FOIS Speedy on Uncle Seiko 1171 bracelet

Hey all,

Just got my Uncle Seiko 1171 bracelet in. I already have a few watches on nato/leather but loved the FOIS (size, hands, applied logo), so I rationalized I could put it on a bracelet. Little did I know the headache that would be involved on getting that right via the OB, so decided to try one of Uncle Seiko instead.

I have an Uncle Seiko tropic on my vintage Seiko 6105 and its my favorite strap, so I inherently trusted it. Arrived in the mail, took 30 minutes to size it and get it on the watch head.

Pros: the fit is excellent, the micro adjustment works very well (maybe because I usually wear a Grand Seiko in bracelet without micro adjustment, but this is awesome). It looks like a real 1171, heavy enough to not feel cheap but lighter than modern bracelets. AND NO RATTLE!

Cons: folded end link. Did I mention folded end link? It was kind of a b**** to get on, but now that the hollow end link is on it looks great - and most vintage bracelets were hollow end link anyway, so it didn’t bother me once it was on.

What has bothered me, though, is the absolutely absurd amount of scratches to the watch body between the lugs. You can’t see it with the bracelet on, but if I were to ever switch back to a nato or leather it would bug the ever living hell out of me. The scratches are so deep that my finger nail catches on every single scratch. I actually emailed Larry at US with the same pictures, and he said he hadn’t heard of this before but assumed it was normal.

So if it was your FOIS: would you keep the US 1171 and just ignore the scratches, or would you find a vintage 1171 and deal with trying out the right end links?

Hey man I appreciate the info on this. I’ve contemplated getting a 1171 for my Speedy Pro. What causes the deep scratches? Difficulty putting it on?

Im not exactly sure. On most watches, if the end links are not perfect, the small movements when wearing a watch cause the end link to rub the watch body and cause the scratches. My Grand Seiko SBGA211 actually does this with its solid end link titanium bracelet, but not nearly as deep or bad.

If I had to hazard a guess, it would actually just be the end link being folded hollow and not being 100% perfect. I don’t think it’s from the installation (it’s possible) as the scratches are vertical, and there wasn’t any vertical motion when putting the links on.

Interesting, do you actually have to fold the end links? I’m not super familiar with that term only solid or hollow.

Folded is just a type of hollow end link. It’s basically a very thin piece of sheet metal that is preformed and bent; Rolex used folded hollow end links on their vintage watches, but now either uses a solid end link or a much thicker cast hollow link.
Attached is a photo of the back of the US 1171, as well as a comparison pic of a solid vs folded hollow end link.

@whats_shakin

From the looks of it, that bracelet is very tight on your wrist.
Also, you wear your watch below the bone and that doesn't help. With every movement you do with your hand, the end link is biting into the watch body.

Just my 2 cents.

I have a ‘69 speedy with this type of wear.[1] I tend to prefer bracelets so its not too much of a day to day issue for me.

I’d be interested in hearing others thoughts on whether this is common, or is limited to certain vintage end links and/or loose fit.

[1] - in other words I’ve seen wear like this from vintage bracelets.

Ah man. This is annoying, after weeks and weeks of waiting by the letterbox, today was the day that both the Holzer and the 1171 arrived. Not sure I’ll be rushing to fit them onto any of my Speedmaster just yet! Would be great to hear other people’s experience with these bracelets.

steel on steel is bound to create scratches no matter what you do. Don't let the little things stress you out, otherwise are you wearing the watch or is the watch wearing you? Just imo...

It might alleviate the issue if you sand down the endlinks with a little 600 grit?

Yes, I would do just that especially if the edges are not smooth enough from factory production.
Going over the edges lightly with 600 or 800 grit should do the trick but eventually with use on the wrist, some marks are inevitable.

Dose all folded hollow end link could cause this kind of issue? Like vintage Omega or Rolex endlink? Or that's because of US's end link is not well polished or too tight that contact the case directly?

Some of you guys care way more than me about stuff that ends up being invisible but I just checked my watches with (original Omega) 1171s and they all have similar scratches. Just a characteristic of this type of folded end link. I'd say it's the watch equivalent of what photographers call pixel peeping.

Even Omega solid links can rub. No guaranty they won't.