Discussion
In the concluding part of his four-part series, 'Worth their weight in gold?', psychotic presents the results of his unique 'scientific experiment' exploring the relationship between a watch's weight, value, and wearing comfort. He introduces a five-star rating system to quantify comfort, challenging subjective perceptions with a structured analysis. This final installment invites readers to consider how these factors truly influence the daily wearability of luxury timepieces.
This is my humble attempt at conducting a scientific experiment on rather unscientific and subjective topics:
"Is there any relation between the weight of a watch and its wearing comfort?"
and
"Is there any relation between the value of a watch and its wearing comfort?"
Hypothesis
Lighter (and more expensive) watches are more comfortable.
Procedures / Results / Analysis
LEGEND:
*=Almost unwearable. Take it off! Take it off!
**=Uncomfortable but wearable. The strap / bracelet has noticeable flaws.
***=Comfortable. There's nothing wrong with a 3 star watch. This is the score you would expect most watches should at least attain.
****=Nice. This feels good no matter the seasons. I can wear this all day and still feel great.
*****=Sorry, can't take it off. The watch is glued to my wrist.
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Porsche Design Flat 6 P6340 Chronograph
Dimensions: 44.5 mm x 15.0 mm
Case material: Steel
Bezel: Steel
Bracelet: Rubber
Weight: 148 g
Tendency to pinch - moderate to frequent
Wearing comfort: *1/2 (winter) / * (summer)
Length of Ownership: over 4 years
Ouch! I can't wear this watch for longer than 3 hours at a time before I feel its unpleasant clasp digging into my flesh. The watch is heavy for a rubber strapped watch. Like the Bvlgari, the watch feels unbalanced on my wrist. On the former, it is manageable and only noticeable after many hours of wear. On the PD, however, it's noticeable almost right away.
This is my only watch that is more comfortable (just slightly) in the winter than in the summer.
Why is that?
Probably because the watch doesn't fit my wrist very well. In my 4 years of ownership, the rubber strap has not conformed to my wrist.
Diameter-wise this watch is my largest at 44.5 mm.
Patek Philippe Nautilus Moonphase
Dimensions: 40 mm x 12 mm
Case material: Steel
Bezel: Steel
Bracelet: Steel
Weight: 112 g
As posted earlier in my "New style link on the Nautilus", my bracelet was replaced. The polished links are now smoothly angled and as I described earlier, the new bracelet seems to be lighter.
Well, now I have proof on the lightness of the bracelet.
Below is a weighting of the watch with the old bracelet.
Tendency to pinch - none
Wearing comfort: *** (winter) / ***** (summer)
Length of Ownership: almost 1 year
This is by far, my most comfortable summer watch. While the Aquanaut is perhaps my most comfortable year-round on average, it can't touch the 5712 during the summer.
This watch does not look 12 mm thick. In fact, it looks much thinner than my RO which is 9.8 mm thick.
The comfort on this watch is unbelievably good. The inside of the bracelet is sooo smooth and will not pinch arm hair at all. This is a 70's Oldsmobile where you sink a few centimeters into the cushions of the seat. This is a juicy, melt in your mouth steak. This is finally buying your grail watch and realizing in shocked wonder, what the hubbub has been about.
Based on my "scientific analysis" of wearing comfort in a variety of watches, I conclude that thinner, lighter watches do indeed wear more comfortably on my wrists. My GMT Rolex, however, seems to buck that trend. It weighs a mere 5 grams lighter than one of my heavy weights, the Porsche Design but is by far, much more comfortable.
There also seems to be a relation between wearing comfort and the value of a watch. For metal bracelets, nothing in my collection beats the Nautilus in the summer. It is very well built and supremely comfortable. During the winter months however, the watch tends to travel the 2 cm to rest at the bottom of my wrist - an annoyance.
The clasp seems to be a major factor in determining watch comfort. Essentially, the overall design of the watch in its totality determines the comfort. The little attention to fine details is noticeable and appreciated and if that kind of love and care is shown mainly to an upper echelon watch like a Patek, well so be it.
The Rolex GMT Master II will be the average to which all other watches will be compared to.
In order of overall wearing comfort (The most comfortable on the bottom).
To test your conclusions, you should try something huge and expensive (Royal Oak Offshore springs to mind). According to your research, should it still be very comfortable? You could do the same experiment with something small and low-priced.
I wanted to test out a ROO in titanium. I've tried that one on my wrist a few times and though it looks gi-normous on my thin Asian wrists, it still felt remarkably light and comfortable. Unfortunately, that grey model has been discontinued in favour of the newer ROO models. As for a cheaper, smaller watch, I only have my original Rolex Datejust. I've had this watch for over 15 years and it no longer fits me unfortunately. No, I cannot simply add links to the bracelet since the original links ha
I realize and apologize that the 4 part study has taken almost exactly 1 month to conclude. I didn't mean to drag it out so long but at the same time, a few of a watches were in and out with their bi-decade overhaul. Here are the links to my study "Worth their weight in gold?" from beginning to end: Part I Part II Part III Part IV Bonus
A fascinating journey. Not sure what I learnt from all this. In the end, a cheap Swatch will wear very comfortably and an expensive MB&F not so much. What I find though is that the more expensive the watch, the less comfortable it is purely because you are more conscious over trying not to scratch it. There is a point, I guess for everyone where at a certain price level, I would leave it in a box, or only wear it with a short sleeve shirt and no jacket (as the buttons on the inside of the sl
I wear all of my watches with the same amount of abuse be they run-of-the-mill Rolexes or more exclusive Pateks. Of course I don't purposefully drop them on cement or wack them with a baseball bat. See the Ballistic watch review: or the CX Swiss Military Watch 20,000 Feet: but they get their fair share of the sun and rain. Collected scratches will be sent to the Manuf. as part of its overhaul.
However, your point was "at a certain price level". While that bar varies from person to person, I assume you may indeed be referring to an MB & F, a Freak or anything with a toubillon in it. Hmmm... ya know what? My answer would still be the same.
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