Gender Norms on Watch Size Are Fading, Industry Experts Say

By David Blomquist | June 01, 2026

Smaller watches on men? Larger watches on women? Anything goes when buyers choose a new watch nowadays, according to a JCK Las Vegas panel.

Speaking at Saturday’s JCK Talks seminar on watch trends, a retailer who’s also an influencer, a prominent collector, and an analyst of the resale market for high-end watches agreed that traditional sizing by gender is losing traction.

“You’ve got guys who are wearing tiny watches and women who are wearing giant watches,” said Kathleen McGivney, CEO of RedBar Group, an organization for watch enthusiasts and collectors.

Derek Mon, co-owner of Carat & Co., a watch and jewelry store in Queens, N.Y., and a frequent vlogger on Instagram and YouTube, said customers are hearkening back to the smaller case sizes that were popular decades ago.

He’s been seeing a lot of interest in round watches between 31 and 36 mm, even though men more recently favored sizes larger than 40 mm.

“I’ve seen more men getting into smaller sizes because it’s a little bit more classic—it’s understated,” Mon told the JCK audience. “There’s been a lot of content about really cool watches you can find that are decades old, and a lot of those tend to be smaller.”

McGivney said she expects the trend away from traditional gender labels on watch sizes to accelerate as Gen Z buyers reach the level of affluence where they can afford a luxury watch.

“You’ve got Michael B. Jordan on red carpets with vintage collections that’s all small and gemstones and stuff. That’s influencing the younger generation,” she said. “This might not be an argument for much longer.”

The seminar’s moderator, freelance journalist Barbara Palumbo, mentioned that Timothée Chalamet has been spotted wearing “teeny-tiny Cartiers.”

Mon said gender categories remain useful for first-time buyers who are grappling with a plethora of choices about sizes, features, and colors.

“The labels are really helpful to someone who’s trying to buy their first watch and just wants a little guidance about where they might want to start looking,” he remarked. “But once you start knowing what you’re looking for, you can ignore the labels, and say, ‘Hey, I just like this watch.’”

In addition to size, today’s buyers are looking for more choices in colors and textures, the panel said.

“More bold has been what I keep seeing consistently,” said McGivney. “We’re not just going for a white dial, a black dial, or a blue dial. We’re going for every color.”

Mon noted the growth of stone dials made from materials such as lapis lazuli and malachite. Palumbo reminded attendees of the buzz Rolex created in 2025 when it released a GMT-Master II with a tiger iron dial.

Hamza Masood, head of partnerships for WatchCharts, which gathers data on the aftermarket for collectible watches, said many colored models routinely fetch a premium when resold. He cited models of the Rolex Daytona with a less-common white dial, which typically fetches a higher resale price than the more conventional black dial.

The panelists encouraged retailers to step up promotion of their watch selections on social media, using Instagram to reach a cross-section of age groups, TikTok for younger buyers, and YouTube because of its long-lasting presence in search results.

Mon explained that having a deep history of online content—even if it isn’t professionally produced—enhances a store’s reputation as consumers decide where to buy.

“It’s not about being perfect when making content,” he said. “It’s about building trust.”

Top, from left: Barbara Palumbo, Derek Mon, Kathleen McGivney, and Hamza Masood (photo by David Blomquist)