![]() ![]() Sadly, the trend has migrated to the offer of established manufacturers as well. They were (and are) usually oversized pieces equipped with tiny quartz movements. The trend for “behemoths” has only been introduced in the 1990s, with the rise of fashion watch brands. The very first thing to remember about vintage watches: they may be out of fashion, but they’re never out of style. The well-proportioned dial and the chunky waterproof case by Taubert nicely compensate for the fairly small size. Besides, you should feel comfortable with a watch, not everyone around you. I simply don’t feel the main concern of most vintage watch would-be wearers: “what will the people say?” The only correct answer is: that they won’t say anything because, for the most part, they don’t care. Then again, it also takes time to get used to a larger watch. Of course, with the mindset still infested by the invasive fashion concepts of today, it takes some time to get used to it. So, How Does It Feel to Wear a 28mm Watch? But if you simply downsize the features of a bigger watch, and keep the same proportions, levels of detail, and finishing, it’d be more than odd to call the result a ladies’ watch. If you want to make it look like a ladies’ watch, all you need is to make it look like the features of the dial are squeezed into a small package. So, what makes such a small gents’ watch a gents’ watch? Proportions, proportions, proportions. The marketing slogan for the Watertight and the Nighthawk was “Designed for the men in service.” Speaking of the Air Warden – the 1941 model, also called the Nighthawk, measured 26mm. The Air Warden and the Military Watertight. That’s because they were never intended to be that.īulova, on the other hand, has marketed the most rugged (and sized 30mm tops!) watches as a recommended purchase for military personnel. Oyster Raleigh, the Oyster Speedking… these aren’t exactly ladies’ watch names. That popularity has only declined circa 1960.ĭuring that time, brands like Rolex made quite a lot of small watches, which were to be the benchmark for ruggedness. ![]() Hence, gents’ watches measuring 27-30mm in diameter were at the height of popularity back in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Each of them wanted to show their technological and engineering prowess by offering the best accuracy in the smallest possible package. It really didn’t take long for gents’ wristwatches to become the main area of an arms race between the manufacturers. Needless to say, the use of movements smaller than the standard for gents’ pocket watch movements was seen as something of a compromise in terms of accuracy. Self-winding movements rarely or never were quite as small as hand-wound movements, in order to keep an acceptable efficiency of winding. ![]() Watches of that size were often either more rugged models with waterproof cases or out of necessity, in order to house an automatic movement. That was actually the upper limit for these. Until as late as 1980, ladies’ watches very rarely exceeded 26-27mm in diameter. While it was always the standard for ladies’ watches to be smaller than gents’ ones, this pushed the trend for very small ladies’ watches. ![]() These often measured from 10 to 13 lignes, which is perfectly in line with today’s standards for wristwatch movements. Small Gents’ Watches – The BackgroundĮarly wristwatches often were equipped with “repurposed” ladies’ pendant watch movements. But merely with manipulating the finishing, the size of numerals, the size of the logo and proportions of hands, you can do the same to a 46mm watch. In the process of design, can you make a 28-38mm watch a ladies’ watch? Of course. There is no strength in numbers, not here, not in this case. That’s because it always was about the proportions, not the diameter. “But 30mm is a ladies’ watch size”, some write in tons of angry posts, willingly or unwillingly being the killjoys to the happy new owners of vintage watches. Well, maybe it does – it gives fashionistas, who so selflessly provide a sharp contrast to the WIS, and the WIS making the killjoys scuttle is beyond enjoyable a view. Yes, it takes the comfort of applying the bigger picture of vintage watches in general to what we wear, and gives absolutely nothing in return. Realistically, also a noxious one, which gives you hardly anything but discomfort. When I try to get to the bottom of people’s concerns, the main reason behind it all seems to be fashion.įirst of all, with vintage watches fashion is at best a redundant concept. Or, for that matter, that a 36 or 38mm watch will be “too small.” When I see that, I can’t help but laugh, especially when it comes to vintage watches. Whenever I’m checking the forums, I constantly encounter posts implying that the size of a watch determines it as a ladies’ or gents’ watch. ![]()
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