Explorer 1016 Rivet Bracelet Repair Issues

[Kirk]

Looking for some guidance here regarding the restoration of a 1972 Rolex Explorer 1016. I have a modest collection of six Rolexes and a few other models to round things out from Omega, Montblanc, Eterna, and Mido. The Explorer in question was purchased new by my father in 1972. He wore it for 28 years and then gifted it to me around the year 2000. I have worn and enjoyed it since in my watch rotation, so it sees wear, but limited.

The watch has been serviced and is in decent, functional condition. The bracelet has been my most recent struggle though. I can’t find the original 23-9293 spring bars anywhere. A company called Fasci used to carry some copies on eBay, but they seem to be gone now. What do folks do? I am thinking about just getting some Submariner 23-9291 springbars and grinding down the pivot ends to make them shorter. Any thoughts on this or a source of good 23-9293 bars?

Also, the bracelet is an original C&I USA rivet bracelet from 1972. It fell apart probably 18 years ago and I have a decent solid link, hollow end link bracelet for it now. But I’ve got this sadistic desire to put the original rivet bracelet back on. I guess I just like pulling out all of my arm hair! :-) So, I recently had my bracelet restored by a very reputable company that specializes in this work. The end result…. well it’s functional for the most part. It looks a lot better, but far from perfect. 30 years of wear and damage I guess was impossible to erase. I have three issues that I’m not sure about.

1. The fit of the end links is terrible. There is one side where I really can’t get the springbars to seat properly without EXTREME measures and a thinner springbar. With the proper springbars it will be impossible to seat them on this side without tweaking the end link. Problem is that I haven’t worn this bracelet for 18 years, so I can’t remember what the fit was before. I know in general these end links never really fit well when new, and certainly not after some wear, but were they this bad? Are these maybe the wrong end links to start with? The end links are not marked (typical for C&I). They are tight to the case on the top and bottom edges, but bulge at the ends of the lugs. Do you think a watchmaker could massage out a better fit?

2. One of the side pieces was laser welded, but the work is obvious due to pores in the metal left behind.

3. One of the rivets seems to be missing its head! It’s holding together for now, but I’m wondering if it will last.

The work was done by a foreign vendor (to remain anonymous for now), so it will be costly for me to return it, and kind of pointless to do without also sending the watch head for fit, which I am risk averse to doing. I am wondering though if these are just typical issues that one has with a bracelet repair like this or are these issues completely unacceptable. What do you think? For what it’s worth, this work cost me $450 USD.

[statsman]

Philip Ridley put a 78360 on my 1972 1016, and the fit of the curved end links to the case is perfect. I have looked at photos of the old C&I rivet bracelets and they almost all seem to have some gapping to the case. There might be some watchmaker magic required.

Physically and mechanically, you have the curved end links, the holes in the lugs and the case curvature. The holes in the lugs may not be perfectly aligned with each other. I think watchmakers first play with slight bending of springbars.