A friend of mine has the same issue on his 300 with the US, he simply shaved down the curved part against the case and it fit perfectly. Trimming hollow endlinks was a common practice back in the day

 

Yes, fits a Seamaster 300 fine with no modification.

 

That is great to hear. Is yours a 165.0024? Because then it seems like the production version is slightly different than the one @SkunkPrince tried out on his watchco.

 

What you consider fine I did not consider acceptable. The links rocked and were taller than the lugs. if the production version is indeed not the same as the prototype, then I might be interested in trying it.

There might be slight variation among case manufacturers.

@JwRosenthal I had been attempting to grind down the curve, which made the links fit marginally better, but it is a slow process.

 

I ordered from Ofrei years ago, the email order confirmation shows the part listed as 166.0324.

I am not sure if there is a difference between the reference numbers.

 

Can you comment on this @Forstnerbands. Would be interesting to know.

 

I don’t know what to tell you other than don’t order it. It fits my case.

 

Can you take a picture from the side and a little elevated?

Thanks

 

The production version is just a little different than the prototype sent for evaluation, but not in a way that should affect the fit. I don't have an explanation as to why it would fit one of these and not the other, except perhaps there being a difference between the two cases in some way?

 

That's my guess. Omega has multiple suppliers of cases, and who knows how old the case was that WatchCo used?

 

Sure. I attached one side to a Speedmaster (145.0012 case), the other to the 300.

I am not seeing any rocking or end links above the lugs.

 

Interesting, because the fit is not the same on the Seamaster 300 between the two pictures. It did move a bit.

What size spring bars? 1.8mm diameter?

 

Yeah, sounds like it could be a mixed bag and unpredictable. I wouldn't recommend folks purchasing the flat link for this watch given the apparent variation.

 

I used the spring bars that were supplied with the bracelet. I didn’t measure them.

If you are referring to maybe .25 mm of movement as rocking, then you are correct and this isn't the fit that you want for the 300. (No movement on the Speedmaster) I can live with it and could possibly correct it with different bars if it bothered me.

 

I got my Forstner yesterday and got into it right away. First I attached it with the supplied spring bars and removed two links on both sides. After that, the clasp was not exactly centered and the connecting links had very little play. Today I screwed a link from the 6 o'clock side to the 12 o'clock side and used two other spring bars. Now the play is gone and the clasp sits in the middle of the wrist.

 

Oh that just makes me mad. It’s my watch case for sure.

 

OK, I know now what I need to do. I need to shim between the end link and the case to get it to fight tightly, then it will work.

I refuse to be defeated!

 

Spring bars I've used was 1,8mm as well. Maybe there is a little tolerace. Try:

Minott 21625

 

My new bracelet arrived today and I'll be darned... it fits well.

The test end links I was sent are not the same as the production end links. I also found that the mechanism to keep the clasp closed is not the same as Omega, so you can't just change the clasp cover... you have to change the entire clasp. Luckily it is interchangeable with the clasp for the 1171! If you want to do that, the order number is 117ST1171.

By the way, I found out the hard way that the clasp pin comes out one way and not the other. So if it you can't push it out from the one side, try pushing it out from the other.

My watchmaker will adjust the bracelet for me otherwise because I don't want to bugger up the screws.

Very excited!

 

Met my watchmaker at the park down the street and he took three links out for me. Loving it!