HELP HELP HELP! Made In England WAB

[Winston9139]

Good Morning,

I am posting here as I really need some help and advice on a watch strap that I was given recently by a family member. I am a keen watch collector, sadly I do not have a vintage Rolex for this strap!

I believe from the ltd amount of information I have found on it that it was made by Watch Accessories Birmingham circa 1950s - 1960s?

I think these are quite rare?

The width of the strap is 15mm, overall lenghth is approx 24cm on its max adjustment on the clasp.

I have listed it on a popular auction site but am not sure what would be reasonable to accept for such an item or even if that is the right place to even list it?

I really am at a loss on this so any help or advice would be very much appreciated

Thank you

[CTech]

You are correct in that it is a version of the Jubilee bracelet made by Watch Accessories Birmingham for UK supplied Rolex watches. These were definitely used up to the late 1950s and possibly for a few years in the early 1960s.

This one does not have the end pieces attached so it is difficult to know if this is for a 19mm or a 20mm case.

The end pieces normally have an RD number which is the Registered Design number assigned to WAB for this range of bracelets and you can find a few examples of these on the Internet.

Without the end pieces this is probably good for parts and could be useful to a jeweler for WAB bracelet rebuilds.

The market for WAB bracelets is very small as I believe they were only fitted for a few years to watches sold in the UK (and possibly a few military outlets) so they are not well known or prized items.

The prices are very variable and sometimes what appear to be good bracelets remain unsold for months at a time while others are sold quickly at around £1000 to £1800.

As it stands, this bracelet should command a few hundred £ for parts if a jeweler is looking for one, but it might be a difficult thing to sell because of the limited market.