, but this wore so much better than I thought it would on wrist. For one, you have the case material, but number two, the reason why this watch I think works as well is how they were able to integrate the strap design to work in favor of wearability. Meaning, when you have the actual strap on the watch, it does not look like the full extent of that lug to lug. It's essentially hiding a good portion of that lug design with the pull through style straps. This wore like a 40 and a half, 41 millimeter on wrist. You see the diameter, you see the lug to lug, and you start freaking out thinking you can't pull it off. But this is one you definitely want to try on wrist before you cast judgment. If you're on the fence whether or not you can pull something like this off, you really love the look of this watch, I'd strongly recommend trying to go in, give it a shot before you do so. Any pull through strap is just going to be covering a good portion of that lug to lug dimension anyway. So the gateway watch for Grand Seiko for quite some time was the Snowflake. And the Snowflake, in many ways, iconic watch. It was a watch that put Grand Seiko on the map for so many collectors, but never really was a small watch. And it had more of that cushion shape to its lug design and shape of its overall case that made it potentially a little bit large for certain people. The titanium definitely helped it out and made it way more viable than you would expect. But say you're familiar with that case and you just think that that is all that Grand Seiko has to offer and you want something slightly smaller. That's where you look at something like the 62GS. Now the 62GS wears smaller than you might think and is just such a joy to wear on wrist. This is in models like the SBGA413, the 415, something like the SBGH295, which is one of my personal favorites as of late just because of that dial. It is so striking, much more refined, even than some of the 44GS cases that you'll find out there. A little bit less cushion in its case structure. And yes, of course I appreciate the Snowflake, but this was the case style that when I put this on for the first time, it just felt like you get behind the wheel of a car that was just meant for you. That's how I felt when trying on the 62GS case. It's a case that I don't think people recognize enough and also probably are assuming is gonna wear maybe more similar to that of say a Snowflake case or a 44GS case. For this next watch, some of you might be saying, come on, really you're gonna put this on this list, but I am gonna put this on this list. And that is the IWC Big Pilot 43. You hear big in pilot watch, you think about the large onion style crown and you're like, this isn't good. Come on, Teddy, stop stretching here, but hear me out. This was a watch that when I put on my wrist for the first time and you look at the lug to lug, you look at the case diameter and I put it on and it didn't feel that crazy. You think about the Big Pilot, it's so huge and I can't work on my wrist, can it? I mean, I'll show you some clips of it on my wrist. I think it doesn't look that crazy. And I think this just goes to show that expectations create reality. If you're going into something with an understanding that a watch is gonna be so large and then it slightly performs better than expectations. And then in addition to that, you also understand the intended function of the watch, understanding IWC's history of producing pilot watches since 1936. The Big Pilot DNA is all about legibility, orientation, large numerals, contrast. Intended function matters when it comes to wearability, in my opinion. I am way more lenient when I understand the design DNA of a watch. And if the design DNA is about this concept of being larger just for function, I'm cool with it. And the Big Pilot 43, when I put it on, much more viable than I expected. Would I pick probably a Mark 20 anyways, in terms of just the pilot watch style for IWC? Yeah, it's probably true still. But 43 did surprise me. Next we have the Omega Seamaster 300, not the Diver 300 Professional, the Seamaster 300, the Heritage model. 41 millimeter case, but a 47.8 millimeter lug-to-lug, good dial-to-bezel ratio. And the way they're also able to break up the different facets of the case and its thickness. This is a watch, when you look at it on paper, you might rule it off. Wear is much more compact. 40 millimeter, I would say, in terms of its wear, very comparable to that of the Rolex Submariner, if not more compact in some aspects, at least from that top to bottom end. And also there's the broadness of some of the lugs on the Rolex Submariner in its modern case in comparison. Now it is a tad bit thicker than some Diver watches out there, but this is another watch that, again, I think is much more viable than what people think. And now for our final watch on the list, we have the Breitling Navitimer 41 millimeter. The Navitimer has developed a reputation of being a large pilot's watch. Well, that's kind of the truth in many instances. It was created after Breitling was approached by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in the 1950s. Then it became available to the open market and just really took off. In the 2000s and early 2010s, you had an era of Breitling where it was becoming very much overcome by the bling era of culture in watch buying, and many of their watches were very large. So it's probably hard for many people to just come to grips with the new approach of Breitling, which I think they're making some very tasteful pieces. I love the direction that George Kern has taken the brand in many of their design styles. And the Navitimer at 41 millimeters feels as if it's not a completely stripped down version of the Navitimer. You still feel the essence of the Navitimer while making it very viable for a wide variety of wrists. The thing that I'll mention here, at 41 millimeters, this watch wore like a 39 on wrist. It was crazy when I put this on for the first time. I don't know what my brain was just programmed time and time again to never actually consider a Navitimer just because of my own preferences for my wrist. But this was the first Navitimer I put on the wrist and I was like, oh my goodness, I want one now. I really enjoy what this watch is bringing forth in terms of its fit. The history is there. I've always appreciated what the Navitimer represents. It is an icon of watchmaking. But now at 41 millimeters, this was one that really jumped out at me. And I think that's what crossed the board with the Navitimer. I think at times, because of some of the large case options that they did offer up in the past, many collectors have been programmed to think that there might not be viable for them. But that is, I think, not necessarily the truth. If you like the style, I recommend maybe trying one out. But all right, guys, that is my list today looking at some watches that wear potentially different or better than you might think. And this is a big topic that I just wanted to talk about just because I think so many people write off a watch before they've ever even maybe, you know, given it further consideration. Maybe they've never even tried it on or they thought about, you know, hey, can I actually pull this off? You know, what is, is there more than what, you know, meets the eye in terms of the specifications? That's why I always recommend, try to get, you know, a variety of opinions, talk to owners, watch videos, try the watch on if you can, just learn as much as you can before you just start to, you know, completely write off a watch. It's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. I think at a certain point, you have to make the right judgment for you and whether or not it fits you. But I do believe more people need to be increasingly open about what watches might work on their wrist, because this is supposed to be fun. Why would, you know, there are of course limitations at what you can pull off, but if you really love a watch and maybe it's, say it's slightly too small, slightly too big, but you love it and you still enjoy it and it's not a burden to wear, then go for it. I think that's important. But all right guys, that's my list here today. If you enjoyed it, please give it a thumbs up, subscribe and hit the bell icon. Are there any other watches that you would also include in a list like this that wear much better than you think, whether it's both on the end of wearing smaller or larger than you might expect so that they do work out in your favor? Definitely check out TeddyBallista.com, full authorized dealer of 30 brands, quick and fast fulfillment, dedicated customer support, and full factory warranty for all the products that we offer. But guys, thank you again so much for watching. Be well, and I will see you all very soon.