Can Guys With Small Wrists Wear a Speedmaster?

If you’re like many men, the Omega Speedmaster is a grail-level watch. However, you may be wondering if they work well for men with small wrists. Here’s my take.

The word ‘icon’ is tossed around with some regularity. An ‘iconic’ painting. An ‘iconic’ machine, car, plane, etc. 

Or, if you ask my wife, Beyonce. Given her husband’s penchant for exotic timepieces, we should consider watches as icons. 

Yes, the Rolex Datejust and Submariner are world-renowned and rightly called such. But, there’s another: Omega’s Speedmaster family.  

Men went to the Moon wearing them. In case ‘Moonwatch’ isn’t a dead giveaway, Omega is kind enough to (literally) engrave The First Watch Worn on the Moon on said Moonwatch.

But, even though the piece wears a little smaller than the 42mm spec sheet readout says, it can still be a dinner plate for us smaller-wristed guys. 

Being the global fashion brand Omega is, variants have developed over the decades, including the Speedmaster “Reduced”, a 39mm variant recently covered on this fair website. If you’ve got a wrist under seven inches, it’s probably a good starting point.

It is a fine watch and can be had for a more-than-reasonable price on a host of third-party sites. But, it ceased production in 2009. Believe it or not, watch technology has come a long way since then and there are quite a few improvements.

So, what if you’re looking for a compact Speedmaster with something a little more modern under the hood? Consider the Speedmaster 38 Co-Axial. 

Special thanks to Bob’s Watches for lending me this piece to review. 

The Speedmaster 38 Co-Axial Inside and Out

My version for the week was Reference (deep breath) 324.30.38.50.01.001. 

The heart of the watch is Omega’s Caliber 3300. This movement is based on Longines’ (also under the Swatch Group umbrella) L688.2-which is, in turn, based on the ETA/Valjoux 7750 movement- one of the world’s most commonly-used chronograph movements. 

It’s worth noting earlier versions of the 33xx series from Omega weren’t well-loved by hardcore watch nerds. But, again, it’s leagues beyond what you’ll find in a Reduced. 

To my eye, the movement and second-hand sweep are pleasing and perfectly sufficient for most casual observers. 

This is, like the Speedmaster Reduced — and unlike traditional Moonwatches — an automatic movement. While I have a couple of handwind dress watches I like to set, I appreciate the convenience of an automatic movement.

The 52-hour power reserve isn’t a world-beater, but it is a couple more than full-scale Professionals and far more than the 40 you get with the Reduced. 

With a case diameter of 38mm and a tidy 44.9 lug-to-lug, all of this arrives in a pretty compact package, at least horizontally. 

With a thickness, though, of 14.7mm, this has vertical wrist presence. Surprisingly, I didn’t have much difficulty slipping it under an OCBD cuff, but it wears taller than a traditional Moonwatch. 

The crystal is sapphire, unlike traditional Moonwatches and pre-2006 Reduced models.

Omega’s applied anti-reflective coating to both sides, which makes for a beautifully clear dial that seems to turn one into Narcissus (although I suppose even he couldn’t see his reflection in this thing). 

The links, also unlike traditional Moonwatch models, are polished. This gives a brighter, dressier appearance. 

While, Apollo splashdowns notwithstanding, none of the Speedmasters were designed for heavy water usage, the 38 has 10 bars/100m/330ft of water resistance.

You’d be okay taking it for a swim, which is probably more than can be said for the Reduced models-which only offer 30 meters. 

What Works

Now for a few things I like about this watch:

Fit and Wearing Experience

Simply delightful. The fit and proportions are excellent for my 6.7” (19cm) wrist.

The compact lug-to-lug and black dial help the watch wear, to my eye, like a true 38mm. It sits squarely in the middle of my wrist.

Not too big it screams “Hey Everyone! I’m wearing a Speedmaster! Come and see how good I look!”, but certainly not small enough to miss it.

It took some time to get comfortable with the bracelet. At first, it seemed thin. Dainty, even. It’s so light — and so comfortable — though, it was easy to forget I was wearing a watch.

But, it got better as I wore it. As someone who’s used to a more substantial Aqua Terra, it was actually quite nice. 

I chalk much of this change up to a few things. First, smaller links allow better wrist contouring. I prefer a close fit and jangling bands are irritating. It’s a watch — not a bangle.

With the flexible, smaller links it sits closer to my skin without constricting or pulling hairs on my arm. I can easily slide my pointer finger under the band and have it snap right back. 

Ease of Styling

The watch fit neatly into my weekday early winter WFH rotation of jeans or heavyweight chinos, an Oxford shirt, and a chunky cardigan. It worked well for quick errands in a waxed jacket and my much-loved Common Projects.

I didn’t get to dress up much in the week with it, but it would be right at home with a sophisticated turtleneck sweater in black, charcoal, or burgundy and a grey flannel suit.

I’d argue the understated wrist presence may be better than the Moonwatch with business attire, even if it sits a little higher on the wrist. 

With the sapphire crystal comes a more polished bracelet. This is a decidedly more ‘blingy’ version of a Speedy than the classic Hezalite version with a brushed bracelet. I warmed up to it over my week, but it’s something to be aware of.

What Doesn’t Work 

Here are a few things I didn’t like about this watch: 

Fit

I’m notoriously difficult (and picky, I’ll admit) to fit. My Aqua Terra lacks micro adjust, and I have to play around with a few different combinations of full and partial links to get the desired fit. But, I got a great fit on this watch right when it arrived from Bob’s.

The Speedmaster Co-Axial achieves a sleek wrist presence but gives up an adjustable bracelet in the process. The smaller links, in theory, should make it a bit easier to dial (pardon the pun) in your fit, but I can’t guarantee it. 

Picking Aesthetic Nits

The vitriol on forums about aesthetic characteristics can be almost laughable. In many cases, these self-professed ‘watch guys’ should probably go outside and play. But, I’ve got a few qualms with this version. 

First, the tachymeter notches aren’t my thing. I suppose they’re there to enhance legibility on a smaller case, but I think it disrupts the overall flow. 

Second, the pushers are oddly bulbous and appear unbalanced against this case size. My assumption is Omega went for function over form.

A smaller pusher might look better, but would be harder to, well, push… kind of defeating the purpose of said pusher.

But, I’ve got a Seiko Prospex Speedtimer 39mm with smaller pushers and haven’t had an issue. 

Third, the subdials appear, to my eye, a little crowded on the watch face. It could be we’re simply operating on a smaller scale and a sacrifice Omega needed to make.

Or, the addition of a fourth line of text (Omega/Speedmaster/CoAxial/Chronometer) throws off the harmony the Professional dial so effortlessly achieves.

But, what do I know? I’m not a watch critic. I’m just some guy on the internet who likes this stuff. 

Is This A Speedmaster?

To put a bow on this,  let’s try to answer the two questions I posed earlier. First, is this, indeed, a Speedmaster? And, should you consider one as a modern alternative to the Speedmaster Reduced? 

In short — yes, this is a Speedmaster. Early and, frankly, ridiculous chatter around the watch-centric corner of the Internet implied the Speedmaster CoAxial was somehow the “women’s” version. Give me a break! Wear what you like, especially if it fits your wrist. 

Now, should you consider one as an alternative to the Speedmaster Reduced? The answer is perhaps. You can walk into an Omega boutique or AD and pick one up for, at the time of writing, about $5600. 

Or, you can go through a reputable third-party dealer, like Bob’s Watches, and find it for substantially less. Even so, it’s almost double what you’d pay for a decent version of a Reduced model.

But, you’re getting a technically superior movement to the Reduced, a beautifully clear crystal with double-side AR coating to gaze at lovingly, a supremely comfortable bracelet, and perhaps a little extra cache of something shiny and new. 

Is this worth the extra to me? Yes, I think so. Especially if I can pick it up for less than retail. To you? Perhaps. 

However, if it were me and I had to spend over $5000 on a Speedmaster, I’d actually consider the First Omega in Space.

While it’s still sub 40mm, I think the use of dial space is better, pushers are less ‘squat’, and it comes on a leather strap, which I find myself wearing more of these days. But, those are harder to find. 

It’s your call, though. What would you choose? Thanks, again, to Bob’s for lending this piece to review.