Years ago i had a seiko sarb033. They were affordable then and an internet darling. I wanted to see what the fuss was about. The watch was nice, but i never wore it outside of trying it on once. I was playing a lot of tennis and football (soccer) at the time and my job didnt require formal or business attire. A black and silver 38mm dress watch was sort of wasted on someone who lived in adidas tracksuits.
My idea of a perfect watch was a vintage styled tool watch that looked nice enough and would be suited for 95% of occassions, like a baltic aquascaphe or something like that. Now as my watch collection has evolved, i find myself with way more defined catagories of watches. I dress more business casual now, and have realized you don't really need a 300m diver for daily life, and a dress watch is really adequate and more versatile than i had thought. I actually picked up a white guilloche dial tonneau with blued hands and really love it. This made me think of the seiko033 and how it really isnt a bad watch, it in hindsight has a lot of lovely design details, it just didnt match with what i needed at the time.
I was just curious if anyone else had had a similar experience, with having a good watch but the timing and circumstance proved to be an issue.
I have six and a quarter inch wrists. I tend to favor 36-39mm watches with excptions on either side. As with anything you wear i think it is about understanding what you like and what attributes you have and wearing things to highlight your best qualities. I have at times worn vintage or modern womens watches because the size is a better fit. But smaller is not always better. If a company just shrinks a larger watch often the proportions of the case and the dial look odd. Out and about, It is nice to see when people wear watches that fit them, their attire and their personality. But going beyond that is a fool's errand.