Is stacking bracelets with a watch a good look?

A recent feature in Hodinkee profiling industrial designer Ini Archibong had readers commenting on his choice of stacking bracelets with his watches, which includes some heavy hitters such as an Everose GMT-Master II and F.P. Journe Chronomètre Bleu. Some expressed disdain for his look, while others commented that this choice fit his personal style and profession well.

Photo by Hodinkee

We’re going to side decidedly against stacking bracelets with your watch simply because our team loves our watches so much that we’d prefer to showcase our watch as the star of the show. Secondarily, while we don’t mind scratching our watches in regular everyday use, we don’t want to invite extra scratches that can be caused by metal bracelets against the watch case.

In other words, don't do this:

Photo by @leslielehrliving

If you really want to dig into the topic of bracelets on men in general, check out this video by our friend Brock McGoff at The Modest Man. Spoiler: He’s generally for it and shows the best way to wear bracelets for men.

Photo by The Modest Man

If you do choose to stack a bracelet or two with your watch, we’d advise choosing a softer material such as leather or nylon. We will say on some people, the look does work, but for most people a simpler look will likely work best. One of the old adages in style is not to try too hard.

Photo by The Modest Man

On the other hand, we believe that for women stacking bracelets with watches is generally a better look. Of course we are acknowledging gender stereotypes, but many women view their watches more like another piece of jewelry to go along with earrings, necklaces and bracelets.

At the end of the day, it’s not really about bracelets for the Everest team. It’s really about a feeling that the watches in our collections are more than enough to create a style statement, whether it’s intended as an outward project or simply a personal private pleasure. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to wear your watches as an expression of your style. If you do like bracelets, wearing them on the opposite wrist is a better choice so that the bracelet (or bracelets) can not compete with what should be a watch you are very proud of.

We’d love to hear your take on jewelry on men in general? Do you consider watches jewelry? Are you in the camp that the only acceptable jewelry for men is a watch or wedding band? Or do you like go full Johnny Depp and stack bracelets with wild abandon? If you do like to stack bracelets with your watches, are there certain watches you think work better with bracelets over others? Hit us up in the comments or on social media, we’d love to hear your thoughts.