In case you haven’t noticed; big watches are here to stay. Once they where like SUV’s; few and far apart. But the days that you could only choose between a Land Rover, Jeep and Landcruiser are long gone. Every self respecting car brand needs an SUV in their stable, and even brands like Bentley are following suit. Why? Quite simple; because they sell. The need for SUV’s has probably something to do with the wide variety of distar movies that hit us in the late 1990’s. Its hidden message; to have even the slightest chance of survival when a meteorite the size of our sun hits earth YOU NEED AN SUV! Of course these movies often featured big men, with big watches, and in basic marketing terms that means that the little man also wants a big watch so he can feel like a big man. A trend was born!
Darling, with a SUV it just bounces off!
Just as an SUV, do also these big watches rarely have to preform the things they where actually created for. That is actually a good thing because it is very likely that most of its owners would never survive it when they did. But who cares, they look great around the wrist! This also creates the first problem; those big movie men live usually in nice (sub)tropic places where they can wear tight t-shirts to show off the big biceps they got from lifting watches….weights. But roughly half of the markets in which these big watches are being sold are most of the time too cold for this, and a big watch under a sweater looks funny….when it fits to begin with. Some rappers came up with a hole in your French cuffs, Flavor Flav wears it around his neck but the true gentlemen amongst us know that the only way to do it right is like Giovanni Agnelli did it; strap it over the shirt!
Big watches Giovanni Agnelli-style, 1975 (!)
Of course there is also another explanation for staying power of big watches. It’s the old boys network! They stuffed their pockets in the “Greed is good!” 80’s, used it to fund some internetcompanies in the early 90’s, watched a couple of those disastermovies, realized the world might come to an end early and cashed their stocks just before the internetbubble bursted. They are now retired end enjoying the good life but because of slowly deteriating eyesight the only thing they can read on their Rolex President is the date. In comes the big watch. Not only as a statement; I have a big watch watch so I have a big wallet, but also for the practical reason that it is the only way that they can actually read time before resorting to the much more exspensive solution of a minute repeaters. Besides those usually come in very classical, gold cases that makes its owner only look old. Just like the SUV has become the stylish subsitute for the practical stationwagon, big watches did the same for glasses.
In general big watches can be devided in roughly two sections; big aviatorswatches and big diverswatches, and in both cases you get a lot of a good thing that was never intended to wear on dry land! Big aviatorswatches where strapped around the leg of the pilot so that he only had to glance down to check the time, while his hands stay firmly on the controls of his aircraft. Big diverswatches where strapped over the wetsuit, but as soon as they got on dry land the divers quickly changed back to their private watch, in those days most likely with a diameter of 30mm.
It is all his fault!
But just as mankind was never supposed to fly, we also weren’t supposed to wear those hugue watches. In they end we got pretty good at both! Because let’s face it; big watches are just fun! They are impossible to hide, always make a statement and give you the feeling you are wearing a real watch if it was for the weight alone. Big watches are here to stay and therefor I’m starting a new series of articles about watches 44mm and over in diameter, because big boys like big toys!
Richard Mille has crossed into a new frontier. Yet again. With the first release of the RM001 for his eponymous brand in 2001, Mille redefined how a watch could be considered and constructed. Drawing from the design of Formula 1 cars and aviation, he presented a timepiece with innards more resembling a car or an airplane than a traditional watch. He also threw financial caution to the wind, building one that didn’t take cost into mind. It was the artistic execution and realization of vision that drove the creation not the final price tag.
Meehna Goldsmith's fascination with timepieces began with her parents' antique grandfather clock, whose harmonious ticks and chimes echoed throughout the house during her childhood. 
