Your Spring bars or fixed bars?

 I've be able to examine some really nice tool watches recently and have been overwhelmingly disappointing by the spring bars used. 

With our horses the saying goes, "no hoof, no horse".  Which means if a horse can't walk on his feet, he isn't a horse you are going to be using.  

The future seems pretty bleak in most every micro brand watches I've seen originating in China that costs under $2000.  There are few noticeable exceptions no matter how "tactical" the maker's claims.   The bleak part is most use a shouldered spring bar, when a shoulderless version has a much better survival rate, if you are doing odd things like jumping out of a perfectly good airplane or looking for other ways to reach Terra Ferma quickly.  

I generally have high quality, Rolex sized, stainless steel spring bars in stock.  20mm x 2mm x 1.2mm


@ a shocking $15.00 price per pair, plus $2.00 shipping.  (please, one pair per customer as these a tough to get) 

If you have a watch that is does not have the lugs fully drilled, I once sold both 2mm and 2.5 mm (in both 20mm and 22mm sizes) fully shouldered bars.  Both are big enough to easy remove by hand if your strap is out of the way.  I no longer do.  My experience tells me they are total garbage.

My own watches now have only shoulderless bars installed.  There is a reason for that.  

Inspect your gear, repair and replace as required.


I no longer use, recommend or sell the shouldered bars shown below.   Caveat Emptor!


I did mention Chinese watches.  After wearing a Rolex tool watches for decades and now versions of several of the tool watches from Tudor, it is hopefully obvious, I like a well attached watch that is durable and accurate.   

Straps, spring bars and buckles are all part of that equation.  No strap...no watch.  Bad spring bars?  No watch.  Bad buckle or bad parts in the buckle?  And you have a very good chance of having a lost watch.  I write that comment from experience, not hyperbole.

I have since added equipment to my shop that enables me to redrill or replace buckles with shoulderless spring bars using bigger tips.  And I can, in many cases, add a fixed 1.8mm solid stainless bar to most buckles that are fully drilled. 

1.2mm tips on a shoulderless bar on the bottom and a 1.8mm fixed bar on tope here



1.8mm solid bar installed in a buckle



I've also had great luck drilling out the lugs on stainless cases if that is something you think is required.  I can drill the case for 1.2mm tips or fully drill the case for 1.8 mm fixed bars.

Bottom line?  You don't have to suffer through the worry or the replacement of a good watch to up the strength or the strap or strap attachment on your watches.

Contact me @ rdburns@cnw.com if any of those ideas intrigue you.  I can then give you an idea of what might be possible.

There are so many generic candidates for a great field watch these days powered by a automatic, solar or quartz movements.  Many times, it is only the lack of a high-quality straps and strap attachment that kills a particular model watch for me.  Now?  There are fewer limitations on what might be possible for your own project.   




Upgraded Chinese 5513 stainless cases, with Rolex spec, spring bars.


Another Chinese watch using a Seiko VH31 quartz movement and running 2.5mm x .08mm shoulderless bars.  It is a smart and durable combination IMO that needs no case modification. 

And a Redwood, solar, dive watch, with a drilled case for bigger bars.  A watch I am very pleased with short of the tiny spring bars that came with the watch.





 

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