While larger watches dominated the scene for several decades, small watches are now experiencing a resurgence in popularity. From Timothee Chalamet’s slim 33 mm Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso Classic Medium Duoface Small Second to Tyler the Creator’s impressive Cartier collection and Ben Affleck’s miniscule 25 mm Franck Muller Cintrée Curvex, the sight of A-list celebrities confidently sporting sleek, small watches has become increasingly common.
These moments of sartorial restraint not only prove that sometimes, less truly is more, but are also indicative of a wider shift in the horology space.
Here’s everything you need to know about small watches, the biggest wristwear trend of 2023
Throughout horological history, wristwatches below the revered 40 mm mark have always been predominant.
From the time watches first transitioned from pockets to wrists in the early 20th century, all the way to the 1970s, timepieces generally remained modestly sized and elegantly proportioned. Case sizes between 30-35 mm were the norm, while those around 37-40 mm were considered oversized.
However, as we entered the 2000s, a wave of extravagance emerged, driving timepieces towards larger and bolder dimensions and resulting in 40 to 42 mm cases becoming the new standard.
Individuals sought to make a distinctive statement with their pompous timepieces to boldly distinguish themselves, a famous example being American actor and former professional wrestler, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Renowned for his imposing stature and magnetic presence, The Rock made a statement with his choice of timepieces, often favoring bold and robust watches that perfectly complemented his larger-than-life persona. Among the notable watches seen adorning The Rock’s wrist in the 2000s were iconic models such as the Rolex Day-Date President, a timepiece notable for its opulence and prestige, and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, a legendary sports watch notorious for its muscular design and oversized dimensions. The Rock’s affinity for large watches thus perfectly epitomized the way oversized timepieces became a symbol of status and confidence during the 2000s.
The growing popularity of vintage watches is one of the main reasons why small watches are on the rise, because any watch collector with an affinity for vintage pieces will be into wearing a smaller timepiece by default. Watches like the iconic Rolex Datejust 36 mm and the elegant Omega Seamaster DeVille 34 mm have become highly sought-after for their timeless designs and superb craftsmanship. These vintage gems offer a glimpse into the past, showcasing intricate details and charming aesthetics that continue to captivate collectors around the world. With their smaller dimensions, these watches exude a classic elegance and wearability that perfectly complements both formal and casual attire, making them enduring favorites among those with a discerning taste for vintage horology.
Apart from the resurgence of vintage watches, one of the most apparent advantages of wearing a small watch is the comfort it provides. Larger watches can feel like a constant weight on the wrist, and not every watch enthusiast has the same muscular build as The Rock to compensate for it. Smaller timepieces however, tend to be lighter and less obtrusive. The reduced size also allows the watch to sit more flush against the wrist, creating a comfortable fit for those with rounder wrist shapes.
Aesthetics play a crucial role in the appeal of small watches. Unlike their larger counterparts, small watches exhibit refined proportions and a sense of understated elegance. The compact size necessitates a more purposeful and intentional creation, showcasing the craftsmanship and attention to detail required to create such intricate timekeeping pieces.
In that manner, small, subdued watches go hand in hand with the recent rise of quiet luxury, which has been dominating the fashion and lifestyle space for the last months. Quiet luxury is all about sophistication without showing off, and small watches perfectly embody this concept by prioritizing quality over quantity and emphasizing the subtle details and high-end craftsmanship that only those in the know can appreciate.
Small watches celebrate the artistry and meticulous craftsmanship involved in their creation. Designing and producing a smaller timepiece requires careful planning and working within tighter constraints. From slim and compact movements to thin yet resilient cases, every element is engineered to ensure precision and durability. Choosing a small watch allows you to appreciate the mastery behind the intricate mechanisms that power these timepieces.
The advent of mobile phones, particularly with the introduction of the iPhone, has had a profound impact on various industries, including watches. As our phones provide constant timekeeping, the traditional purpose of a watch has diminished. Watches have thus transcended their practicality and evolved into wearable works of art, celebrating craftsmanship and design. Since we no longer need oversized faces when time and date information is readily available on our phones, the importance of large watches has diminished. Technological advancements have led to smaller, sleeker watch designs, while the rise of smartwatches has prompted traditional brands to adapt and strike a balance between innovation and timeless appeal. In this evolving landscape, watchmakers push the boundaries of horological excellence, exemplified by Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin, a masterpiece measuring just over 8 mm in thickness. This fusion of technology and artistry propels the industry forward, capturing the attention of watch enthusiasts and shaping the future of traditional watchmaking.
Ultimately, your watch selection should be a reflection of your personal style and taste. While larger watches may attract attention for their size, small watches offer a more understated and discreet elegance. They allow you to make a statement without overpowering your entire ensemble, making them versatile options for both formal and casual occasions.
As the trend of small watches gains momentum, watch lovers have the opportunity to explore the allure of these refined timepieces. Whether you value comfort, vintage aesthetics, craftsmanship, or personal expression, small watches offer a compelling choice for both men and women. By embracing the elegance and charm of smaller dimensions, you can elevate your style and celebrate the intricate artistry that lies within these timeless treasures.
Any watch, no matter the size, needs proper caretaking. But particularly smaller, more delicate timepieces are prone to damages during transportation or from storage on harsh surfaces. That is why we at Charles Simon offer a wide range of premium accessories that keep your watches safe and secure in style. From luxurious watch briefcases to showcase your entire collection to compact watch rolls for traveling with your favorite timepiece and elegant watch stands to conveniently display your watches at home, Charles Simon has the right accessory for you.
And for all the watch lovers with slim or larger wrists, Charles Simon offers custom sizing to make sure that your accessories perfectly fit your watch size. No more struggling to close a wristband around a watch cushion that is way too big or timepieces slipping around an ill-fitting case, we make sure that your Charles Simon accessories are perfect for your unique requirements.
Not sure what those needs are yet? Consult our complete guide to watch accessories to find out what kind of accessory best fits into your life.
If you already have a clear vision and prefer to do things your way, please contact our Bespoke Service and our dedicated team of designers, craftsmen and engineers will be delighted to bring your idea to life.
The dust has finally settled from Watches & Wonders Geneva 2023, the world’s biggest watch trade show and the most important week of the year for any watch lover worth their salt. Not only do all the world’s biggest watch brands save their most important releases for the fair, but it’s also an opportunity for us journalists to take the pulse of the watch industry and see where it’s headed.
This year’s edition of the fair was its biggest yet, with a record-breaking 48 brands exhibiting at the cavernous Palexpo convention centre… Not to mention the myriad of other brands exhibiting in hotel rooms and boutiques throughout Geneva – or the hundreds of different watches, new, rare and old, seen on the wrist of the fair’s attendees.
We’ve already shared our 5 favourite releases from the fair as well as the watches you might have missed from the show, but we also thought we’d take stock and share the biggest watch trends we saw (and that people were talking about) on the ground at Watches & Wonders.
After years of large case sizes being all the rage for men’s watches, with models getting bigger and bigger, we’re starting to see the first signs that a return to smaller case sizes is imminent.
Tudor’s new Black Bay 54 (which, despite the confusing name, actually has a 37mm case), which received plenty of praise, was perhaps the biggest indicator of where the industry’s headed – but other notable releases from Watches & Wonders championing a smaller form factor included the Zenith Defy Revival Shadow (also weighing in at 37mm) and the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Glassbox (which has shrunk the Carrera down to 39mm).
It’s perhaps not surprising that those three watches are all retro-inspired revival models, too. >40mm case sizes have only really been popular over the last 20-30 years: watches from the 90s and earlier didn’t use to be so big.
At the same time that men’s watches are getting smaller, women’s watches are getting bigger – or, more accurately, women wearing large watches is becoming normalised. We’re also seeing many watch brands describe new models with <39mm cases as ‘unisex’: they’re trying to split the difference.
Since the 70s, integrated bracelet luxury sports watches have been all the rage, but consumer appetite for these sorts of watches has never been higher than in 2023. Taking the pulse on the ground at Watches & Wonders, any brand that came out with a cool integrated bracelet model was front of mind – there’s never been more hype for integrated bracelets.
Partly that’s because it’s become nigh-on impossible for mere mortals to get their hands on integrated bracelet models from the ‘Holy Trinity’, namely the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Patek Philippe Nautilus and Vacheron Constantin Overseas. With waitlists for those watches stretching into decades in some cases, it’s only natural that watch fans are looking elsewhere.
The Chopard Alpine Eagle stands out as perhaps the next best candidate. An incredibly refined piece from a storied maison with a proper in-house movement, reasonable price and plenty of availability… Chopard also dropped two new variants of the Alpine Eagle at Watches & Wonders, the salmon-dialled extra-thin XPS and a new black-dial take on the high-beat titanium Cadence 8HF.
Other integrated bracelet watches getting a lot of love include the Baume & Mercier Riviera, Bell & Ross BR 05, Bremont Supernova, Girard-Perregaux Laureato, IWC Schaffhausen Ingenieur and even the Tissot PRX (even though the Tissot isn’t a luxury timepiece like the others mentioned, it’s still in the conversation).
Luxury watchmakers have traditionally eschewed titanium as a case material, but 2023 has shown that the humble yet practical material is finally having its day in the sun.
Titanium is an ideal material for a watch as it’s stronger yet significantly lighter than steel while also being resistant to rusting and corrosion. However, it has two chief downsides: firstly, it superficially scratches much easier than steel; and secondly, it’s quite difficult to machine titanium from a watchmaking perspective.
But perhaps it’s because it’s challenging to work with – and because watch fans love its practical benefits – that luxury watchmakers have embraced titanium big-time in 2023.
The biggest titanium release this year was, of course, the new Rolex Yacht-Master, which follows hot on the heels of last year’s Deepsea Challenge; Rolex’s first-ever titanium watch. The 42mm Yacht-Master is arguably bigger news than that record-breaking watch as it’s a much more wearable and practical piece than the hefty 50mm Deepsea Challenge.
But it wasn’t just Rolex flying the titanium flag. Chopard, Grand Seiko, Hermès, Hublot, IWC, Oris and Zenith’s marquee Watches & Wonders releases were all in titanium, too (just to name a few). Hell, we can even look to last year’s Watches & Wonders to see that titanium is on the up and up: think of how the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus or the Angelus Chronodate both got titanium editions or how even Vacheron Constantin has dipped its toes into titanium with the Overseas Everest back in 2021.
It’s funny because it used to be the case that titanium versions of luxury watches used to retail for less than stainless steel – whereas these days, titanium is seen as a luxury option, and commands a price premium.
After years of watch brands playing it safe with blacks and blues, especially when it comes to watch dials, it seems as if brands are starting to have a bit more fun and branch out into different colours – or, at the very least, we’re not seeing the same boring blues and hues that have dominated over the last few years.
The IWC Schaffhausen Ingenieur is a prime example of this: its aqua dial, which is not quite blue nor green, is a little bit different and therefore much more interesting than the royal blues (or overhyped Tiffany blues) that are rife right now.
Of course, green has been in for a while, and Watches & Wonders 2023 saw some pretty spectacular green watches. The Oris ProPilot X Kermit was the obvious standout, but other cool green watches included the Bell & Ross BR 05 Green Gold, the Cartier Santos de Cartier’s new dark green dial option, the dark green Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea boutique exclusive and the Panerai Radiomir California.
Orange is also really having a moment, with the Hermès H08 leading the charge on that front. Other hot orange watches include the Bell & Ross BR X5 Carbon Orange and Oris ProPilot Coulson. Even the orange highlights on the Chopard Alpine Eagle Cadence 8HF come to mind.
Actually, if we’re talking bright colours, the new Rolex Oyster Perpetual ‘Bubble Dial’ and wacky jigsaw-dial Day-Date with emotions and emojis instead of days and dates are also obvious contenders.
We’ve also seen brands start to break the mould of sunrays and matte dials to come out with some genuinely interesting dial textures.
The new Bulgari Octo Roma with its beautiful, fine lozenge-shaped Clous de Paris dial is an obvious candidate, as is the Baume & Mercier Riviera’s wave-patterned dial, the Czapek Antarctique S ‘Sashiko’ and its lotus flower-patterned dial and the Grand Seiko Masterpiece Collection SBGZ009’s white birch dial (actually, that whole watch is patterned: it’s got a spectacular hand-engraved case that matches its dial).
Again, the IWC Schaffhausen Ingenieur is another prime example with its cool checkerboard dial. We’ve mentioned this watch a few times on this list, but that’s simply because it’s captured the zeitgeist in a way no other watch this year has: an integrated bracelet, a titanium option, an interesting dial texture with an interesting colour… It was the big winner from Watches & Wonders 2023.
WATCH us get up, close and personal with the new Ingenieur below.
It’s hard to say. I suspect we’ll continue to see watch brands double down on green dials and continue to offer a wider range of case diameters as the year goes on – it’ll be interesting to see if anyone joins in on the integrated bracelet craze. There’s definitely money to be made there.
What I’d like to see as (and reckon might be) the next big thing is travel watches. Now that the world’s opening back up post-COVID and international travel is regaining some of its glamour, hopefully, we’ll see some exciting new GMT watches and world timers from unexpected places. Admittedly, I’m a sucker for a GMT watch, but we’ll see…
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