Switching Wrists

This topic has come up in various guises from time to time on the Forum.

I have been experimenting over the past two weeks with wearing my watches on my right wrist. I am naturally right handed and have worn a watch on my left wrist since the first grade( for you younger guys....a long time ago). The reason for trying this change is that my right wrist is about 7 inches (177mm) and my left wrist is 6.5 inches (165mm). I am an avid tennis player so the tennis accounts for the difference in wrist size.
This difference equates to two holes on a strap and a link or two on a bracelet. It also means that the end of the strap ends up in a better position on the side of my wrist.
If I wore 38mm watches this would be a nonissue. But I like my watches big and heavy (44-46mm)so I think I am going to make the change permanent.

Anybody else try this? What's your opinion?

Hi Alan,

I often wear two watches so switching isn't an option for me. Besides that, I don't have a noticeable difference in wrist size so it doesn't matter on which wrist I wear my watches.

If you need to add or remove 2 links on a bracelet watch, it's better to make the change permanent or you won't stop adjusting...

Kind regards,

Clemens

After two weeks do you still instinctively look at your left wrist? I would expect this to be a tough change.

(By the way, I'm from your part of the world. I was born in Delaware County and grew up in Wilmington. What I wouldn't give for a good cheese steak...)

I am right handed and have always worn my watch on my left wrist. I am 63 so that totals well over 50 years now.

Once I got into good watches and attended a few gatherings, I noticed people trying to wear watches on both wrists - the better to enjoy and display their watches, I suppose. I tried it, but find that wearing a watch on my right wrist feels very uncomfortable and unnatural. I am sure that given enough time, I would get used to wearing a watch on my right wrist.

You didn't mention discomfort, so what issue do you feel you might encounter? You have a good reason to want to change and it seems to make sense. Is there an issue that has you concerned?

Alan, you have such great watches, maybe you ought to wear one on BOTH wrists ALL the time! If I had your collection, I might be tempted to try either the Hayek approach (multiple watches per wrist) or maybe use my ankles as well! :-))

Dick, I tried the ankles and the dogs kept licking the dials. LOL.

Kevin

Alan, your's is an interesting situation. I have tried to wear my watch on my right wrist but being left handed I find that the watch is banging into more door knobs etc. so I only do it playing golf and throwing a baseball. However, if I had that DFB on my wrist I think I would just be sitting gazing at it. LOL.
Enjoy

Kevin

You are correct. I instinctively look at my naked left wrist. But I am learning and it feels more natural now.

BTW, I love a good cheesesteak and even the bad ones here are still pretty good.

@Dick
Unless it is a watch event I don't like double wristing. I had a lot of trouble with the feeling of a watch on my right wrist after over 50 years of left handed watch wearing , but , surprisingly, the last couple days have been great. I have adapted to the change and it feels ok now. The difference in wrist size is a big factor for me. The watch looks and feels more comfortable.

Alan, I wish our buddy Bill was around right now to jump in on this thread ( but happy for him - out there in the Galapagos) - for certainly he would have the wisdom to advise you on this one.

My view on this - "one is never to old to learn" OK, we both subscribe to that one....but, I have come to recognize with myself over the course of the last few years, that "one is to old to change" !

So why change? We like you as you are - and sometimes when you happen to wear a watch on both wrists we like you more. But, who knows what our emotions would be if we happened to see you wearing a single watch on your right wrist?

Now, when Nad (or some other "RHWW") pass by, we do notice the watch on the right hand side, but we have come to expect that - and they wear it as naturally as you wear yours on the left hand side today. So, if you are dead set on change - go ahead and see if it works for you ( but please do heed the warning above - chance of swinging the watch into door posts etc - will increase during the first 6 months - and/or remain high up until you bang that beautiful DFB for the first time!)

Strength in informed decision making.

a No-No for me, the reasons ranging from minor inconvenience to difficult if I make this change:

a) wardrobe changes (minor) - my left cuff is tailored to be bigger to fit the watches. the right cuffs will all have to be changed likewise

b) watch getting in the way (significant) - using the mouse, writing with a pen - thinner watches pose less of a problem, but big ones are problematic especially with the deployant buckle constantly being mowed around on the table

would love to hear how right watch-wristed gents handle it !

my left wrist is about the same size as Alan's, and I find generally that lug-to-lug size exceeding 55mm (and thus far it is only the 46mm pilot cases which exceed that - not even my Da Vinci Digital crosses that mark) will make it over-hang. I am not concerned with how others will think it is 'too big for me' in pictures; in the mirror or when there is no center-focused lens trained on the wrist, it looks fine - but I am concerned with visually how the watch may sometimes look imbalanced to me when I glance at it: the big dial overwhelms the straps which has minimum presence. I find a thick strap helps to alter my visual perspective by making the sides beefier, and making the watch look more balanced.

Deleted duplicate post.

@Shing
That's another advantage of being retired...I never wear a suit. LOL
As for writing....it has not been a problem. I still use a computer and mouse but find my iPad now accounts for about 80% of "computer" usage. So, not a big deal.
We will see how this all works out long term. But for now it has been fun. Gives every watch a new look.

Alan,
I thought I am the only one with a bigger right wrist than left. Result of my gym workout and being right handed. I have never tried wearing it on my right wrist for a prolonged period of time. The chances of knocking the watch against computers, door knobs, etc is just too high. Right hand being the more nimble and mobile hand, I would not take the chance. Just my opinion.

When I walk through crowds, I place my left hand behind my back. That's to prevent any accidental 'clashes of wrists' with an oncoming 'traffic'. I have heard of such incidents before and if I switch to my right wrist, I might just not remember to keep it behind my back at all.

@KS. Interesting that you bring this up. I have discovered that my natural instinct is to blithely swing my left arm as I walk. So in the last two weeks I have clanged my watches against doors and the like less often than before. It's counterintuitive but we'll see if this continues. I guess all that baseball as a youth paid off as I use my glove hand (left)to naturally fend off obstacles.
If nothing else I am having fun with this.

Hi Alan,

In a previous post I posed the question whether or not wearing a watch on the right wrist had an advantage regarding damage/repairs to the crown.

As a "Lefty", I wear mine as most do on the right wrist. Since the crown now faces the upper arm, my feeling was and still is that the crown is more protected from hands being in water or contact with dirt, oils etc. In addition, direct strikes/hits to the crown are probably less likely. I know you are a big BP fan and with those "onion" jumbo crowns, a bit more protection couldn't hurt.

In all my years, not once can I remember smacking a crown on a door or anything else. Even if the watch has a screw down crown for WR, I still feel that little extra margin of safety and layer of protection.

For what it's worth,

Andy

Andy, I find your feedback here, most interesting.

It seems like what we assume (as wearers of watches on our left wrist) to be "logical arguments' do not in the practice pan out to be correct.

I'll be watching Alan's progress on this one.

Best regards
Mark

@Alan. I dont know too much about baseball (other than 3 strikes and you are out!) - but as an an old warrior I do know a few things, which others like Antonio know too. So a couple of things borrowed from this web site

[i]Walking: keep right. Most people appear to have a natural tendency to keep to the right. Right-handed swordsmen, however, may prefer to keep to the left in order to have their right arm nearer to a potential opponent, and to reduce the chance of the scabbard (worn on the left) hitting other people.

Riding a horse: keep left. A right-handed person finds it easier to mount a horse from the left side of the horse, and it would be very difficult to do otherwise if wearing a sword (which would be worn on the left). It is safer to mount and dismount towards the edge of the road, rather than in the middle of traffic, so if one mounts on the left, then the horse should be ridden on the left side of the road. Horsemen armed with swords prefer to keep left of each other in order that their sword arm is nearer their opponent -- and, more often, to offer one's right hand in friendship.[/i]

Bottom line - is the last line. You can wear your watch on your right hand, and when extending it to others in friendship - IWC friendship will count.

Alan,
I have no doubt you will find this perfectly natural in short order. I share Shing's issue with being right-handed and still using the accouterments of a PC to do my work. I'm clumsy enough for that to be a problem navigating the mouse. I also have a "permanent" bracelet (a tattoo of one of the temple friezes at Mitla) on my right wrist which I wouldn't want to cover. But mostly, I am exactly the same age as Dick and probably would develop a speech impediment if I tried to change. LOL! I applaud your effort for all the practical reasons you posted!

@Mark, Now you got me thinking....
These are things I do with my left arm which would put my watch in more jeopardy of damage.
Open my car door (driver side) both ingress and egress.
Hold my iPad or book while I read it.
Reach into my pocket a hundred times a day for my iPhone.
Reach into my pocket for my keys.
Push open my front door.
Push revolving doors.
Flush a toilet(handle mostly located on left side.)

LOL