Hi all! I am moving ever so closer to saving up to buy my first “real” watch. Hoping my tax return from Uncle Sam this year gets me to my goal!

I’ve had my heart set on a Speedmaster Pro for some time now (love the story and the fact that it’s so iconic). I’ve tried on the Speedy a few times at my local boutique and have a general feel for the size. I’m not a big dude my any means, so my biggest concern is how big a watch wears. The Speedy is somewhat of a thicker piece at 14mm. (My current daily wear is a Seiko SKX007 which is also somewhat of a thick wear, so I was never overly concerned.) However, the new Tudor Black Bay 58 that debut as Basel this year has really caught my attention. I do like Tudor very much as a brand, and the new smaller Black Bay seems perfect size (39mm x 11.9mm) for every day wear! Now I am torn.

For those of you that own several watches/brands, what are your thoughts on the Speedy’s thickness and general wrist presence in comparison to your other pieces? For the smaller gentlemen out there, does the Speedy ever seem too gaudy at times? Or is it perfect for an every day wear? Perhaps I’m over thinkig this, but just wanted to get y’alls opinion!
As always, appreciate your insights.

 

I have 14060 which is of similar dimensions as BB58 and I've got rather small wrists, I think that the BB56 will feel better on the wrist and you won't even notice you are wearing it how good it will fit but when wearing Tudor I couldn't help feeling like I didn't have money to buy the real thing (Rolex), I think that if you wanted Speedy for so long settling for something else wouldn't be best choice as it would leave you wondering what if you bought the Speedy. I would just buy Speedy and start saving up for older Submariner as they are one of the comfiest watches to be worn.

 

By numbers, the Black Bay is only 2 mm thinner, which is hardly noticeable. The extra thickness in the Speedmaster comes from the fact the case back and crystal extend farther from the relatively thin case. The actual case of the Black Bay is considerably thicker, which in my opinion will create a perspective that it is actually thicker than the Speedmaster, since one’s eye will tend to focus on the thickness of the case of both, and ignore the slightly raised crystal on the Speedmaster.

But you will have to judge for yourself. The Speedmaster easily slips under shirt cuffs, so it is definitely not too thick.

 

I think the speedmaster wears thinner than an SKX, so I don't think there's anything to worry about there. As to the speedy vs BB 58, that's up to you. The BB certainly caught my eye as well. I'm not sure I'm sold on the black/gold combo. At the end of the day, I think the speedmaster is going to be more classic, so would probably lean that way.

 

I'm a tall guy with rather large wrists (8"). My Speedmaster looks like a normal watch on me. One thing to keep in mind is the strap that you will be choosing. I wear NATO straps because 1) they are disposable when they get gross and 2) they are super comfortable. I'm mentioning this because a nato strap will add thickness to the watch. If you are considering going with a NATO, be sure to try it out before you buy it. Because of my height, I order custom dress shirts (not fancy, more of a necessity). One manufacturer makes the shirts with the cuffs big enough for this watch, the other doesn't

You cant make a wrong choice with a speedmaster. You'll find one that works for you!

 

I rotate through my watch collection wearing each watch for weeks at a time, so all my watches need to work as "daily wearers". I have two speedies (one vintage, one modern LE) and they both work fine. I am taller (6'1) but only have 6 3/4 wrists and the speedy wears just fine.

The speedy is a pretty versatile watch, you can keep it on the bracelet, or whack it on a nato or leather strap for a different experience. Not sure you'd ever want to put a dive watch like the BB on a leather strap.

 

Speedy wears thinner then the SKX.. but the SKX wears a bit visible smaller due to the short lug to lug. I’ll post pictures shortly. They are my 2 main watches in rotation.

 

As you can see similar heights but the Speedmaster is visually thinner. Note the springbar location though, on a Nato the Speedmaster gains more bulk from the higher springbar.

You can see the longer lug to lug in this shot which makes the watch wear a little bigger, offset by the smaller visual bulk of the bezel... which makes these watches very different looks while having very similar measurements on paper.


One of these watches is actually the narrowest... But looks like the widest...

All in all the Speedy while similar on paper to an SKX, wears differently on different people. For the most part if you can comfortably wear one you can easily wear the other. The BB... is going to wear a bit bigger then you think as noted above the case is noticeably thicker giving an appearance of a larger watch.

 

Thanks all for the input and thanks @Foo2rama for the comparison shots. That was really helpful to see!

 

While your question seems to have been thoroughly answered I just want to add that, for me, the watch was smaller than I thought it would be.
Yes, I knew the size, but after looking at pictures of it on other peoples wrists for years, and then finally putting mine on for the first time, it felt smaller than I imagined it would.
But it is certainly not too small by any means, and in my opinion, it's perfect.

 

The speedy definitely feels like it wears a lot smaller than 42mm!! I would stick with the speedy! That will also give you enough time to save and purchase the BB58 when it is more readily available.