Hey OBs,

I snapped a Constellation C-Case on eBay which came on a 1093 Expandable bracelet. After some rounds of ultrasonic cleaning, the overall condition looks quite fine.

There are two issues:

1. It is the Expandable version of the bracelet, there seem to be some kind of springs between the links. Except for two links the link parts are together very tight and expansion works perfectly. The first two on the non-clasp side, however, are loose and expansion does not work (see picture below). Is there any way to fix this?

2. The bracelet is a bit too large for my wrist. How can I remove links from this bracelet? If you look from the side view there are no usual push-out/screw mechanismis for the final links. It looks kind of pinned together.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks and best

Thomas

 

ok, no. 2 is done - the bracelet fits when I put it on the second last buckle position. Better trying before writing

Any thoughts to question no. 1? I know its a tricky one...

 

Reviving a very old thread, this is something I think about from time to time, have you found a solution?

 

I don't know what the springs look like in this particular bracelet, but in general, they need to be replaced in the links that won't close. Sometimes they are z-shaped, sometimes back-to-back arc shapes, other shapes also. Same for GF bracelets used by many brands (e.g. Zodiac), Rolex 6636 bracelets, etc. I would open up a good link carefully and take a look, then try to fabricate something that will work out of wire and/or sheet metal.

 

The problem is opening the link, there's no apparent way of opening it that I can see

 

Open it like any folded link.

 

Yank with a screwdriver gently and hope the front middle doesn’t buckle?

I don’t normally open folded links