15450 - comparisons

[tonupbklyn]

given the recent burgeoning interest for the 450, and questions/concerns about its sizing, i thought i'd share some comparo shots against other models that have been referenced in other posts/threads on this very topic.
was going to just add this as a reply to one of the existing threads of the 450 but didn't want to hijack the OPs - apologies to the forum if this is just piling on redundancy, but thought a separate thread would be helpful to those interested in this topic.

i wore each of the models on my wrist past the ulnar head. this location leaves no slack in the bracelets, but by no means are they 'stretched' or tight. i oftentimes wear my watches in this position if i don't want the watch to jiggle around - this part of the wrist is approx 7-1/8".
other times i do wear my watches closer to the fold of the wrist, on the opposite side of the ulnar head. obviously with my arms down to my sides (eg, walking), the watch naturally falls to that location. at this position, there is more slack in the bracelets but not so much so that the watch can rotate around my wrist. at very best, each of the watches can rotate about 1/8-1/4 around...which isn't a lot, i'd say there's just enough slack to allow the bracelet to 'breathe'.
in warmer temps, the wrists will swell up a bit...but even through humid NY summers, i've been able to keep the bracelets sized evenly throughout.
these shots were taken indoor at ambient temp of approx 70F (21C).

i shot side-by-side comparisons with the bracelets fully hanging down to demonstrate a point that has come across many times with regard to the RO. due to its case/bracelet design (in particular the plots that connect the bracelet to the case) the lug length wears significantly larger than the technical diameter of the case. i believe this is what contributes to the often observed comment/opinion that the 202 (technically 39mm) wears more like a 40-41 and the 400 (technically a 41mm) wears more like a 42-43. so on and so forth with even the ROOs.

there was a comment made either on this thread or another post referencing the 450's wear relative to the daytona. as u can see by their comparison, the 450's overall lug length is almost identical to that of the daytona...even though the daytona is technically 3mm wider in diameter at 40mm.
same goes for the comparison to the 36mm president. yes the 450 is 1mm larger than the prezi, but this comparo is slightly mixed in that whilst the 450 is both technically larger and might sit larger on the wrist, that is somewhat offset by the fact that the actual dial diameter of the prezi is wider than the 450 (the bezel and sidewall of the case is visibly narrower than that of the 450). go figure.

one final thought as i made these comparisons...
i'm not certain if comparing the other steel models against a yellow gold version of the 450 had any effects to their VISUAL comparisons. i did not have any interest for the SS version...in my mind the SS would wear 'smaller' than the YG version. now, i'm technically incorrect (and likely full of shit!) in that that they're both 37mm. however, much like the the effect that the case/bracelet design of the RO makes it wear larger on the wrist, i think the weight of the YG gives me the mental (if not somewhat optical) perception that it wears larger than its SS counterpart. furthermore, i think the yellow/blue visual combo gives it the appearance of standing out more than the SS/blue combo...again, contributing to my visual/mental/physical perception that it wears larger.
whatever.

hope these comparisons are interesting/useful/helpful.
cheers

[Kamen]

Excellent thread. Thanks for the pics!!

[krh7]

thanks. very helpful.

[soundserious]

Good lord you have some nice watches sir.

[erredi7734]

Very helpful comparison
Thanks for sharing

Beautiful pieces!

[glamorama]

Thanks, very helpful. Those shots explain a lot.

[multimedia]

Thanks for sharing! This is excellent stuff.

And yes, an excellent collection as well ;)

Cheers,
Joe

[Rachdanon]

Thanks for the effort. Your wrist is big. I think the 400 looks best on you. You can certainly pull off panerais or h mosers, and likely look good in them too.

[tonupbklyn]

Originally Posted by Rachdanon

Thanks for the effort. Your wrist is big. I think the 400 looks best on you. You can certainly pull off panerais or h mosers, and likely look good in them too.

i don't disagree with u, i can and have pulled off larger sizes. my adventures in AP started with my then grail, the 42 black themes offshore. at that time me entire collection was 42mm+.

my tastes quickly turned toward smaller cases, which is when my attention turned toward the royal oaks. in fact, it was the 400 that first caught my eye - even today i prefer the 400's grande tapisserie dial (which is shared on the 450) over the petite of the 202. so even just from that respect I've come back to what started the attraction.

i ended up going with the jumbo cuz i made a concerted effort to go smaller.
also, with larger cases like the 400 or ROO, it depends on where it sits on the wrist. as I've tried to show in the wrist shots, if sits higher up, a larger case has a greater chance of looking 'right'. but oftentimes the watch does sit closer to the fold, at which point, for me, larger watches (at certain angles) look off.

here's a comparison demonstrating this, with my then 42mm black themes (i do miss her!)

[Frits1980]

Thanks so much. I had a hard time choosing between the 450 and 400 (6,8' wrist). Seeing your fotos i made my choice. I'm going for the 450.

[tonupbklyn]

Originally Posted by Frits1980

Thanks so much. I had a hard time choosing between the 450 and 400 (6,8' wrist). Seeing your fotos i made my choice. I'm going for the 450.

glad the photos were useful.
I don't believe you'll necessary go wrong with the 400 - after all, taste in completely individual and subjective.

having said that, if ur wrist is smaller than mine (which is what it sounds like) I am of the opinion that the 450 will be more proportional for ur wrist.

if ur going for pure sport look, the largess of the 400 on ur wrist may be the look you're seeking. much the way a 44mm ROO appears on most owners' wrists (unless u have a 8"+ wrist, a 44 ROO is going to look massive no matter what, don't care what others may try to debate).

conversely, I think the 450 has the greater flexibility to look both sporty and dressy...at ur wrist size.

here's a shot of the 400 on my 7" wrist back when my RO adventure started last year. I think it still does/can work... but for me, like the black themes had before it, it wasn't exactly right.

[Frits1980]

Personaly i think the 450 looks better on you but you can pull the 400 without problems as well. I intend to use the AP between sporty (t-shirt) and dress (suit) so the 450 with my wrist size should be fine for that purpose.

[walds11]

I recently tried on a 15300 and it wore borderline too big on my 6.5” wrist. I tried on the 15450 at an AD yesterday. They didn’t have any SS models, so I tried on TT. It fit perfect on my wrist. It’s wears like 39-40mm a Rolex sports model. Pretty close to a Daytona or Explorer I. As others have stated, the 15450 would be great in both dressy and sporty occasions. A very versatile timepiece!

[TimeOnHand]

Thanks for taking the time to do the comparisons! Very helpful indeed!

[DCheeta]

Originally Posted by walds11

I recently tried on a 15300 and it wore borderline too big on my 6.5” wrist. I tried on the 15450 at an AD yesterday. They didn’t have any SS models, so I tried on TT. It fit perfect on my wrist. It’s wears like 39-40mm a Rolex sports model. Pretty close to a Daytona or Explorer I. As others have stated, the 15450 would be great in both dressy and sporty occasions. A very versatile timepiece!

My wrist is 6.5” as well and this was also my experience. The 15450 fit me perfectly, similar to how a Daytona fits me.

I’m glad this thread came up again, because I owe tonupbklyn a debt of gratitude. The descriptions and comparison photos here helped finalize my decision to pick up a blue 15450 a few weeks ago, and it is absolutely perfect for me. (I actually had to shorten the bracelet by a half of a link.)

Here it is on my 6.5” wrist, and my 14060 for comparison since nearly everyone is familiar with how a 5-digit sport Rolex wears.

[walds11]

Originally Posted by DCheeta

My wrist is 6.5” as well and this was also my experience. The 15450 fit me perfectly, similar to how a Daytona fits me.

I’m glad this thread came up again, because I owe tonupbklyn a debt of gratitude. The descriptions and comparison photos here helped finalize my decision to pick up a blue 15450 a few weeks ago, and it is absolutely perfect for me. (I actually had to shorten the bracelet by a half of a link.)

Here it is on my 6.5” wrist, and my 14060 for comparison since nearly everyone is familiar with how a 5-digit sport Rolex wears.

Very nice I love that blue dial. Gotta find me one!

[tonupbklyn]

wow, the 450 actually seems to wear larger than the sub... impressive.
congrats on the addition, thrilled u r so pleased with it!

[TimeOnHand]

450 certainly has the perfect wrist presence for people like us with smaller wrists!

[rohk]

I have a little under 7 inch wrist and got the 450. I was surprised of the dial size though.. smaller than I was thought. Did you have to add any additional links? I have 4 on each side, but sometimes it feels a bit tight during the swell. I might add 1 more link that I just purchased but I feel like it might be too loose at that point.

[TooWoundUp]

Would someone with a 7 inch wrist post a shot of their 450 from a little farther away? All the close ups look fantastic but do mess with perspective a bit. Thanks!

[tonupbklyn]

geeze, i just (sadly) realized that all the pieces in this comparo are no longer in the drawer!

[rohk]

Originally Posted by TooWoundUp

Would someone with a 7 inch wrist post a shot of their 450 from a little farther away? All the close ups look fantastic but do mess with perspective a bit. Thanks!

I've posted 2 photos in your original thread.

[TooWoundUp]

Just saw them, thanks!

[Bearxj86]

My 6.75 inch wrist agrees very much with the 15450 and 14790. I do like once in a while to wear the 15400 but it is not the right size or comfortable enough for long-term wearing.

My 14790 might be the most comfortable, thin, and well proportioned watch for me. However it does not have the sizzle of a large shiny 41mm or offshore on the wrist.

[jag32]

Originally Posted by TooWoundUp

Would someone with a 7 inch wrist post a shot of their 450 from a little farther away? All the close ups look fantastic but do mess with perspective a bit. Thanks!

I would also like to see photos of the 15450 from farther away.

[jag32]

Is it me or does the 15450 wear as the SAME SIZE as the Nautilus????

[rohk]

Originally Posted by jag32

I would also like to see photos of the 15450 from farther away.

I posted a couple of comparison photos and "far away" shots.
https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=683875

[Commonproject]

Originally Posted by jag32

Is it me or does the 15450 wear as the SAME SIZE as the Nautilus????

It may look like it would in closer up pictures but I finally saw one in real life and unfortunately it looks very small, even on my 6.25 inch wrist. Compared to my Explorer I 39mm it even looks a lot smaller. The main issue is that the dial itself is small, even if including the bezel/lugs are long. I was quite disappointed.

[jag32]

Originally Posted by Commonproject

It may look like it would in closer up pictures but I finally saw one in real life and unfortunately it looks very small, even on my 6.25 inch wrist. Compared to my Explorer I 39mm it even looks a lot smaller. The main issue is that the dial itself is small, even if including the bezel/lugs are long. I was quite disappointed.

Aw man. And I was about to pull the trigger on a full YG 15450

[Commonproject]

Originally Posted by jag32

Aw man. And I was about to pull the trigger on a full YG 15450

Sorry but may be good to still try it for yourself. Usually ADs or AP Boutiques have at least a female diamond bezel version of 15450.