Best Watches for Men With Small Wrists - Top 8 Watches for a 6 Inch Wrist Size
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I think I'm descended from a T-Rex. This makes sense given my love of incredibly rare steak and my tiny 6-inch wrists.
Have you ever looked at a watch and thought to yourself, ‘If only. If only my wallet were fuller, if only my wrist were bigger, and if only my girlfriend disappeared for a week so I could sneak it into the house’. Well, fear not. Here is a list of (what I consider to be anyway) the 8 best watches for a 6-inch wrist.
1 - Erebus Ascent
A newcomer to the watch game, Erebus is a microbrand co-founded by Jody from Just One More Watch, and their second watch, the Ascent, is an absolutely masterful homage to the ‘GADA’ genre of watches (read the full review here). In terms of design, I'd say it's somewhere between an Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra and a GS White Birch. Granted, Erebus has nowhere near the level of history that some of the other brands here have, but it’s a winner. The Ascent is 38.7mm in diameter, 44.6mm lug-to-lug and 11.2mm thick. Incredibly wearable.
You’ve also got a fair selection of dial colours, including a purple sunburst, green helix, and black enamel (my personal favourite). All of the dials include colour-matched date wheels (a nice detail that’s just the cherry on the cake)
For £320, you get 316L stainless steel, sapphire crystal, 100m water resistance, a Miyota 9000 series movement, and a solid link bracelet with solid end links and a milled clasp. These are excellent specs for the price.
2 - CWC G10
I’m not joking when I say this is one of my favourite watches. The CWC G10 is a small, quartz, Swiss-made watch with authentic military provenance. You can pick up a real-issued example for as little as £250. It is 36mm by 43mm and 10 mm thick. Insanely wearable and out of the way, the heritage is *Chefs Kiss*. The first ever quartz GS Field watch (the Americans at the time were still issuing mechanicals a la Hamilton), worn through Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Sierra Leone, as well as all the places that British troops have officially never been.
Granted, the specs on paper aren’t insane—FO6 quartz movement, 50m wr, and acrylic crystal—but come on. After reading that, how can you not want one?
3 - Seiko Mini Turtle
The first one on our list is unavailable in stores but can easily be found on sites like eBay, and resale prices are close to what MSRP was. Seiko really dropped the ball on this. It should have been the true successor of the SKX007. But Seiko discontinued it in would argue that this is the heir to the throne of the original Willard. Think about it. A tough-as-nails, officially certified mechanical diver, with a price tag that means you won't be afraid actually to use it.
In terms of design, it is classic Seiko but still holds an identity of its own with the tombstone hour markers. This watch is an actual work of art of a design. Classic Turtle shape, 42mm in diameter, and 43mm lug to lug. That is actually insane. That means this watch fills a very niche point in the collection of a dinosaur wrist. Do you know when you want a chunky watch but don’t want it to look stupid? That’s where this rolls in. Its awesome. Truly. For around £260, why wouldn’t you at least try it?
4 - Seiko DressKX
I heard someone say that this was Seiko’s best GADA watch, and honestly, I can't argue with it—the dial of an SKX007, a classic Seiko case, 4R36 movement, and Lume for days. The dresskx has some really lovely measurements, with a 40mm diameter and a signature Seiko stubby 44.6mm lug to lug. It is 11.6mm thick and has a lug width of 20mm, so your collection of straps will fit on this with no problem (looking at you, Flightmaster). Its also 100m of wr, so it should be suitable for all your day to day needs.
The dial is classic SKX with applied markers. A rounded off triangle at noon, with pill-shaped indices at 3 6 and 9. These are filled with Seikos lumibright so the watch shines like a torch at night. The rest are all circles, apart from the 3 o'clock, where there is a day date complication, which surprisingly aids symmetry, matching the pill at 9 o'clock.
The day and date wheels are not colour-matched, which isn't a criticism. There is Seiko standard automatic script below the pinion, and above it is your standard applied Seiko logo and a printed-on "Superman" style 5 logo, which I prefer. There is a chapter ring around the outside of the dial, which is surprisingly perfectly aligned on my unit (I studied it intently before leaving the shop). I would recommend buying in a brick-and-mortar store where possible, as you can see the product first, and after the pandemic, stores need all the revenue they can get.
The handset is also a classic SKX, and being from a dive watch, it is very easy to tell you the rough times at a glance. However, because the hands are so chunky and then come to such a fine point rather quickly, it can be difficult to tell exact time easily. The dial is covered by Seiko's proprietary Hardlex crystal, so there is no sapphire, which is unfortunate.
The variant I had came on a GORGEOUS NATO strap. The strap is comfortable, doesn't itch at all (compared to some seat belt style natos) and has a plethora of holes, so it should fit a variety of wrists. The hardware feels very solid. It is brushed and there is a signed buckle, which I think is a nice touch. If you don't like NATO's but want the brushed finishing, then the drilled lugs will make strap changes friendly and straightforward. All in all, a lovely watch for the money.
5 - Marathon MSAR
This is my personal hiking watch, and in my opinion is the best tool watch available, for its durability, functionality, and reliability. I think it even surpasses the G-Shock series. It is available in multiple sizes and configurations, including quartz or automatic movements, with several dial and strap options. Marathon has a long history of providing watches to military forces. The GSAR was designed initially for the Canadian Air Force’s Search and Rescue (SAR) teams, and that means it was built from the ground up to survive in the most desolate environments known to man (the Arctic circle, not Birmingham City Centre). The 36mm quartz version is 36mm in diameter (obviously), 43mm lug to lug, and 14mm thick, so a bit of a chunky boy, and you’re also getting 300m water resistance, a sapphire crystal and a Swiss ETA F06 quartz movement.
It is also ISO 6425 compliant, thanks to the date complication being tucked at 0430 instead of the standard 0300.
But of course, the big selling point, Tritium. So even when you’re doing your secret super stealthy and tacticool midnight bathroom trips, you’ll be able to tell what time it is—the MSAR quartz clocks in at an RRP of £850.
6 - Casio F91W
The most iconic watch of all time, the Casio F-91W. Casio got this right the first time. If you’re a watch enthusiast, I do not need to introduce this watch to you, but just in case you aren’t i̶n̶d̶o̶c̶t̶r̶i̶n̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ i̶n̶t̶o̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶ c̶u̶l̶t an enthusiast, let me give you a brief rundown.
In 1989, Casio set out to produce the default digital watch, and Ryūsuke Moriai designed this. You get time, date, day, alarm and chrono for a grand total of nine Great British pounds. That’s about it. You don’t get count down, you don’t get atomic time, you don’t get crazy water resistance, and you don’t get a second time zone. You get a digital watch.
This watch is insanely popular. It's been estimated that well over 90 million of them have been sold throughout their production lifetime. It has been worn by everyone from Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden to your dad and every man in between.
I can guarantee either you or your dad has owned this watch at some point.
And for less than a Big Mac meal, why wouldn’t you own one? Better yet, buy 3.
7 - Tissot PRX Quartz
Tissot is boring. I'm sorry, they just are. Before the PRX came out, Tissot was best known (in the UK at least) as ‘That watch you bought your dad for his 50th ‘. That all changed in 2021, when they rereleased the PRX, originally in 40mm and then in 35mm.
If you're a gentleman around 6 inches (I meant your wrist you pervert), I highly suggest you stick with the 35mm solely because of the fixed integrated bracelet. Technically, the 35mm has a lug-to-lug of 39, but due to that bracelet, it is pretty much 44mm.
I would also suggest you stay with the quartz variant unless you simply MUST own the Powermatic 80 variant. The case, wr, and bracelet are all the exact same, and the quartz is half the price at 335 as opposed to the 650 of the Powermatic. It is up to you to decide whether it is worth paying double for the same watch just for a mechanical movement.
In my opinion, the bracelet is where the watch shines, and the Swatch group designers have pulled off a masterclass. The bracelet is solid, with polished and brushed surfaces that catch the light well, adding a dynamic and expensive look. I can't quite explain it, but when your wrist rolls in the sun, it is reminiscent of how a snake moves. Plus, there are a SHED load of sizing points on this bracelet. Small wristers are all too familiar with having an awesome bracelet and being unable to wear it, but theres no fears of that here. Mine is sized up for my 6-inch exactly wrist, and there's still another inch worth of adjustability.
The bracelet also doesn’t feel like an absolute cuff when on wrist. I think this is due to their choice of using push pins as opposed to screws, which I am not opposed to here.
But yeah. All of the issues reviewers have with this watch can be solved by just buying the quartz version. So, if you're still on the fence, get one of these on your wrist. I guarantee you’ll understand it then.
8 - Orient Bambino
Well, this had to be on there, didn’t it? Lets be honest. An absolute staple of the affordable watch space for well over 10 years, then in 2022 Orient finally released the 38mm model. The Bambino holds the reputation as the definitive affordable dress watch, and its not hard to see why. It clocks in at £289 on the Orients website (a bit cheaper stateside at $250), and you get an in-house F6724, a 22 jewel, six beats per second movement with hacking and hand winding. You are also getting a date complication here, so a perfect ‘office watch’.
This ‘new’ 38mm comes in at (surprise, surprise) 38mm in diameter, with a 44mm lug to-lug, 12.4mm thick, and 30m of water resistance. Sleek. Smooth. Sexy.
I do really like this watch (especially the cream off white colourway). It is a watch that looks much more expensive than what you pay for. That is something that the Bambinos are known for.
Unfortunately, it is just mineral crystal, but let's face it: You won’t be doing any extreme sports with this watch. But for £280, I think it deserves a space in everyone's watch box.
And there you have it. 8 watches that are perfectly sized for any man, woman, or pigeon with a 6 inch wrist. Were there any I missed? Please do mention them in the comments.