I'm looking to replace the bracelet on my Seamaster Aqua Terra. I have a springbar tool that I bought years ago, but it won't work on this bracelet. Is the Bergeon 6111 like this one (http://www.ofrei.com/page252.html) a good tool to use for that? I'm going to be installing a Hirsch leather strap on it and am wondering if I require new/different spring bars, and if so, can someone please point me to the right ones? Lastly, I'm looking to get a NATO strap as well, but I seem to have one of the oddball Omegas with the 21mm lugs. I've been looking at the aftermarket straps, and all the ones I'm finding on Ebay are 20 or 22mm. I've only found one website so far that has 21mm from a place called "crown & buckle" (http://www.crownandbuckle.com/black-grey-nato-21mm.html). Does anyone have any experience with these? Are they pretty decent? Help much appreciated.
I really like the Bergeon 6767-f spring bar tool, I'd look at that one. Ive purchased many straps from Crown&Buckle, they are a great resource for NATO straps of all shapes and sizes. Buy from them with confidence. Here's a link for the spring bar tool. http://www.esslinger.com/bergeon-6767-f-watch-band-tool-swiss-spring-bar-tool/
I highly recommend using a springbar tool while the watch is inside of a gallon plastic bag, this will protect your eyes from flying springbars, and your sanity from having to search for the springbar.
Do you know what kind of spring bars are used in Seamasters? I've read some Omega watches have curved spring bars. Not sure what mine has since I haven't removed the bracelet yet, but if they are curved, is it better to use straight spring bars for the leather and NATO straps?
Bracelets tend to use slightly shorter springbars than straps, but fear not, your Hirsch strap should come with springbars of the correct size. At least mine did when bought from Watch Obsession.
I went ahead and ordered a Bergeon 6767-F and also an "S" replacement fork from Esslinger. Hopefully the two different forks will cover all my bases with this and future watches. Went ahead and ordered a NATO strap and a few spare spring bars from Crown & Buckle as well. Can't wait to get my toys. Thanks for the help gents!
New strap and lessons learned: So I received my spring bar tool today and my NATO strap from C&B. Got it installed and I really like it. A few errors on my part, however. The strap was labeled as a NATO strap, but is in fact a Zulu based on what I've learned here. Not C&B's fault, they had a "3 buckle" and "5 buckle" option. If I had taken the time to read in my excitement, I would have learned of the differences and ordered the true NATO style like I originally intended. The second lesson, always go with your gut. I was not sure about the lug width on this watch, but when I measured it using my dial calipers it came out to 21 mm; 21.24 to be exact. Rather than going with my eyes, I went with some incorrect information I read somewhere else online, so I have a little bit of a gap between the strap and lugs. Learned my lesson, believe what you see. Onto the good. This is one of C&B's "Heavy duty" NATO straps. It's made with the thicker, heavier nylon, and heavy-duty blackened hardware. I like the look of the heavier duty hardware, and I preferred the blackened finish as it doesn't detract from the watch. I initially thought that maybe the strap would be too thick, but it is perfect. The nylon, the stitching, and hardware all appear to be of very good quality. Overall I am very pleased, and plan to order from them again. I do have one small issue though, they hardly have any 21 mm NATO straps. Not any with the heavy-duty hardware anyways. I would also like to get a leather NATO as well, but they do not appear to carry them in that size. Does anyone have any links for sites that have these straps in 21 mm in nylon and leather that are located here in the US? I have found a few sites, but they appear to be overseas. Without further ado, here she is. Had to get the Bond style for my first strap, of course.