Explorer 39 versus 40, for an Omega 42 mm guy

[romegalex]

This is my first post, so please give me a little Grace, as I humble myself, and fully admit the amount that I don't know. :-)

I'm so sorry, because I know that this is probably been discussed a whole lot before. But there's always some sort of small detail that makes us unique, at least makes us think that we are unique.

I only recently became a watch guy, maybe in the last 6 to 12 months. But like most things, I try to hit it hard, and do things right, in my eyes, from the beginning.

For a couple months, I've been wearing a first generation Omega Aqua Terra ("AT") which has a 42MM diameter. My wrist is right around 7 in.

I honestly love just about everything about the AT, except for the legibility. I find that it's a little difficult to read in either very bright light, or very low light. Middle of the day is fine, but I'm having more trouble than I would like too often. It's a gorgeous watch and I truly enjoy it, but after seeing a few Explorers in person, The Arabic numerals for three six and nine are fantastic help for me...

Because of the way things are, I have never been able to try on the 39 and 40 side-by-side, but I tried them both on.

I thought the 39 was a little small, especially compared to my 42mm AT

I thought the 40 seems better, but of course, is still seemed a little small compared to the 42mm AT.

I also realize that making comparisons between things is noticeable while making comparisons. As soon as you have one and only one thing, and wear that a lot and get used to that, You sort of forget about all else. True with watches, true with life. I also feel like the clasp is highly over engineered, and really large, especially to the svelte and nothing more than necessary clasp on the Omega. Again, just differences, both are great.

Anyway, the real question (ignoring costs):
Is it really laboring over 39 versus 40, that's compared to an obviously larger 42 mm Omega? (That is, will 39 vs Omega really be any different than 40 vs Omega?)

Or, considering costs, should I just buy the cheapest 39mm Explorer 1 that I can find used (surely an mk1), and take it from there? I don't want to do a lot of buying/selling to dial things in if I can avoid it, but I do need to start somewhere. Where should I start?

I'm ready to move on a 39mm mk1 or a 40mm, but want a few opinions, and then sleep on it.

Thanks everyone! Have a blessed day!