How thick is too thick for you?

[skywatch]

I owned a Cocktail Time for almost a year - and while I really liked it, I started to dislike the thickness. I don't think the movement itself has much to do with the thickness of most modern watches, and not necessarily WR for non-300m + divers; it's the desire for more visual impact, and sometimes the design of an intentionally deep "stadium" dial. The design of the outer case walls has a big impact on visual thickness of course. Rolex appear thinner than they are because the outer curvature hides the thickness underneath (Alpinist SARB017 has a nearly identical shape.) For example, the standard "Bauhuas" rectilinear edge shows all the thickness, like the Stowa Antea below, while the curved edge of the Nomos Ludwig looks much thinner, especially in person. Both are essentially 9mm thick (the Nomos actually 8.5mm, but visually much less.) I enjoy playing these little design games, excuse my geeking over the obvious...

[CamB]

My Helson is 16mm thick. It took a bit of getting used to but I really like the change up from thinner watches. Its the sort of watch to wear with short sleeves, not to fit under a sleeve of a dress shirt.

[hayday]

Size of the dial and type of crystal definitely make a difference. One of my early mistakes was a Longines Retrograde, which was a beautiful watch, but at 16.1mm, was too thick to wear under a shirt cuff. So I sold it. My Zenith EP is 42x13, and fits just fine. My thickest watch is my Omega FOIS, which is 39.7x14. That's probably the thickest I'll go, but due to the case shape, it fits just fine under a shirt cuff. I no longer have my Nomos, which was my thinnest at 6.7, but here's a comparison--the Omega looks positively bulbous in comparison, but wears very nicely:

Attachment 21059

I have that, or a very similar, Longines Master Collection. I find it thick but not so thick that I can't wear it under a shirt cuff. It is not a suit watch but it works with a tie and shirt.

But, yeah, it is a thick watch.



-hayday

[hayday]

In the great words of United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Potter Stewart, "I know it when I see it." He was, of course, describing pornography but his words work here, too.

-hayday

[theague]

My thickest is my Deep Blue 65 T100 at 15.5mm thick. It's still quite comfortable so I'd easily go up from there.

I guess I'd draw the line at the Stuckx The Rock. lol

[-JP]

Gotta keep em under 15mm

[Chase]

[Colin63]

No one fancy the Helson Gauge TB at a mere 19.4mm?

[Raza]

I can't say I've ever been too concerned with watch thickness. But then again, I'm a former owner of both a JSAR and a 45mm Helson Shark Diver.

[Rdenney]

For me, anything thicker than about 13mm is "Short Sleeves Only." But I wear short sleeves enough so that my thicker watches get plenty of wear.

Today, I'm wearing my mid-40's gold JLC, which has a deeply domed acrylic crystal. Even with the crystal dome, the watch is only 7mm thick or thereabouts, and the back is also domed. It challenges a sleeve cuff less than the buckle (and much less than a typical deployant). My Ebel Classic 100 is maybe 9mm thick, but not as domed front and back and it doesn't fit under a really tight cuff. It fits under most cuffs, of course.

My Zenith is 13mm thick and it wears fine as a dressy chronograph. One expects a bit more thickness with a chronograph, but the watch manages to avoid looking thick. My Ebel Chronosport is about 11mm thick, and has the same movement as the Zenith, but in a smaller case.

The B&M Worldtimer is a big and thick watch (44x15 or maybe 16), and even though it's a bit dressier than a sport watch, it's still mostly a short-sleeve watch for me unless the shirt I'm wearing is particularly generous in the cuffs (and some are). But a big part of that thickness is the deeply domed crystal, and the back is also convex so it fits quite close for such a big watch.

I love my Concord dressy diver, which is only 10mm thick and still manages a 200m water resistance and standard diver bezel.

The current crop of Omegas just puzzle me. They are too dressy to be as thick as they are, and clearly that thickness is a styling decision.

But some case shapes perch on top of my wrist and others nestle into it. Panerai and the TAG-Heuer Monaco are the former, and thus I just can't tolerate them on my wrist. It's not a matter of weight--I do not mind heavy watches at all. But my Ebel Aquatica, which is 15mm thick, doesn't sit on top of my arm to the same extent. The best watch I own for looking big and fitting close is the Cartier, which is a big watch by any measure, but manages 11mm without in any way looking like a pancake.

Rick "more interested in fit than dimensions" Denney