A Guide to “Destro”: Watches from Sinn, Mühle, Citizen, and More

The vast majority of watches on the market feature a crown at 3 o’clock. Some manufacturers play around with the positioning of the crown, though most generally stick to the right side of the case. A small number of watches, however, have crowns on the left side of the case; these watches are called “destro.” It’s something that’s relatively uncommon, despite the obvious advantages of this configuration. Beyond being a natural fit for left-handed people or those who prefer to wear a watch on their right wrist, a destro watch is arguably more comfortable. The crown will never dig into your wrist, nor will it snag on anything. It is precisely this reason that brands producing real-world tool watches tend to lean toward destro designs.  Below, we’ve rounded up seven of our favorite destro watches, most of which are unsurprisingly tactical. Enjoy, and let us know which destro watch is your favorite in the comments section below.

Aevig Corvid MK2

Every watch collection needs a quartz beater watch—one you won’t regret scuffing up while mowing the lawn or playing with the kids. One of my favorite affordable quartz watches in recent memory is the Corvid MK2, a field watch from Netherlands-based brand, Aevig. The Corvid has a familiar design, but mixes things up a bit to stay fresh. Visually, it’s styled as something of a field/pilot watch hybrid, with a certain Bauhaus sensibility tying the whole thing together. It’s clear the watch was created with a designer’s eye; there’s no embellishment, and the blend of visual elements and bold use of color brings to life a watch that might have been dull in the hands of a different brand. The Swiss-made Ronda 703 quartz movement boasts a 6-year battery life, and the screw down crown at 9 o’clock ensures a water resistance of up to 100 meters. The Corvid MK2 is nearly sold out, so get one while you can.

Sinn EZM 3

Sinn is known for producing watches intended for real-world use, and nothing embodies that ethos like their Einsatzzeitmesser/EZM (“mission timer”) series. One of my personal favorites in that collection is the EZM 3, a watch created specifically to meet the needs of German Police Special Forces (GSG-9) for underwater operations. Designed to be used in extreme conditions, the EZM 3 is purposeful in its build; it’s a tool diver with 500 meters of water resistance, AR-dehumidifying technology, an iron core to resist against magnetic fields, and the reason it’s on this list, a destro crown so as to prevent any sort of unintentional snagging or inference with equipment. All of this, it should be noted, is accomplished in a rather svelte body, proving that size need not dictate function when it comes to a dive watch. If you’re a fan of tool watches with some rather cool details (like that killer red-on-black date wheel), the EZM 3 is definitely one to consider.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention two other watches in the same breath—the EZM 13 and the EZM 1, both of which share the same DNA as the EZM 3. For those interested in even more functionality, the EZM 13 is a 500-meter diver with a chronograph function (also destro) that can be used while the watch is submerged. The EZM 1, now long-retired, remains one of Sinn’s coolest watches; it’s an austere chronograph boasting a Lemania 5100 movement and an iconic military design.

Tag Heuer “McQueen” Monaco Calibre 11 CAW211P

The “McQueen” Monaco is perhaps one of the watch world’s most famous racing chronographs, but it might surprise you to read that in the 47 years since its release there hasn’t been a faithful reissue of that fabled watch until 2015. Well, that’s not exactly true; Tag Heuer did release a limited edition in 2009 that aside from being exorbitantly priced was also limited to 1000 pieces.

But in 2015, Tag Heuer—clearly on a heritage kick given the boundless popularity enjoyed by the brand’s back catalogue—released the Monaco “McQueen” Calibre 11 intended to be a mainstay in the brand’s modern collection. Now, it’s not a true Caliber 11 (that would be incredible), but rather a Sellita base with a Dubois-Depraz chronograph module.

Though the dial is largely identical to that of its historical counterpart, the module adds a running seconds counter where the original had a 30-minute chronograph counter. Beyond that, you can hardly tell the two apart. And just as it was on the original, the crown on the reissue is on the left side of the case and the pushers on the right. Needless to say, it’s a timeless design, and while not cheap, current pricing is in line with Tag’s plans to move further toward the more affordable end of the pricing scale.