Outside of some regional peculiarities (such as parts of Asia) men won’t wear women’s watches. Women, however, are a lot more democratic in their watch-wearing tastes. It is quite common for women to wear or even prefer watches traditionally considered to be for men over those specifically designed for women. I find this mentality intriguing and have noticed a few interesting things that can happen when women wear a men’s watch. These things not only affect how the woman looks, but also the appeal of those watches toward men.
Some people will probably want me to define a few of these terms, and they would be right to demand things such as “what is a woman’s watch?” It is true that, strictly speaking, so long as a watch physically fits on the wrist, anyone can wear it. By women’s watch I mean a timepiece specifically designed for feminine aesthetics, in smaller feminine sizes (35-36mm wide and under), and that also often combine the appeal of jewelry. When I think of some famous women’s watches, what comes to mind are timepieces such as the smaller versions of the Rolex Datejust, Cartier Tank Francaise, Chanel Premiere, and Breguet Reine de Naples. Judged by most average standards, these are women’s watches in the same way high heels are women’s shoes.
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Women don’t always wear “women’s watches,” though, and often wear two other categories of watch that are a bit more complicated to define. These categories are unisex watches and men’s watches. Not everyone believes in unisex watches because they feel that the designs are inherently made for one sex or another. This is typically the outcome of an otherwise men’s watch which is reduced in size enough for many female wrists. A good example is a men’s sports diving watch that is normally 42mm wide, made in a 38mm-wide case and suddenly labeled unisex. The reason it is not called a woman’s watch is because it is not primarily designed for a woman, and if there is a man with wrists that might otherwise measure into female wrist-size norms, he can still wear it and not look strange.
What I do feel about many unisex watches is that they are only unisex for a short period of time before one sex or another decides to appropriate them. This can actually go back and forth as a watch begins its life as being for men and later losing favor by being mostly worn by women. But how does this happen? I’ll get to my theory on this psychology in a bit.
After women’s watches and unisex watches, we predictably have “men’s watches.” What makes this group distinct is that even if a woman wears this watch it remains utterly masculine in its appeal, without any perceived “macho loss” from a woman wearing it. This is very important to consider because a men’s watch is still a men’s watch on a woman’s wrist, but a unisex watch becomes a women’s watch when on a woman’s wrist. Each of these timepieces have appeal to women, but for different reasons that I think men should actually think about if only to not be turned off to certain timepieces.
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A sort of unspoken reason why such “watch gender” classification is necessary is because (again, for the most part) men don’t want to wear women’s watches even if women want to wear men’s watches. An important facet of masculinity is that pure masculine things cannot be diluted into anything less. The point here is that if a man sees a woman wearing a man’s watch and it appears feminine on her, he will often no longer wish to wear it. This is actually one of my theories for why watch sizes have been getting bigger over the last one to two decades. As women have been appropriating more traditional masculine watch designs (among many other items in their life, from automobiles to clothing), men seek out even more masculine things that women aren’t interested in. Thus, in order to make a watch more masculine, one technique is to simply increase its size.
So, which team are you on? Left-hand or right-hand team? For the majority of people, which hand to wear a watch isn’t something to be concerned about. As long as it can sit comfortably regardless of which wrist is best, anything would be just good. But for ones who pay attention to certain unwritten rules of fashion etiquette, the left or right wrist does matter either for strapping the look or the practicality.
Although there is no standard rule, you might want to read this article for a new perspective of why some people pay attention to this matter. As a rule of thumb, most people wear a watch on their non-dominant hands. On the left hand for a right-handed person and right hand for lefties. The reason is simple, people don’t want to mess up between the watch they wear and the things they do.
The dominant hand is the one we use to perform most actions in daily activities, be it writing, holding a glass, or eating. So, you might not want to spill your juice when you unconsciously twist your wrist to check the time. No one wants to worsen their day with spilled juice on their shirt.
Wearing a watch on a non-dominant hand would free you up to tell time while you are doing another thing with the dominant hands, such as writing. For example, you are a right-handed person and have a watch with especially a large one on your right wrist. It’s unavoidable that you’ll feel quite uncomfortable if you are writing using that hand — that would be harder for you too to perform that activity. So, if you are a right-handed person, wearing a watch on your left hand would be a good option and vice versa.
In addition to that, wearing a watch at the opposition of the dominant hand could protect the watch. During the time you use your dominant hand in daily activities, there is likely the watch gets bumped, jolted, or even scratched. Therefore, keeping it on a non-dominant hand would make it safe from damages.
However, it’s still not exactly a rule to wear a watch only on a non-dominant wrist. The choice will always be yours as the wearer. The matter of which hand you should wear a watch might seem as simple as just slapping it on your wrist. But, it turned out that some functionality and practicality are also things to consider. So, it’s not only about which hand you should wear a watch but also how it makes you feel comfortable.
The biggest concern of why you need to wear a watch on a non-dominant hand is the practicality to operate the crown. Look at your watch crown and where it is placed. Most of them are put at the 3 o’clock position because most people (90%) in the world are right-handed, which means at the right side of a watch. So, it would be difficult to operate the crown if you wear it on the right hand. Not to mention the small size of the watch crown that needs another effort.
Further, the crown is meant to be easily gripped and operated. Therefore, determining where the crown is located first would help to decide which hand you should wear a watch. If the crown is at 9 o’clock then it’s the opposite which is the right hand. Otherwise, you’ll need a lot of effort to operate it and it’s a total pain to just adjust the time. So, time setting will be much easier if wearing a watch in accordance with the watch crown’s position. Besides, the watchmaker may have a specific picture in mind while designing it on where the wearer should wear the watch.
On top of it all, nowadays watchmakers also make watches specifically for left-handed people. For instance, Dievas has developed left-handed model watches with the crown located at the left side of the watch case. Left-handed watches are also known as “Destro watches”. So, you don’t need to worry as the world of watches wouldn’t leave you behind to taste the art of horology.
With all of that being said, still, the matter of which hand to wear a watch is a personal preference. There are some considerations to pay attention to, such as practicality functions. But above all, you could wear your watch on whichever wrist you prefer as long as it is well-strapped on you. While wearing a watch on the right wrist is rare, the left wrist is familiarly known as the “officially correct” wrist.
The fact that most people are right-handed is the reason behind it. As we’ve known that the majority’s preferences are what eventually become the norm. So, it’s easy to understand why some people say that we should wear a watch on the left wrist. Even more, sometimes a certain group of watch enthusiasts wears a watch on both of their wrists. See, it’s all a matter of individual preference.
Some people might also ask, “what side do men wear watches?” and “what hand do women wear watches?”. But, this matter is so far away about man or woman. Both of them could wear a watch however they like it. Some differences might have happened in the past when watches were still considered as women’s things. But, it’s changed and watches can be everyone’s favorite now.