Over the past two years, we?ve seen an influx of modestly-sized timepieces from the dominant industry players. Even the leaders of the ?wrist-saucer? trend, Panerai and Breitling, have changed their strategy and started developing a more approachable range. It turns out after years of wristwatches growing exponentially to the point where they dwarf anyone that isn?t an Expendables-style action star, not everyone wants to look like the Last Action Hero when they?re at the office. While it?s still more common than not to see watches landing over the 40-mm mark, it?s a good sign for the industry, especially for those with dainty wrists, that we?re slowly shifting back to more classically-proportioned timepieces. We rounded up six watches from the past few years, all from top-selling brands, that embrace the sub-40-mm fit. Tudor
Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight
One of the most discussed watches of last year ? perhaps only overshadowed by its travel-time, Pepsi-colored sibling ? was Tudor?s Black Bay Fifty-Eight. The watch condenses what we love about the Black Bay into a smaller 39-mm by 11.9-mm frame (for reference, the original Black Bay was 41 mm by 14.75 mm) and retains the main attributes of Tudor?s most well-regarded watch family. Yup, the Snowflake hands; the blend of applied triangular, circular, and rectangular indexes; the enlarged crown stamped with the Tudor Rose; and the Tudor shield logo are all here. The Fifty-Eight?s old-school appeal and name come directly from the...