Hi guys, I have the opportunity to purchase this 16 mm clasp for my 38.5 mm Aqua Terra. Have you guys seen this clasp design before (or have experience owning one)? Also, does it need require some sort of special leather strap or will fit any 19/16?

Please see this link: https://imgur.com/a/kX9ik

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

Legitimate? Sorry I am unable to answer that. But this buckle is designed for a deployant strap, and I rather doubt a regular strap will work with it. Will an Omega deployant strap work with it? Perhaps there might be an answer.

 

Sorry, what I meant by legit is if this was an existing or older model clasp, since I haven't seen it before. Really hoping someone with experience with this clasp can chime in.

 

Looks legit to me. I think they are the older version circa 2000 +/- before the side pusher type. Your biggest problem with them is that many of them were built for straps that were 16mm at the buckle and most of today's deployant straps are 18mm.

 

The clasp is legit and as @AnotherDon mentioned it is the earlier deploy style, but the biggest problem isn't the 16mm width since Omega still makes a decent range of 19mm deploy straps for smaller models, as much as the clasp design itself.

First, the earlier clasps used a friction retention/closure system. It's pretty secure but will wear over time which will make unintended openings more frequent. The newer / current clasps have a push button system which is much more secure.

Secondly, the pin design. The older clasps used a two pin design to secure the side of the strap with holes in it, while the newer clasps use a one pin system. The two pin system requires the holes to be spaced a certain distance from each other, and also the range of adjustability is lessened as you need a minimum of three holes (two for securing, one for the middle) for correctly inserting the strap. The newer clasps require tighter manufacturing tolerances as the holed end is only held in by the single hole and the channel created by the steel "wings" but it's just as solid and gives a higher range of fitments.