While you may not necessarily know it, there is in fact a correct wrist on which to wear a watch. When the crown is located at the 3 o’clock mark, the watch should be worn on your left wrist. When the crown is at 9 o’clock? It’s intended to be worn on the right hand. Yet, confusingly, the watch worn on your left hand is called a right hand watch while the watch worn on your right is called a left hand or ‘destro’ watch.
This confusing nomenclature is because the handedness of a watch is determined not by the wrist it is worn on – but which hand is used to adjust the crown or fiddle with the pushers. While you may only use the crown on your watch to adjust the time after getting off of a flight – it used to be a much more frequently used tool. Back in the old days before Quartz movements took over the world, one had to either wind a watch in order to keep it ticking (mechanical movements), or fiddled with to make up for the time that an mechanical automatic watch dropped or picked up over the days or weeks. Given that most people are right-handed (and even more were back in the day), you’ll find a lot more watches on the market with crowns located at 3 o’clock. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few left-handed watches out there. Sure, they’re harder to find than most right-handed watches, but they’re most definitely out there. We dove into the world of watches to try and surface a few favorites. Take a look at our list of the best left-handed watches and see for yourself.
Nixon Chronicle SS
You don’t necessarily have to break the bank and hunt under the couch for quarters in order to get a left-handed watch on your wrist. The skate and surf brand nixon has a model of their own dubbed the Chronicle SS. The large 48.5mm case houses an Auartz movement that drives three hands around the black and grey dial, as well as a date window that sits below a raised magnifying crystal at 9 o’clock.
Citizen Promaster Diver
When you go searching for left-handed watches, you’re going to come across a whole lot of diving timepieces. It isn’t because divers are primarily left-handed (although that’d be kind of cool). It is because divers often wear important instruments on their left hand – leaving no room for a big, bold-faced watch like this one from Citizen. This features a 48mm stainless steel case with a mineral dial window and integrated Eco Drive tech that fuels the Quartz movement with solar energy. That means it never needs a new battery. For easy readability even down in the soupiest of water, the timepiece features oversized indices, hands, and bezel with prominent lume. So long as you don’t go below 1,000 feet – this should serve you well.
Apple Watch Series 3
The Apple Watch isn’t necessarily a left-handed watch, but then again, it isn’t really a right-handed watch, either. When you check your watch settings on your phone, you’ll find that you can switch the orientation of the face from right-handed (the default), to left-handed. Understandably, this isn’t the most stand-out feature on the watch. It boasts cellular and Wi-Fi capability, is water resistant to 50 meters, boasts a 16GB capacity, and can keep track of your fitness – thanks to a heart rate sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope. Not bad, for a lefty.
Seven Friday M2/01
The fact that this watch from Seven Friday is left-handed is probably one of the least interesting things about it. The watch has a unique 3-disc design (one for seconds, another for minutes, and the third for hours) driven by an automatic Miyota 8215 movement with a 40-hour power reserve. And as its looks would lead you to believe – it is far from old-school. It has an NFC enabled chip that syncs with your phone when an accompanying app is downloaded. And yeah – as you’d imagine, this is a big watch. Like, 47mm big.
Breitling Chrono-Matic Chronograph Vintage Cal. 112
This is not a watch you’re going to be able to find on Breitling’s main website or at any old brick and mortar store. We dug this one up on one of the best onlinevintage watch shops. Hailing from the 1970s, this panda-dial chronograph from Breitling features a crown on the 9 o’clock marker, and the two pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock. When wound, that crown puts energy into a Caliber 112 automatic movement that beats at a frequency of 19800 A/h. Being from the 1970s, the watch features a smaller, 38mm case with a plexiglass cover that sits just above the white face, two sub-dials, and a date window.
Tudor Pelagos LHD
This left handed dive watch from Tudor may honestly be the most handsome among this bunch. It has a 42mm titanium and steel case with a fine satin finish, a black unidirectional bezel with luminescent Arabic numerals, and a trio of hands – including the famous snowflake design. Those hands and date window are driven around the black face courtesy of a Manufacture Calibre MT5612-LHD movement with a power reserve of 70 hours. And because this watch was made for serious divers – it is waterproof down to 1,640 feet.
Sinn Diving Watch U1000
Sinn is among the few watchmakers out there that still seriously makes left handed dive watches. The case on this one is made from a high strength German submarine steel that’s been developed to be seawater-resistant. But that’s not the only interesting thing about this timepiece. It has an insane 1,000m diving depth (that is 3,280.84 feet, for the record), and a 44mm case that holds big, luminescent hands and a rotating luminescent bezel.
Tag Heuer Monaco Calibre 11
First Introduced in 1969 to celebrate the Monaco Grand Prix, this watch from Tag Heuer has come to be an icon in the watch world. This is thanks, at least in part, to the fact that Steve McQueen sported the wristwatch in the racing film Le Mans in 1971. But star power only goes so far. The watch has remained a compelling one in large part thanks to its attractive build and reliable movement. The unique square 39mm case holds a sun ray brushed dial with two sub-dials, a date window, and a trio of hands that are driven around the watch’s face by a Calibre 11 automatic movement.
Omega Seamaster Ploprof 1200m
This hefty and fun diving watch from Omega is an update to their 1970 model of the Seamaster Professional 600. It boasts a monstrous 55mm steel case that protects the caliber Omega 8500 60 hour power reserve movement from water down to depths as far as 4,000 feet. That beating heart at the center of the watch not only propels the trio of luminescent hands around the face of the watch, but it powers the date window at four o’clock.
Officine Panerai Luminor 1950 Left-Handed
Panerai is one of the oldest dive watch makers out there. The Italian watch brand made timepieces for Italian Frogmen in the 1940s and has continued producing high quality timepieces since. Their left-handed watches, often called ‘destro’ watches (‘destro’ meaning ‘right’ in Italian), often feature a prominent crown protection, and their famous clean dial.
20 Best Dive Watches
Want to delve a bit deeper into the world of dive watches? Take a look at our rundown of the best divers out there.
