# Midsize Engineer Hydrocarbon



## chevy (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi Everyone

Need help on the 'Midsize Engineer Hydrocarbon'. 

What is the actual dial size, case size excluding and including crown?

My wrist size is very small, just over 6 inches and unfortunately I think the 40 & 42mm Hydrocarbon watch will be way too big.

Any Midsize watch-owners out there willing to show some pics, preferably wrist shots. Thanks.

Chevy


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## jaymd (May 17, 2007)

The midcow would be too small for you IMHO.  I have a 6.25 in wrist and the HC fits just fine


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## imtrbo (Aug 21, 2007)

jaymd said:


> The midcow would be too small for you IMHO.  I have a 6.25 in wrist and the HC fits just fine


Same here, my wrist is also about 6.25, and the HC fits very well... the lugs curve very nicely around the wrist.


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## scottw44 (Aug 16, 2006)

just under 6.5 inch wrist here...fit me great...I was quite suprised.

See if you have a local AD, or if you buy online, see if there is a return policy.

PM me if you want some dealer recommendations, and good luck.


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## chevy (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks for your positive comments, the Midsize does sounds too small... now the search is on.


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## chevy (Jan 24, 2008)

One more thing... any chance you guys can post a couple of photo's of you wearing the HC, to see how it sits on the wrist the same size as mine would be invaluable. Thanks.

Chevy


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## sukispop (Nov 13, 2006)

chevy said:


> Hi Everyone
> 
> Need help on the 'Midsize Engineer Hydrocarbon'.
> 
> ...


Hi Chevy,

Welcome to the Ball Watch Company Forum! :-!

The Engineer Hydrocarbon Mid Size(aka "Mid Cow") has a case diameter of 34mm, not counting the crown, and approximately 39mm including the crown. My wife owns the Mid Size, and her wrist is 6.25". I don't have any wrist shots to show you, but I can tell you that it looks great on her wrist..._for a woman_(I know that sounds very sexist...but I couldn't think of any other way to express this :roll: ). It obviously has more wrist presence than a typical tiny ladies dress watch...but the Mid Size doesn't fill her wrist space the way that a man's watch _should_ fill the wrist space of a man's wrist of the same size. Does this make any sense?

Imho, one of the 40mm Hydrocarbons should fit your just over 6" wrist rather well. Ball did something really cool when they designed the basic Hydrocarbon case lugs. They curved them, downward, to a greater degree than those of most other watches. 
This design seems to address two things for the wearer's wrist:
1) The curved lugs cause the watch to look and feel like it's been molded to the individual's wrist. The watch drapes very nicely and it feels very comfortable on. You really have to try a Hydrocarbon on to understand this.
2) With the lugs curved downward, the full sized Hydrocarbons shouldn't look too large for folks with small-medium wrists(6"-7.5"). And for many of these folks, there shouldn't be any lug "overhang". 
_*These comments are just my humble opinion...and remember--YMMV!*_

I have the 42mm Hydrocarbon Ti "Mad Cow", and it looks great(imho) on my 7.125" wrist. In fact, I think I still have a _skosh_ more room left, and could probably do fine with a 44mm Hydrocarbon if one existed! b-)

Chevy, if there's an AD within a reasonable drive's distance, I would highly recommend a visit. Try on a 40mm Hydrocarbon(Classic I or II, GMT, TMT, or Magnate), get a feel for it, and see if it doesn't look fabulous on your wrist. See which Ball watch calls out to you...don't resist! :-d

Good luck, Chevy! Glad to have you with us! ;-)

_ Oh, and here's a wrist shot of my 42mm Mad Cow, on my 7.125" wrist--_









_And here's a shot of the 34mm Mid Size next to my 42mm Mad Cow, for size comparison--_









_Here's another good comparison shot of the two--








_


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## chevy (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks Geoff for your very detailed reply. I am now convinced one of the HC's watches will suit me perfectly. Your photo's are great (looks awesome on) and shows the great design of the curved case lugs, fantastic.

Unfortunately I am unable to visit any AD and see the watches in person but the advice I have received from everyone is invaluable, thanks for everything.

Now... which one do i choose... the fun begins.

Chevy


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## jaymd (May 17, 2007)

heres some wristshots :-d its a 40mm case but im not sure





































midsize smp for comparison


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## chevy (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks Jay, great photo's. The 40mm fits the wrist beautifully and the White Magnate is stunning... I think my decision has been made. 

Many thanks to everyone once again.


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## scottw44 (Aug 16, 2006)

White Magnate...Great Call!


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## sukispop (Nov 13, 2006)

jaymd said:


> midsize smp for comparison


Hi Jay,

I love your SMP Mid Size! I believe the mid size is 36.25mm w/o crown, right? It looks great on your wrist, my friend! :-!
I've been looking seriously at SMPs since selling off some of my watches that haven't been getting any wrist time(My Mad Cow's largely to blame for that! :-d ). Ball is my favorite brand, by far, but I've always wanted to get an Omega. I was going to buy the full size version of your watch, ref. 2254.50...but then I had a chance to snag this, instead...









'Just arrived, today...and I gotta say that I'm lovin' it! It's an _"America's Cup Ltd. Ed."_, ref. 2533.50. It's a really nice piece, ss bracelet and case(except for bezel insert, which is 18k white gold)...but compared to my ti and ss Mad Cow, it's a lightweight!

;-)


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## jaymd (May 17, 2007)

sukispop said:


> Hi Jay,
> 
> I love your SMP Mid Size! I believe the mid size is 36.25mm w/o crown, right? It looks great on your wrist, my friend! :-!
> I've been looking seriously at SMPs since selling off some of my watches that haven't been getting any wrist time(My Mad Cow's largely to blame for that! :-d ). Ball is my favorite brand, by far, but I've always wanted to get an Omega. I was going to buy the full size version of your watch, ref. 2254.50...but then I had a chance to snag this, instead...
> ...


I think its roughly around 36 mm :think:. Congrats on the pick-up! Clean and lovely dial Im sure you will love the lume on the SMP. The OM's lume is a lighter shade of green and brighter but the SMP's lume lasts loooonger:-!BTW what year was that released?


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## sukispop (Nov 13, 2006)

jaymd said:


> Congrats on the pick-up! Clean and lovely dial Im sure you will love the lume on the SMP. The OM's lume is a lighter shade of green and brighter but the SMP's lume lasts loooonger:-!BTW what year was that released?


Thanks, Jay! :-!

This is a full size SMP, so it's 41mm. I've only walked around inside the house with this watch on, and it's pretty cool how the daylight coming through the windows has been charging the SL. Don't know how it compares with the Seiko Monster, but the lume seems pretty darned good. |>

I'm not positive, but I believe Omega released this America's Cup model sometime in 1999-2000, in anticipation of The America's Cup 2000 in New Zealand. This model was limited to 9,999 pcs worldwide...certainly not super rare...but kinda rare.

;-)


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## scottw44 (Aug 16, 2006)

Nice watch Geoff...wear it in good health! Omega is a classic brand and everyone should have one in their collection. Mine is from 1955, but I have one


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## fm sam (Oct 29, 2013)

here is my 7" wrist with the ball hydrocarbon ceramic mid on it


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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

fm sam said:


> here is my 7" wrist with the ball hydrocarbon ceramic mid on it
> View attachment 1266047


Probably better starting a new thread than digging up the long dead 5 1/2 year old one. Your MidSize is 2mm larger than the Gen 1 version.


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## ~tc~ (Dec 9, 2011)

samanator said:


> Probably better starting a new thread than digging up the long dead 5 1/2 year old one.


Yeah, this is WUS after all, home of 1,000,000 threads on each topic


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## Lil Drummer Boy (Aug 12, 2015)

I hope you all don't get too mad for my necromancy on a long dead thread, but my question seems in line with the topic and I thought this might be the better route than a new thread.

Now that my advanced mea culpa is out of the way... 

I'm a skinny guy - I have an approximately 6 5/8" wrist and my watch band is approx 7". I've not owned a modern luxury watch so to my eyes they can look enormous on me. So I've looked at the latest (I believe?) hydrocarbon midsize (stated diameter of 36mm). Knowing opinions are like... well, they're plentiful... what are the various opinions hereon whether the 36mm midsize is more suited to my wrist size or if I need to get with the times and see that a 42mm is plenty fine and just looks enormous to me because I'm stuck in the stone ages.


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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

Lil Drummer Boy said:


> I hope you all don't get too mad for my necromancy on a long dead thread, but my question seems in line with the topic and I thought this might be the better route than a new thread.
> 
> Now that my advanced mea culpa is out of the way...
> 
> I'm a skinny guy - I have an approximately 6 5/8" wrist and my watch band is approx 7". I've not owned a modern luxury watch so to my eyes they can look enormous on me. So I've looked at the latest (I believe?) hydrocarbon midsize (stated diameter of 36mm). Knowing opinions are like... well, they're plentiful... what are the various opinions hereon whether the 36mm midsize is more suited to my wrist size or if I need to get with the times and see that a 42mm is plenty fine and just looks enormous to me because I'm stuck in the stone ages.


The mid size works on wrist sizes about an inch less than yours. My wife has the original 36mm and it looks correct on her smaller wrist. I would try a Skindiver 1. Seems to adjust to various wrist size well. The EMII Diver also wears small. I do not know about the new diver pro since I have note had one on my wrist. Definitely find and AD and try it.


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## Lil Drummer Boy (Aug 12, 2015)

Ok, so my apologies. Yesterday after work I swung by the local AD and not only does a 42mm hydrocarbon fit... it looked really good


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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

Lil Drummer Boy said:


> Ok, so my apologies. Yesterday after work I swung by the local AD and not only does a 42mm hydrocarbon fit... it looked really good


Which one did you look at?


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## Lil Drummer Boy (Aug 12, 2015)

samanator said:


> Which one did you look at?


The X Lume and Airborne black dial.


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## Voodoo13 (Jun 6, 2013)

The X Lume is a great watch. 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


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## Lil Drummer Boy (Aug 12, 2015)

Voodoo13 said:


> The X Lume is a great watch.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


I'm pretty taken by it. I like the bulk of the X-Lume but its curve just hugs my wrist. So it's tall, but doesn't stick out past my wrist.

I'm curious as to the reason of the back having a pilot given it's a diving watch?


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## diablogt (Oct 11, 2009)

In my opinion, with a small wrist, using a strap that leaves no gap in the lugs would make the watch look much better fit. This is what In talking about (42mm watch with long lugs on a 6.5 wrist):


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## Lil Drummer Boy (Aug 12, 2015)

diablogt said:


> In my opinion, with a small wrist, using a strap that leaves no gap in the lugs would make the watch look much better fit. This is what In talking about (42mm watch with long lugs on a 6.5 wrist):


Good thought - and thanks for posting the picture (looks good!).


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## ~tc~ (Dec 9, 2011)

Lil Drummer Boy said:


> I'm pretty taken by it. I like the bulk of the X-Lume but its curve just hugs my wrist. So it's tall, but doesn't stick out past my wrist.
> 
> I'm curious as to the reason of the back having a pilot given it's a diving watch?


It's not a diving watch, it's a "space" watch


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