Can Woman Wear Men’s Watches?

The quick answer is yes, a woman can wear a men’s watch and it’s actually quite common to see this happening. It’s also totally fine to do it the other way round; a man can wear a woman’s watch. While this is less common, there is nothing wrong with doing this.

A watch is just an object designed to be strapped to a wrist, it doesn’t matter what wrist it is attached to.

There Are No Rules

When it comes to wearing a watch there are no rules. You will hear plenty of people try and say there is, but in reality, you can do whatever you want.

You will hear things like “if a watch is under 36mm its woman’s watch” This is simply not true.

While there are no rules, there are certainly fashion trends. In recent years the trend has been for men to wear large watches, well over 40mm in diameter. However, in previous decades the trendy size was 36mm, which we would consider tiny and feminine now.  

(while there are no rules, you might still want to read – Watch Wearing Mistakes You Should Avoid)

Why People Are Against Woman Wearing Men’s Watches

The main problem is that in general, women are smaller than men. Well, that’s not the problem; the problem is that a lot of watches only come in one size.

If you look at the Rolex Submariner it’s currently for sale only in the 41mm size. There are a few different colours, but the size is all the same.

This will means that if you are smaller, this watch might look pretty big on your wrist. The thing is, being small isn’t a female problem …there are plenty of small men. They are going to have the exact same problem and the watch is going to look a little too big on them too.

So this kind of means the argument that woman should not wear a men’s watch is a little backwards. It should be more worded “people… both male and female… with this wrist size shouldn’t wear a watch of this size”.

Watches Are Genderless

When you look at the most popular watches, there is nothing that really makes them stand out as “male”. The large majority of watches have some sort of silver or gold coloured case with a black, white, blue or green dial.

These colours are pretty simple and generic; they could be worn by any gender with any skin tone.

The only thing that can really affect how they are worn is the size.

Wear A Proportionate Sized Watch

As I’ve said already, gender has nothing to do with it; it has to do with size and how if this looks proportionate on your wrist.

Your wrist size and the size of the watch will play a huge part in how it wears on you.

Generally speaking, women have smaller wrists. This means a lot of the models can look a little too big for ladies, especially if they have very small wrists. 

Luckily, some watches do come in a range of sizes to fit a number of wrists. If you look at the Rolex Oyster Perpetual it comes in 28, 31, 36 and 41mm. That is quite the range and means no matter your size; you will find a watch that fits your wrists portions perfectly.  

If we also look at the Apple Watch, it comes in two sizes, the 41mm and the 44mm. There is no gender attached to either of these, it’s literally buy whatever one fits you better.

 If you have smaller wrists… male or female, it doesn’t matter, just buy the smaller watch.

If you are a larger female… or male… buy the bigger one. It really is that simple, gender should not come in to it.

Watches Aimed At Woman

While gender should not matter, If you look through most watch makers catalogues you will find the “woman’s section”. These watches are generally smaller, which I think is a great. This is what we need.

However, the problem is they often try and make these watches to fit women’s “tastes”.

This means we end up with a load of watches that are small, but overly feminine in design. They are often pink or rose gold and covered in diamonds.

Some of these look great and I am sure plenty of woman love these types of watches, but for a lot of ladies they would rather just have the “mens” watches, but in a smaller sizes that will fit them better.

“Woman’s Taste”

I am sure the watch companies do a lot of market research before making these more feminine watches.

However, I do feel they are missing out by not making their “men’s” watches available in a smaller size. I know a lot of women are not the biggest fans of the more bulky, tool watches. Generally speaking woman are not really fans of things like dive watches. Although, I do wonder if they are just put off by the size, and if they could get a smaller version, they would like them more.

Recently this has been changing and the trend of the “boyfriend watch” has started to take off and you are seeing more woman wearing larger watches.

I think watches like the Rolex Daytona are really popular with woman. They are only available in 40mm and I do think you would see them on even more women’s wrists if they were a little bit smaller.  

I also just think having these watches in smaller sizes would benefit men with smaller wrists too. Personally my writs are fairly average, but I do prefer a watch 40mm and below, I think a 36mm is just perfect.

Can Men Wear Womans Watches?

Absolutely, there is nothing stopping a man from wearing a women’s watch. You will find this is less common, but there is nothing wrong with it.

Colours

I think the main reason it doesn’t happen as much is due to the more feminine designs. Most men are not interested in rose gold and diamonds.

Personally I want to get the G-Shock Casioak. However, I think it’s a little too big for me. Casio did release a smaller version and I was very happy about this… until I seen the designs.

These smaller versions are only a few millimetres smaller, but they were aimed at woman and where therefore in colours I did not want. 

I want the all black version. The smaller version is black …and rose gold, the other alternative is all white. This is very frustrating to me and I know I am not the only person to think this. Plenty of men and woman have voiced their annoyance over this. The colours on the “mens” version are great; just make them in a smaller size! 

Smaller Sizes

I think the main reason men do not wear women’s watches is the sizes. Women’s watches can be very small and they can just look comical on a man’s wrist.

The picture below is my wife’s watch. Its 25mm, you can get a men’s version that is identical, the only difference is that it is larger at 38mm

I don’t have that identical watch, but you can see it here next to my 40mm watch with a similar design. The size difference is ridiculous and it just looks outrageously small on my wrist.

The thing is this watch is large on my wife as she has very small wrists. She wears in it on the smallest hole, so there is definitely a need for this size of watch, but is there a need for so much rose gold and diamonds? 

Wear Whatever Watch You Like

When it comes to a watch it doesn’t matter who you are or what gender you are, all that matter is that you like the watch. If you are happy with it, wear it.

Ideally you want to get it in a size that suits your wrist and looks proportionate, but if it’s a little too big, or a little too small, then so be it.

If you like how it looks and you like how it wears, then go for it. Nobody can tell you what to wear and nobody can have a say in your style.

Wear what makes you happy and don’t worry about anything else.  

(You can read more about – Will Wearing Watches Go Out Of Style?)