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Old 17 January 2021, 10:30 AM   #1
edslee327
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Breaking Permanent Link in Royal Oak?

So after deciding to keep this 14790, now I have to accept or alter this bracelet... the old clasp makes it pretty difficult for someone with smaller wrists, which is odd to me, if they were creating these mid-sized watches for people who turned away from the 39mm jumbo...

1st attached picture shows the bracelet position when the watch face is perfectly set on the top of the wrist. notice the bulge and protrusion due to the awkward position of the clasp.

2nd attached picture shows how i'd like the bracelet to sit, but that would mean the watch face sliding way over in the 12 o'clock direction.

In order to do this, and assuming I plan on keeping it forever and never reselling it (i guess never say never...), my thought was to break a permanent link, that would make the 6 o'clock side of the bracelet shorter and just add one of the extra links i have to the 12 o'clock side.

3rd and 4th picture shows the permanent link that would need to be broken. i don't have a caliper, but that link and the one with a visible screw under it look to be the same width. assuming they are the same - my boutique says they'd need to send it into Clearwater to do but that they might ask to re-service the whole watch/movement to touch the bracelet.

Anyone try to do something similar and get that response? I prefer not to service, because I don't want them touching the original crown. I also don't want to pay $1K+ on servicing for a piece that tells good time and was just serviced by the dealer i bought from...

Clearwater doesn't open till Tuesday because of MLK day, so figured I'd ask the question here until I can get a hold of them.

Thanks in advance.
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Old 17 January 2021, 12:29 PM   #2
Fishrus
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Why not you centre your clasp so that it is on the middle of ur wrist? Will just have to move a few removable links to from one side to the other.

If not you can take out the bracelet and rotate it 180 degrees instead. Sure it may take awhile to get used to but at least you dont do any permanent damage to your bracelet
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Old 17 January 2021, 12:31 PM   #3
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send it to me I'll fix it......

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Old 17 January 2021, 01:15 PM   #4
edslee327
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishrus View Post
Why not you centre your clasp so that it is on the middle of ur wrist? Will just have to move a few removable links to from one side to the other.

If not you can take out the bracelet and rotate it 180 degrees instead. Sure it may take awhile to get used to but at least you dont do any permanent damage to your bracelet
so the clasp currently falls more to the side of the 12 o'clock. the deployment pusher is always going to lean towards 6 o'clock because of the way the old clasps were designed, not like the butterfly deployment on modern APs (those you'll see the deployment pusher centered). As is, the bracelet's already slightly loose on me, so i can't add anything more to it. if i took a link from 12 o'clock and moved it to 6, the clasp moves even further to 12 o'clock.

not to complicate things more, but i can't flip the bracelet either because the owner before me must've worn it super tight and the 4 screws connecting the bracelet to the case are all bent and can't be removed (boutique tried). Clearwater will have to drill through the hole and to replace the 4 screws.

i don't care as much about the bracelet being "original", since i plan on keeping it, and the value is really in the head of the watch and dial anyway.

need feedback as to whether anyone asked clearwater to break a permanent link without having to fully service the watch. thanx
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Old 17 January 2021, 09:39 PM   #5
theflywrist
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Hey! Few questions for you, what size are your wrists? I have pretty small wrists, and never had a huge issue with the 14790 (own it in steel and gold).
The later versions of the 14790 allowed you to remove 1 extra link on the 6 clock vs the earlier version, where you would still have one link you could not remove. I suppose they addressed the issue later on, and so on later variants the clasp centers better closer to the middle of the wrist on smaller wrists.

I do think you should try removing 1 link from the 12 clock and putting it in the 6 clock.
Currently the clasp sits way too close to the 12 clock. By doing this the clasp should fall closer to the 6 clock, and not 12 clock.
You always want to keep less at the 6 clock as you know, but currently it is extremely unbalanced.
My wrists are extremely small, and the clasp has always centered better than in the photos you've posted.
I'd like to see photos after you move a link to the 6 clock. No need to break a permanent link btw, the 14790 was designed for puny wrists like ours ;)
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Old 18 January 2021, 02:14 AM   #6
edslee327
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Quote:
Originally Posted by theflywrist View Post
Hey! Few questions for you, what size are your wrists? I have pretty small wrists, and never had a huge issue with the 14790 (own it in steel and gold).
The later versions of the 14790 allowed you to remove 1 extra link on the 6 clock vs the earlier version, where you would still have one link you could not remove. I suppose they addressed the issue later on, and so on later variants the clasp centers better closer to the middle of the wrist on smaller wrists.

I do think you should try removing 1 link from the 12 clock and putting it in the 6 clock.
Currently the clasp sits way too close to the 12 clock. By doing this the clasp should fall closer to the 6 clock, and not 12 clock.
You always want to keep less at the 6 clock as you know, but currently it is extremely unbalanced.
My wrists are extremely small, and the clasp has always centered better than in the photos you've posted.
I'd like to see photos after you move a link to the 6 clock. No need to break a permanent link btw, the 14790 was designed for puny wrists like ours ;)
I uploaded a video to youtube so you can see (sorry it's so bright, for some reason iphone HDR videos suck on youtube through chrome, if you watch through the app on mobile it'll look better) it doesn't make sense to move a link from 12 o'clock to 6 o'lock, it's already too long at 6 o'clock because of the clasp, and that's why the clasp is shifted towards the 12 o'clock side. as you'll see in the video on my watch, there's 7 permanent links (1 of which has only 1 screw hole) at 6oclock, and 10 total links at 12oclock, not counting the links attached to the clasp. article from watchbrotherslondon shows the newer bracelets for the MK3 dial (under mk3 examples section) with the AP logo clasp, and it's the same bracelet. Maybe you mean the newer bracelets on like the 15450?

I'm at around a 6.25" wrist, but as we know, 6.25 looks different depending on width/height etc.

https://www.watchbrotherslondon.com/...udemars-piguet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrwR...ature=youtu.be
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Old 18 January 2021, 03:50 AM   #7
Benzsiam
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From your original picture, it seems like you have less links on 6 o'clock side and too many links on 12 o'clock side. You need to move some links from 12 o'clock side to 6 o'clock side.

You should have the clasp (when close) close to the center of the wrist, so both sides should have the same number of the links or 1 less link on 6 o'clock side.

I have 6.6" wrist, on my 14790SA, I have 9 links on each side (not counting 2 links at the clasp).
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Old 18 January 2021, 07:07 AM   #8
edslee327
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i promise you guys, there's too many links at 6 and not enough at 12. here's how the bracelet looks if i move one from 12 to 6 - even more imbalanced and the bulge is even worse. the clasp under the bracelet shifts way too far to 12, and is even more uncomfortable. i really don't mind breaking a link, but i guess i'll wait till tuesday to ask clearwater if no one knows whether or not they'll do that without servicing the movement. also took a picture of my DJ36 to show the ideal balance with a similar clasp.
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Old 18 January 2021, 07:52 AM   #9
Benzsiam
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From your latest first picture, you have 8 links on 6 0'clock and 9 links on 12 o'clock which is correct. The clasp seems to be at the center of the wrist but I don't understand why the link next to the clasp pop up like that.

I think you can go back to the shop that you bought or any watch repair shop to let them adjust your bracelet, it should be very easy for them.
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Audemars Piguet: 15451ST Blue, 15500OR w/Bracelet, 14790SA, 14790BA, 26022BC(Salmon) Patek Philippe: 5524R, 5712G, ALS: Time Zone 136.032, Cartier: WGSA0030, WSSA0061, YG Oct. 2965, Seiko: SRPA21, MontBlanc: 109996"
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Old 18 January 2021, 09:52 AM   #10
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I have nothing to contribute, other than to say that this is the most confusing thread I've seen on TRF
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Old 18 January 2021, 09:52 AM   #11
edslee327
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Benzsiam View Post
From your latest first picture, you have 8 links on 6 0'clock and 9 links on 12 o'clock which is correct. The clasp seems to be at the center of the wrist but I don't understand why the link next to the clasp pop up like that.

I think you can go back to the shop that you bought or any watch repair shop to let them adjust your bracelet, it should be very easy for them.
yeh it's a mystery why it pops up lol... shop doesn't know either, already consulted with them. nothing they can do to adjust it further. 8 links was with the additional link at 6oclock that you guys recommended but it only makes it worse. it's not about how many links you have on both sides, it's about having an even balance when holding from the clasp, hence why with these old clasps where it wasn't a butterfly, it should always be 3-4 more at 12 oclock. im positive the best fit for my wrist (even if others have a 6.25" wrists, everyone's fit is different), is to break a permanent link. it' s 30 year old bracelet anyway, im not that tied to it.
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Old 19 January 2021, 11:42 PM   #12
Tomas Eriksson
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edslee327 View Post
i promise you guys, there's too many links at 6 and not enough at 12. here's how the bracelet looks if i move one from 12 to 6 - even more imbalanced and the bulge is even worse. the clasp under the bracelet shifts way too far to 12, and is even more uncomfortable. i really don't mind breaking a link, but i guess i'll wait till tuesday to ask clearwater if no one knows whether or not they'll do that without servicing the movement. also took a picture of my DJ36 to show the ideal balance with a similar clasp.
You unfortunately just can't "break a link" as the bracelet is welded finished as one piece.

The last picture you show where the clasp sits close to horisontal when holding is for me the most comfortable way to wear a royal oak. But fair, enough not all wrists are the same. You don't happen to have a picture of a Rolex or other common sport watch that is sized to you liking?
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Old 20 January 2021, 01:00 AM   #13
edslee327
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You unfortunately just can't "break a link" as the bracelet is welded finished as one piece.

The last picture you show where the clasp sits close to horisontal when holding is for me the most comfortable way to wear a royal oak. But fair, enough not all wrists are the same. You don't happen to have a picture of a Rolex or other common sport watch that is sized to you liking?

i included the rolex photo in my last post.

also, i called clearwater, they can break the permanent link and refinish the welding accordingly, could cost a few hundred they said but ultimately, they always want me to send it in to get the estimate etc etc. the good news, is that they said they can do it without having to service the movement, so that's what i'll probably do after wearing it for birthday celebrations.

Thanks all
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Old 20 January 2021, 03:47 AM   #14
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I maybe wrong, but seems to me that due to the fact that the rigid clasp is pretty much the width of your wrist you may be fighting a losing battle. As the blades are straighter, as it were, than the curvature of your wrist they will always protrude a bit at the sides, meaning the links will acutely pull up at the sides - or at least on one side.
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Old 23 January 2021, 03:01 PM   #15
Ku5165
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Is it possible to roll the blades a bit to get better curvature?
Did the boutique try some heat on the screws to open?
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Old 23 January 2021, 04:52 PM   #16
edslee327
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sorry, not sure what you mean by rolling the blades out. are you saying, blend the clasp? i dont know if i trust myself playing with a 30 year old bracelet...

the boutique did not try heating anything but that would've been a good thought. i'll have the dealer who sold it to me pay for that repair though since it's probably not something that was expected when i purchased it.

i dropped it off at the boutique today. clearwater confirmed they can break a link without servicing the movement. with any luck, maybe i'll be ready in time for my birthday in 2 weeks :/
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Old 24 January 2021, 05:46 AM   #17
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Happy it is in Clearwater's hands. The clasp metal looked thin enough to give an easy curvature using a pipe as a model. But the route went is the best.
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Old 24 January 2021, 12:55 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edslee327 View Post
i promise you guys, there's too many links at 6 and not enough at 12. here's how the bracelet looks if i move one from 12 to 6 - even more imbalanced and the bulge is even worse. the clasp under the bracelet shifts way too far to 12, and is even more uncomfortable. i really don't mind breaking a link, but i guess i'll wait till tuesday to ask clearwater if no one knows whether or not they'll do that without servicing the movement. also took a picture of my DJ36 to show the ideal balance with a similar clasp.
I had the same issue once on a different piece. Flipping the bracelet 180 degrees was the answer for me — the clasp was reversed when I spun the bracelet, and the fit became perfect.
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Old 25 January 2021, 11:43 AM   #19
edslee327
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I had the same issue once on a different piece. Flipping the bracelet 180 degrees was the answer for me — the clasp was reversed when I spun the bracelet, and the fit became perfect.
yeh, that was my first thought but like i mentioned before, all 4 screws connecting the bracelet to the case were all bent and the boutique couldn't remove them to flip it... but even then, i feel like it would've bothered me thaat i was wearing the bracelet upside down lol
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Old 8 December 2021, 05:33 PM   #20
bbmakinu
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Icon14 14790st clasp issue!

Hey there- I’m having a similar issue with my clasp bulging out and would be curious to hear if your breaking the links worked on solving that issue?
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Old 8 December 2021, 05:35 PM   #21
bbmakinu
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I’m also considering asking the AD to sell me one of the later clasps that have the ap logo as that clasp seems like its a bit more curved and might fit better. But not sure if they have stock or if the clasp will actually fit my bracelet…
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Old 9 December 2021, 10:00 AM   #22
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Just break the links on the six o"clock side. Quite obvious the problem.
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