Strap adjustment
Sizing your bracelet
How it should sit
A correctly sized bracelet lets you slide one finger between the strap and your wrist. It should not slide over the wrist bone, nor leave a mark. Size at the end of the day, when your wrist is at its largest.
Removing links from a metal bracelet
- Look at the inside of the bracelet for small arrows — they show the direction the pin comes out.
- Rest the bracelet on a link-removal block, arrows facing up.
- Push the pin out in the direction of the arrow with a pin pusher.
- Remove links in pairs, one from each side of the clasp, so the clasp stays centred.
- Refit the pin against the arrow direction and press until it sits flush.
If a pin resists, stop. Forcing it bends the pin and widens the hole in the link.
Micro-adjustment
Most clasps have several holes for the final fine-tuning. Move the spring bar to a neighbouring hole to gain or lose a couple of millimetres without removing a full link.
Leather and rubber straps
These are changed with spring bars. Press the tip of a spring bar tool into the notch on the bar, compress it, and lift the strap out of the lug. Work with the watch on a soft cloth — a slipped tool leaves a scratch on the case that does not polish out easily.
Prefer not to do it yourself?
Any watchmaker or jeweller will size a bracelet in a few minutes. If you would rather we help, get in touch.