View Single Post
Old 15 June 2010, 10:40 PM   #1
echau
"TRF" Member
 
echau's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 348
Removing Permanent Link on Oyster Bracelet

I posted this on WUS, so I figure I might as well post it here too.
Sorry in advance for the bad pictures...bad lighting, fingerprints all over the watch...

When my 14060M came in, first thing I did was resize the watch for my 6.5" wrist.
I take out the two removable links and move the micro-adjustment and voila:



Looks great huh? I flip it over:



Gosh, the clasp is very much off-center.
You can see here how biased the watch is to the 12 o'clock side:



This really bugged me, so I decided to take out a permanent link from the 6 o'clock side and add one of the removable links back on the 12 o'clock side.
I did some research and narrowed it down to three options:

1) Send it in to RSC and let them handle it.
2) Use a Dremel and cut the link.
3) Pull the link apart with some Vise Grips.

I just got the watch, so I didn't want to send it off to Rolex already.
Also, I didn't have a Dremel.
So choice three it was.

Missing some pictures here, but these were the steps I took:

1) Remove the spring bar holding the diver's extension in place.
2) Remove each side of the bracelet and take off the end links.
3) Remove the last link from the 6 o'clock side of the bracelet, leaving just the permanent links.
4) Grip each outer link of the permanent link I wanted to remove with this:



5) Get a friend to help me pull this damn link apart. Let me tell you, that link is in there TIGHT! It required a lot of force to separate it, I guess that's good craftsmanship from Rolex.
6) Add link to the 12 o'clock side of the bracelet.
7) Put the watch back together.

Results:

Wow, this link is GONE:



Watch still sits great on top of the wrist:



And now it sits great on the bottom too:



Look at how well balanced it is now:



And the step between the links isn't that noticeable:



I know a lot of people may be either for or against removing a permanent link on their oyster bracelet.
If you have larger wrists, no worries.
However, I wanted the watch to fit properly, and I am very happy with the results.

-Edward
echau is offline   Reply With Quote