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JwRosenthal
·Over the years, several aftermarket bracelet makers (and even some OEM supplied on re-issue watches) have attempted the vintage “homage” bracelets- most if not all have failed to capture the appeal of what made the vintage bracelets so appealing by trying to modernize them in the wrong ways. What they have missed is slim profile, light weight, severe taper, friction clasp and hollow endlinks- plus the all so familiar jingle that has become the soundtrack of our people.
Recently we have been lucky enough to see a few companies that have finally “gotten” it- with a bit of input from us- the people who know and love the real deal but did see potential for some improvement (I don’t know anyone who loves the folded link design aka hairpullers) There are some who scoff at anything but original bracelets on vintage watches but as we have seen the prices have become astronomical for some (even for vintage aftermarket!l) and there were also many watches where an OEM bracelet wasn’t even offered as an option.
The first one we got that was truly rooted in the vintage style was the Forstner last year- almost dead on to the original but with a few smart modifications. It was marketed towards the Speedy crowd but as I can’t help myself from playing with my new toys, I tried it on several different watches starting with the Speedy of course
In the end I didn’t care for the lolipop appearance of it on the Speedy, but I found it perfect on my 38mm Wakmann Chrono (branded PP) with a it’s angular lugs- plus the watch is of the same period as the original JBC so is an appropriate period match.
Most recently we got the New Mexican Holzer from Uncle Seiko. He first released the all brushed bracelet but I was holding out for the brushed/polished model as that’s closer to the original IMO and more in keeping with the vintage vibe. I got mine last week and ordered both 19 & 20mm endlinks and of course I couldn’t just put it on the Speedy but had to play with it
The Helbros is a tough one to mate to a bracelet as it has a 37-38mm case profile but takes a 19mm bracelet- most of the vintage bracelets I have that are 19mm are for a 34-35mm case so you get that curved gap.
This Tissot didn’t come with a factory bracelet option, and the curved lugs are very tough to find endlinks to match- this is dead on the money
On the SM120- Oh hell yeah!
Couldn’t help myself and had to try it on this 90’s Tag- the factory bracelet was never very attractive, nor comfortable and always felt like an afterthought- this is killer.
After all is said and done, I ended up ordering another Polished Holzer and will probably have to order a third....and then the flatlink is coming in the near future so that may rotate bracelets around again!
Please share your alternative pairings for these new vintage offerings other than on a Speedmaster for which they were initially intended. It’s fun to have options.
Recently we have been lucky enough to see a few companies that have finally “gotten” it- with a bit of input from us- the people who know and love the real deal but did see potential for some improvement (I don’t know anyone who loves the folded link design aka hairpullers) There are some who scoff at anything but original bracelets on vintage watches but as we have seen the prices have become astronomical for some (even for vintage aftermarket!l) and there were also many watches where an OEM bracelet wasn’t even offered as an option.
The first one we got that was truly rooted in the vintage style was the Forstner last year- almost dead on to the original but with a few smart modifications. It was marketed towards the Speedy crowd but as I can’t help myself from playing with my new toys, I tried it on several different watches starting with the Speedy of course
In the end I didn’t care for the lolipop appearance of it on the Speedy, but I found it perfect on my 38mm Wakmann Chrono (branded PP) with a it’s angular lugs- plus the watch is of the same period as the original JBC so is an appropriate period match.
Most recently we got the New Mexican Holzer from Uncle Seiko. He first released the all brushed bracelet but I was holding out for the brushed/polished model as that’s closer to the original IMO and more in keeping with the vintage vibe. I got mine last week and ordered both 19 & 20mm endlinks and of course I couldn’t just put it on the Speedy but had to play with it
The Helbros is a tough one to mate to a bracelet as it has a 37-38mm case profile but takes a 19mm bracelet- most of the vintage bracelets I have that are 19mm are for a 34-35mm case so you get that curved gap.
This Tissot didn’t come with a factory bracelet option, and the curved lugs are very tough to find endlinks to match- this is dead on the money
On the SM120- Oh hell yeah!
Couldn’t help myself and had to try it on this 90’s Tag- the factory bracelet was never very attractive, nor comfortable and always felt like an afterthought- this is killer.
After all is said and done, I ended up ordering another Polished Holzer and will probably have to order a third....and then the flatlink is coming in the near future so that may rotate bracelets around again!
Please share your alternative pairings for these new vintage offerings other than on a Speedmaster for which they were initially intended. It’s fun to have options.
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