Hey guys. So I picked up the new hesalite 3861 over the weekend and got a bunch of questions from people if the new style bracelet will fit on the old style 1861 case.

Because I own both watches, I decided to perform the bracelet swap to answer the question and show you guys the fitment. To skip the long story, the answer is YES the new bracelet will fit the old 1861 case with no problem. I used the spring bars that came with the 3861 for this exercise and the end link fitment seemed almost perfect.



Please see the below shots:

This is a back shot of the new 3861 case with bracelet mounted:



Here is the 1861 on TOP and the 3861 on BOTTOM:




Here are some side-by-side case comparisons of both watch cases (1861 on right 3861 on left):






You can see how the side profile lug shape is different on the 3861. You will also notice the 3861 case height is slimmer.

And BEHOLD, here we have the 3861 bracelet mounted on the 1861 case:







And here is this configuration on my wrist:







I estimate Omega to charge $800+ for this new 3861 bracelet independently should you want to purchase this as a separate item to upgrade your 1861 case. The alignment of this bracelet to the case is pretty much perfect from what I can see and wears quite comfortably, although I personally still prefer the Ed White flat link bracelet but I have confirmed that the case and hole position of the new 3861 case will NOT allow for the flat link to be installed. I tested this with both the Speedy Anniversary end links as well as my Uncle Seiko end links with two types of spring bars.

Best of luck to all of you on your decisions to either invest in a 1861 or new 3861. Either way you cannot go wrong but I hope this pictorial will help you regardless.

Cheers,

M

 

That's going to be a game changer for alot of people

 

Thanks for testing this out! New bracelet looks great.

I was going to say this news could put a dent in used price values for the old 1479 and 1116 bracelets - although you said the new bracelet is likely to go for about 800? Ouch! Is that the going rate for bracelets from Omega these days?

 

Thank you very much for the info.
So, "Ed White" 321 bracelet won't fit Snoopy either?

 

Many thanks for your time to share this with us, I'm sure you will receive many prays and good thoughts for helping the community.

 

Really thanks for informing us...

 

So the ridge on the new bracelet sits on top of the older case ring then. Does this not mean that like when the Apollo 11 50th bracelet is fitted to the 3570 etc cases the end link doesn't sit square against the case but is tilted down as a result? It looks pretty good above but from underneath the end link still looks a little tilted.

 

Hey man, first of all thanks for doing this. I’m sure a lot of people are curious to know how it’ll fit the older case.

One question, though. In one photo it looks like the curvature of the endlink lines flush with the curvature of the lug at 7/8 o’clock, yet in another photo it looks like there’s a bunch of space showing from the inside of the lug at 4/5 o’clock. Is this just the lighting or am I seeing that correctly?

Thanks,

D

 

Yes it is indeed.
Then again it depends upon whether Omega will sell it to the masses. Things are changing in that regard and have been for a while now.
Then again, it's not like it's exclusive to a certain reference.
It's such a lovely bracelet, though I can personally do without the stripes on the clasp

Perhaps I will be content to stick with the Silver Snoopy strap on mine

 

Looks like the end links are completely the wrong depth for the 1861 case to me.

just for clarity, are you saying the Apollo 11 (not Ed white as it’s 19mm) bracelet and end links won’t fit on the new 3861 speedy?

It will be a mystery what will fit the snoopy in that case. It will depends whether the case is the same as the Apollo 11 or the new 3861 speedy....I thought they were the same.....

 

I love the look of both. Good on you for trying something different. I did something similar recently. Pulled the trigger on a steel bracelet for my Moonphase Steel/Sedna Gold on leather strap....I just prefer the look of steel over the leather...my boutique crew was unsure at first but once it was on, I think everyone loved it. It’s definitely not the norm but I like the look.

 

That is correct. The holes in the case for the 3861 are higher than in the 1861 so positioning will not work with the springbars and end links.

 

Maybe I am misunderstanding. Are you saying that the original Apollo 11 bracelet and endlinks (which are on a 3961 speedy) won’t fit the new 3861 speedy?

If so, that sucks. I wonder which bracelet therefore will fit the snoopy....

 

Apollo 11 is 3861 case, as Snoopy.

 

Agreed - find it odd that they can’t fit. But hey, let’s see.

 

Thank you OP for the shots, that really got me thinking about getting the bracelet for 3570.50. As for the price, I've contacted OB in Europe, you can't order new bracelet just yet, It will be available soon, but the price will be 800€ (tax included).

 

Does the end links fit in snugly, or does it rattle?

 

It is a tight fit no rattle

 

@Spikedlee, thanks for all the insights and pictures.

Can you maybe comment on D's question below? I am wondering the same looking at the images.

Thanks a ton,
Fabian

 

Yea that does look strange in the pic but you can see that the bracelet was correctly installed based on the pics:







Assume it was a strange optical illusion.