Which Hand Should I Wear My Wrist Watch On? Left or Right?

There is a non-ending debate on which wrist a watch is supposed to be worn on. A few centuries ago, wristwatches were first worn by military officers to synchronize their activities during the World War.

Back then, there was no official rule set on which wrist to wear a watch.

For a long time running, the left–handed population remains at 12 % or less. Watches are therefore favorably designed to suit right–handed persons with crowns, crown guards, or pushers on the right.

There is a general rule of thumb to wear your watch on your non-dominant hand.

Today, for the sake of highly dominant right–handed humans globally, wristwatches are worn on the left wrist. Right-handed people wear watches on their least dominant wrist (left) to avoid breaking or scratching the watch as well as enhance comfort in working such as writing without hurting the wrist.

If you are a right–handed person, these may be the main reasons to wear your wristwatch on the left wrist.

1. Avoid Damage / Scratch

For right–handed people, it is practical to perform every task with the right hand conveniently. Like any other tool, wrist watches are also biased in design to favor right–handed persons.

As a result, it is very probable to scratch or damage your wristwatch accidentally.

2. Easy To Set The Time

With a crown and pushers on the right side of the watch, it makes setting the time or navigating different functions on the watch with the right hand very easy.

3. Prevent Hurting the Wrist

Imagine wearing a metallic watch on the right hand and writing or hammering with the same hand. This can be quite uncomfortable in the sense that if your watch does not tear apart or break, your wrist will hurt.

Nevertheless, there are still watches on the market designed for left–handed people with crowns, crown guards, pushers and other functions on the left.

Right–handed persons can still decide to wear their watches on the right wrist if that is comfortable and suitable to their style. There are no officially endorsed or accepted rules as to which hand to wear a watch.