How do you measure a watch's face?

[FunkyNige]

Hi guys,

I don't often visit this forum but I'm after a bit of help and Google isn't being much help (or I'm searching for the wrong thing).

I'm after a new watch, but I've got skinny wrists and I don't want anything bigger than what I've got now so I went to measure mine but I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to be measuring!

Here it is with a ruler on top of it.



This caught my eye, it says 37mm case width so is that bigger or smaller than what I've got?

Any other suggestions for a watch would be appreciated too, budget is £100 (ish), don't want a big clunky metal strap, don't want too much clutter on the face (mine has too much for my liking) and must be quite thin (so no G-shocks!).

Cheers,

Nige.

[tertius]

Its about the same: you measure the case across the 9 o'clock - 3 o'clock line and exclude the crown/any crown guards. Looks as though you have the ruler positioned slightly too far to the right, so I'd call yours 36mm.

[FunkyNige]

Cheers for the prompt reply, exactly what I wanted to know! I wasn't sure if you just had to measure the glass, or something like that.

[ShadownINja]

Yes, what he said.

[petecoll]

Just to throw a couple of other things into the pot:

Some watches look bigger than they are, primarily due to the size of the dial compared to the case.
Also, some watches naturally fit the wrist better, particularly if the lugs are small or curved. This means you can wear a bigger watch than you think.

Pete

[ShadownINja]

Very true. I've got a 45mm watch that looks quite a bit smaller than my 43.5mm one.

[entity999]

I think alot of it comes down to the feel of the watch and a certain wrist size does not automatically preclude a certain size of watch. I have skinny 6.5 inch wrists but feel comfortable wearing a 42mm seiko monster without it looking like i've got a clock attached.

Get out there and have a play with some watches

[RichB]

tertius said:

...you measure the case across the 9 o'clock - 3 o'clock line and exclude the crown/any crown guards...

and if you measure 8 - 2 you don't have to worry about the crown.

[ShadownINja]

RichB said:

tertius said:

...you measure the case across the 9 o'clock - 3 o'clock line and exclude the crown/any crown guards...

and if you measure 8 - 2 you don't have to worry about the crown.

Depends if it's a chronograph or not.

[tertius]

ShadownINja said:

RichB said:

tertius said:

...you measure the case across the 9 o'clock - 3 o'clock line and exclude the crown/any crown guards...

and if you measure 8 - 2 you don't have to worry about the crown.

Depends if it's a chronograph or not.

Also pre-supposes that the case is circular - many are not.

[wazza]

PH - Pedantic Horology

[andy tims]

wazza said:

PH - Pedantic Horology

Very good