You’re probably familiar to the fact that the left wrist is the called and considered the ”officially correct” wrist to wear a watch on for men. The debate of which wrist you should wear your watch on has been ever present, especially in the last couple of years as social media has evolved, and more people are sharing photos of them wearing their watch – sometimes on what some people mean is the ”wrong” wrist. But why is it that the ”right” wrist to wear your wrist on as a man is on right wrist? And can’t you wear your watch on whichever wrist you prefer? In this article, we’re looking at the reason why the left wrist today is considered to be the ”right” wrist to wear a watch on, and the reasons for wearing your wristwatch on the left wrist.
Most people wear their wristwatch on their non-dominant hand. As such, this means that many left-handed individuals tend to wear their watch on the right hand. As such, this is also the reason why watch brands such as Tudor have developed ”left-hand models”, with the crown and crown guards on the left side of the watch case as opposed to the right, making it more comfortable for left-handed people to wear the watches. Since most people are right-handed, it means that most people also wear their wristwatch on the left wrist, but this isn’t always the case. In fact, there are plenty of people who are right-handed who wear their watch on the right wrist, just like there are left-handed people who wear their wristwatch on their left wrist.
Now, no matter if you would argue about the practical benefits of wearing a watch on your left wrist, due to the fact that the majority of the population is right-handed, it’s easy to understand that this is what then becomes the norm. What the majority of people do is eventually what becomes the norm, and since the majority of people wear their watch on their non-dominant hand, this is what becomes the norm, and classified as ”the right way to wear a watch”. Since left-handed people have always been a ”minority” in the society, the rule of wearing your watch on the left hand has been ”invented” by a right-handed individual. But the most important part about the ”norm” for wearing your wristwatch on your left wrist is not about something that someone just one day said that this is how it should be. In fact, there are real, actual benefits to wearing your watch on the left hand.
Wearing your watch on the right hand has a few practical advantages. Of course, these practical advantages are only true when you’re right-handed. Now, note that the practical reasons for wearing your watch on the left hand that I’ll go into will focus on right-handed people, as this is what has created the ”rule” of wearing your watch on the left hand. As such, technically, despite the fact that wearing your watch on the left hand is the norm, in order to benefit from these ”advantages”, as a left-handed person, you need to, in theory, wear your watch on your right wrist.
This is the key reason why left-hand watch-wearing is the norm. Since you tend to use your dominant hand more and are more active with it, it’s easier to accidentally scratch or break your watch when wearing it on your right hand. Additionally, if you are right-handed and wear your watch on your right hand, your watch may get in the way, as well as making it harder to twist your wrist. As such, your watch sit uncomfortably as you’re performing tasks using your right hand. For example, if you have a watch, especially a large one on your right wrist and are trying to write by hand using your right wrist, it becomes quite uncomfortable and harder to write.
Meccaniche Veneziane Nereide GMT Diaspro PVD on the left wrist
The vast majority of watches have their crown on the right side of the watch case. If you are wearing your watch on the left hand, the crown becomes easily accessible, making it easy to change the time. If you, on the other hand, wear your watch on the right hand, it becomes essentially impossible to change the time with your watch on your arm. This means that you have to remove the watch in order to set the time.
If you’re right handed, you do more work with your right hand. This means that when your right hand is occupied, it will be easier to quickly check the time without interfering with what it is you’re doing.
Spinnaker Fleuss SP-5055-02 on black vintage leather strap by WatchBandit
Since you’re more active with your right hand as a right-handed person, you will inevitably do more wearing on the watch’s movement as you’re performing tasks. All kinds of shocks, in particular, tend to wear the movement, especially hard shocks which can damage the movement or destroy it completely. For example, if you’re using a hammer and are wearing your watch on the right wrist, you’ll cause major shocks to the movement of the watch, causing it to wear out faster. The same goes for when you’re performing tasks such as playing tennis (yes you use both hands, but mainly your dominant hand) or when you throw something etc.
Formex Essence Chronometer COSC certified Sellita SW200 movement and patented case-suspension system
I’ve already mentioned briefly about how you perform most tasks with the right hand, and the thing is that the world is designed for right-handed people, and this is why it, despite being left-handed, might make sense to use the watch on the left hand. For example, door handles, scissors, computer mouse, watches, and so on, are all designed for right-handed individuals, and this means that in many cases, as a left-handed person, you may still use your right arm a lot when performing various tasks throughout the day, and can thus suffer scratches, especially on the case and metallic bracelet. Using a NATO strap prevents your watch from falling off your wrist, in case a spring bar breaks. Because of its double layered strap, where the watch is fitted in between, the watch will always being held by at least one spring bar. If you want to know more about NATO straps make sure to check out our blog post All you need to know about NATO straps
Installing process of a NATO-Strap on a Rolex
Suggested reading:You don’t need to follow the “stereotype” of wearing your watch on the left wrist – no matter if you’re left or right-handed. The most important part is that you do what feels best for you. Sure, the ”watch norm” says that you should wear your watch on your left hand, but if this just doesn’t work for you, use the other wrist. This is especially true for left-handed people because, in theory, the same rules of practicality as wearing the watch on the left arm for a right-handed people should apply to a left-handed people wearing the watch on the right wrist. Yes, left wrist is most common but that doesn’t mean it is the best alternative for you.
Formex Essence Chronometer Blue with its patented case-suspension system on the left wrist
Jens Wirdenius is the editor-in-chief of marketing blog Veloce International and the influencer directory Veloce Network. He is a social media and marketing nut, sharing his passion for business and digital marketing in his articles.
As you start to read this article, let’s first see how much time it takes. Start by checking the time on your watch. Now stop and note which of your wrists you just raised to read the watch’s dial. For the vast majority of us, it’s the left wrist, right (er… correct)? Did you ever wonder how wearing a watch on one’s left arm became the norm? Let us briefly trace the evolution of portable timekeeping to arrive at the explanation.
Wristwatches, of course, were not the first means by which individuals carried the time around with them. As I explore more extensively in this article, the first watches were essentially miniature clocks worn on a chain around the neck. These somewhat unwieldy timekeepers gave way to pocket watches, which were smaller, more streamlined, and could be worn stylishly inside the pocket of a waistcoat. When one wanted to check the time (as below), one simply reached for his watch inside one of these pockets to consult it, and then stash it again until it was needed.
Utilitarianism and practicality, however, have always been at the core of watchmaking, and the pocket watch ultimately proved to be too impractical for the needs of an evolving 20th-century society. Women started wearing timepieces as bangles on their bracelets as early as the 1800s, but it wasn’t until the 1900s that the utility of a wrist-worn watch became apparent to the male population at large, which had long considered such a device feminine. It started with Louis Cartier’s invention of a wristwatch that his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont could wear while steering a balloon, and continued with the issuing of wristwatches to Allied troops in World War I (whom no one would accuse of being too ladylike). What these male-targeted wristwatches, and those that followed them, had in common was that they freed up both hands for whatever urgent task was at hand while the wearer checked the time. For the former, it was using both hands to operate a flying machine; for the latter, it was loading a weapon while timing the intervals of incoming artillery fire. In the wake of the First World War, the wristwatches that had served soldiers so well on the battlefield finally became the go-to style of timepiece for gentlemen in civilian life as well. It turns out that most gents appreciated the ease of tilting their wrists to glance at the time rather than fish for a pocket watch in a waistcoat (which was soon to be out of style in any case).
It was in the service of practicality that most early wearers of wristwatches wore them on their non-dominant hand — i.e., the hand that you don’t write with, aka the one that is slightly weaker and less dexterous. For most of the human population — anywhere from 85 to 90 percent, according to studies — this hand is the right hand. Wearing the watch on the non-dominant hand simply makes keeping track of the time while performing the duties of everyday life much easier. Imagine, for example, trying to write, sketch, or paint with the same hand on which you’re regularly checking the time. Or checking the time on the wrist of the same hand you’re holding a drink in, which could lead to plenty of absent-minded spills. For that matter, try to envision winding or setting your watch with your less dexterous, non-dominant hand. Wearing the watch on the left hand thus makes the most sense to most watch wearers.
Any southpaws reading this may be wondering at this point if they’re doing something wrong or socially unacceptable. Far from it. While left-handers make up only around 10 percent of the population, their left hand is the dominant one, which makes wearing the watch on their right hand the sensible and practical option. And while most watches are designed with right-handers in mind — i.e, the crown is on the right side of the case, occasionally along with other features like chronograph pushers — there are, in fact, a handful of watch manufacturers that cater to the needs of the left-hand-dominant minority.
For example, Tudor’s Pelagos LHD (above) is based on a diver’s watch the company made for southpaw military divers in the French Navy that had been wearing their government-issue dive watches upside down to more easily access the winding crown (hence the modern watch’s initials “LHD” for “Left Handed Drive.” Another Swiss watchmaker with a history of supplying military divers, Panerai, started offering a left-handed version of its flagship Luminor model — with both the crown and its patented locking bridge device shifted to the left side of the case — since 1940, and has revived it for modern consumers in recent years, including in a chronograph version with an eight-day power reserve.
IWC, famed as a purveyor of watches for aviators, introduced the “Right Hander” version of its Big Pilot’s Watch (above) in 2019. Based on a model from the 1940s, the watch’s massive 46mm case is designed to be worn on the right wrist, with its hallmark diamond-shaped crown poised on the left side. (Apparently, statistics show that even though left-handed people make up only about 10 percent of the general populace, they represent almost 40 percent of pilots. If so, it’s a bit surprising that even more left-hander pilot watches haven’t emerged.) Even the biggest name in luxury sports watches, mighty Rolex, introduced a version of its mega-popular travel watch, the GMT-Master II, for left-handed wearers at Watches & Wonders 2022. The watch (below) represented not only a milestone for legions of lefty Rolex fans but also an attention-grabbing new colorway, featuring a green-and-black bicolor Cerachrom bezel to accompany the modified movement with left-mounted crown and winding stem.
Okay, if you're still with me, now you can check your watch again to see how long it took to read this article. If you're raising your left arm, now you know why. If you're raising your right arm, congratulations; you just might be pilot material.
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