I wore a 16 for about 9 months and just sized up to a 17 (after a looong internal debate) bc I wanted a looser look. My wrist is 14.5 cm at the bone and 14 cm at its smallest. Mine also has a gap but so far I'm enjoying how much freer it feels on my wrist, and how I can push it up out of the way when using a keyboard. If you like where the 17 sits and the 16 sometimes feels snug, I agree with others who said to go with your gut. Also, I find that the gap tends to be less prominent in real life since my bracelet tends to naturally sit further up on the thicker portion of my arm, plus other people generally won't be viewing the bracelet from the same angle as you
Here is how my 17 fits, and I’ve linked an old post with pictures of my 16 for comparison. HTH!
It hurts? looks loose to me
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