Wrist Fit: The case size your wrist can carry

Case diameter is the number on the box and the least useful one. Lug-to-lug, the distance from the tip of one lug to the other, decides whether a watch sits on your wrist or overhangs it. Wrist Fit draws the watch to scale on a wrist of your size and tells you the range to shop in.

The rules are the ones watchmakers and good dealers use: lug-to-lug no wider than the flat of the wrist, diameter in proportion to circumference, thickness under twelve millimetres for a cuff. Measure your wrist with a tape or a strip of paper, snug, just below the wrist bone.

Questions we get asked

How do I measure my wrist?

Wrap a tape measure or a strip of paper snugly around the wrist just below the bone, where the watch sits. Read it in centimetres. Most men are between 16 and 19.

Does the strap change the fit?

A bracelet visually widens a watch slightly; a dark leather strap slims it. The lug-to-lug rule is unchanged.

What if I like bigger watches?

Wear what you like. The tool tells you the range that will look proportionate to most eyes; taste is allowed to override it, knowingly.

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