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At a period in time where watches keep getting bigger and thicker, it is important to have a good range of thin watches for men. Thankfully not all brands are following the trend of becoming larger and more flamboyant, so there are a huge variety of slimline men’s watches from some very respectable brands.
Thin watches are great because they are suitable for all walks of life. These are not garish and outlandish watches that cannot be worn in the office. Slim watches are lightweight and understated. In short, the thinner the watch, the more low profile it is. It doesn’t really matter how much the watch costs, as other than watch experts, nobody will really know the value of a slim watch unless it is a top luxury brand such as Piaget.
To summarise, the best thin watches are ones which keep a low profile and are understated. These are timepieces that people respect and aren’t really going to divide opinion one way or the other. You aren’t going to be the talk of the office, but neither are people going to be talking behind your back and laughing at how hideous your 51mm gold Invicta is.
This article will outline the thinnest men’s watches you can buy, alongside brands that specifically make thin men’s watches. Generally, thin watches are a little more expensive than typical watches due to the extra money that has been spent on research and development in order to make a watch like this. However, thin, low profile watches do not always have to break the bank and are not exclusive to luxury price points.
Table of Contents
What Is The Thinnest Mens Watch?
The Altiplano ultimate concept is the world’s thinnest watch and is made by Piaget. This timepiece is truly an engineering marvel, measuring only 2mm in thickness. In fact, the watch almost looks unreal – similar to a 2-dimensional drawing. Obviously, this is a mechanical watch, since almost every watch battery ever made is quite a lot thicker than 2mm.
It is not known if this is the most lightweight men’s watch in the world but certainly would take some beating. The Altiplano ultimate concept weighs only 23grams including its strap.
The list price for the Piaget Altiplano is $16 200, however, used models can be found online on reputable websites such as Chrono24 for around 10-20% cheaper than this.
What Is Considered A Thin Watch?
Generally, anything under 10mm is considered to be a thin watch. Unlike specific measurements such as Swiss chronometer standard, there is no absolute system that decides what a thin watch is.
A Rolex Submariner is probably the best indication of a modern watch’s dimensions. This measures 40mm wide and 13mm thick. However, a submariner is certainly not considered to be a thin watch. Therefore having something well under 10mm is generally described as “thin”. Ultra thin may refer to anything under 6mm, since this is when engineering starts to become very difficult.
Are Automatic Watches Thicker?
Yes. Automatic watches are a lot thicker than both standard quartz and hand wound models. The primary reason for this is because the rotor takes up a lot of space inside a small case. Rotors need to have a level of thickness about them so that they weigh enough to move around. If a rotor wasn’t thick enough at the larger end, it would not fall downwards and therefore not wind the watch.
As hand wound watches and quartz watches do not require a rotor, they can fit a smaller movement inside a smaller case. This allows for the production of ultra-thin slimline watches.
The Best Thin Watches For Men
Seiko Solar
Seiko is a huge watchmaker that produces a huge variety of different styles and designs. Not only this, but they are one of the only watch brands which make watches for every price point. Whether it be a Grand Seiko or a Seiko 5, they have every price point covered.
The Seiko solar watch pictured is towards the bottom end of the price range and is one of the most simple and plain looking watches you can buy. Granted it is gold plated, but this is a classic style that was popular during the 1970s, so is certainly not loud or garish. In addition to this, the watch case measures 6.5mm thick, which is very thin. Lastly, much like the Citizen eco-drive series, you will never need to replace a battery when buying this model.
Bulova
Although Bulova is not the brand it once was, it is still a very respectable watchmaker. This plain dial is suited towards a more thin dress watch style and not oversized complicated models. Measuring 6mm in thickness, the Bulova timepiece is pretty much industry standard for a quartz based slimline watch.
The only real drawback of this model is that Bulova has outsourced a lot of its work from Switzerland. This particular model contains a Japanese quartz, rather than Swiss. In terms of timekeeping, this is not a big deal, although it would have been nice to maintain Swiss quality throughout the brand.
Mondaine
One of the most elegant, slim men’s watches you can buy. Arguably the most iconic non-luxury watch design, Mondaine is a brand which has stayed 100% consistent to their style. If you have ever been to a Swiss railway station, you will no doubt recognize the clock with the unmistakable rounded second’s hand.
In terms of specifications, this Mondaine model is obviously slightly higher end than many of the Japanese slimline watches, albeit a little more expensive too. The watch uses a Swiss movement, is 6.2mm thick, and is 30m water resistant – which is pretty good for a watch that is so thin.
Junkers Flatline
At 7mm, the Junkers Flatline is one of the thicker slimline watches that is featured on this list. First of all, it should be noted that this watch is quartz. A mechanical version of this watch is available and also named the flatline, however, it is around double the thickness of the quartz model, so not a true slimline watch.
The nice thing about Junkers is that they use Swiss movements and are assembled in Germany. This assures you that the quality is going to be higher than almost any other watch around this price point. Whilst Ronda are not the best Swiss movements available, they are still very solid and reliable. The flatline makes use of a single subdial to track seconds, rather than featuring a seconds hand on the main dial.
Frederique Constant
Considering that Frederique Constant is an entry-level luxury watch brand, their slimline watches are extremely affordable. One point to make straight off the bat is that if you are to buy these watches at an authorized dealer in person, you are going to pay significantly more money than if you purchase them online.
The case thickness of this watch is only 5mm, which is around 15-20% thinner than the industry average for quartz watches. Even though this is 1mm thinner, this may not seem like a lot, but when you’re trying to cram a movement inside a small space, this is a LOT. Lastly, Frederique Constant makes use of a rounded crown, which is very rare to see on such a slimline timepiece.
Citizen Stilleto Eco-Drive
A classic men’s slimline watch, those who already own a Citizen Eco-drive model will already know just how convenient this watch is. It is quite rare to find an ultra thin watch that is made of stainless steel and isn’t too lightweight, but Citizen offers the Stilleto in 3 different color schemes.
Of course, you will never need to change the battery on this eco-drive watch, since it doesn’t use one. At 5mm thick, this is one of the best value for money thin watches there is. Saying that, due to the complications of fitting all of this technology into such a small space, the Citizen Stilleto is considerably more expensive than other eco-drive watches.
Nomos Metro
Outside of most people’s budgets is the Nomos Metro. If you don’t know about Nomos, you can find more information on them here. In short, they are a fantastic, relatively small German watchmaker that produces all of their watches and movements in-house.
The metro is 7.6mm thick and of course, a hand wound mechanical watch. Nomos are well known for using the traditional Bauhaus simplicity within the dial and design of their watches – this model is no different. In short, this is yet another timepiece finished to a very high quality. Even though Nomos watches cost a lot of money, they are still of great value compared with other luxury brands.
Hamilton Jazzmaster Thinline Automatic
Hamilton is responsible for making one of the thinnest automatic watches you can buy. With a case thickness of 8mm, this variation of the Jazzmaster is arguably more impressive than a 6mm hand wound watch. Managing to fit a rotor into a solid, functioning Swiss movement is no easy task.
The sophisticated brown dial adds to the elegance of the classic design. Unusually, Hamilton prefers a beaded stainless steel bracelet to a solid steel link, leather, or jubilee style pattern.
Reef Tiger
Not the first, second or even eleventh brand you would associate with making a slimline watch. In fairness to Reef Tiger, although they have a very dubious history page on their website, they do deliver in terms of value for money.
This particular watch uses a Hangzhou 7500 movement, which is not quite up to the accuracy of western or Japanese automatic movements but is reliable enough nonetheless. Overall, this just about makes it into the thin watch category, measuring 8mm thick. Given that this watch uses an automatic movement and is relatively cheap, that is pretty good going.
Skagen Melbye
Available in 6 color schemes, the Skagen Melbye is a nice mix between a slim dress watch and something a bit more loud and fashionable. The brand makes good use of a mesh strap to ensure that the watch is going to be lightweight regardless of what materials are used.
The Scandinavian brand produces a stylish 7.6mm watch for the modern man. In terms of Skagen watches, the Melbye is not quite as minimalist as many of the other designs. Granted it is still fairly simplistic, but the day and date window is a nice addition.
