Methodology
Every fit verdict on this site comes from one formula applied to manufacturer specifications. Both are written out below, so you can check the reasoning rather than take the answer on trust.
How fit is calculated
The model compares one number against one number: the watch's footprint from lug tip to lug tip, and the flat width of your wrist measured bone to bone. Dividing the first by the second gives a ratio, and the ratio decides the verdict.
Case diameter is deliberately not the input. A watch overhangs when its lugs pass the edge of the wrist, and lug span can differ by several millimetres between two watches sharing an identical bezel size — which is exactly why shopping by case diameter produces watches that measured right and wore wrong.
A ratio above 1.0 means the lugs sit past the edge of the wrist. Between 0.7 and 0.95 the watch fills the wrist without spilling over — the band conventional sizing advice describes as a deliberate fit. Below that it reads as understated, which is a preference rather than a mistake.
| Verdict | Lug-to-lug ÷ wrist width |
|---|---|
| Understated | below 0.7 |
| Balanced | 0.7 – 0.85 |
| Sweet spot | 0.85 – 0.95 |
| Bold | 0.95 – 1.0 |
| Lugs overhang | above 1.0 |
Clearance figures shown next to a verdict are per side: half the difference between your wrist width and the watch's footprint.
Where a page quotes wrist circumference rather than width, the conversion is width × π × 0.85 — a wrist is closer to an ellipse than a circle, and 0.85 is the correction that lands nearest real measurements across the 50–75mm range. A tape measure around your own wrist is still better than the conversion.
How the data is handled
Specifications come from the maker
Dimensions are taken from manufacturer specification sheets and established watch reference databases — never from retailer listings, marketplace copy or crowd-sourced entries, which drift from the real figures and from each other.
Nothing is inferred to fill a gap
Where a manufacturer does not publish a measurement, the field stays empty and renders as a dash. A plausible-looking estimate would be indistinguishable from a real figure on the page, and the whole value of a size database is that you can trust the number in front of you.
One rule, applied identically
Every watch is judged by the same formula below. There is no editorial thumb on the scale for particular brands, and no ranking is influenced by whether a model carries an affiliate link.
Corrections are cheap and welcome
If a figure here disagrees with the manufacturer, the manufacturer is right. Reports are acted on directly against the database rather than queued behind an editorial cycle.
Corrections and independence
Spotted a figure that disagrees with the manufacturer, or a watch that should be here? Write to [email protected] with the model and the correct value. Affiliate links appear on some pages and never influence a measurement, a ranking or a fit verdict — see the affiliate disclosure. The interactive sizing guides live on the home page.