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Speedmaster 3861 Bracelet advice

T
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Hello,

I recently bought an Omega Speedmaster 3861 with a steel bracelet and decided to install a leather strap to it with a tool recommended by my local watchmaker (Horotec tool very similar to Bergeon 6111).

I found the bracelet suprisingly difficult to remove as I have very little experience with metal bracelets. I thought "opening" the bracelet would ease the process and I decided to push a pin in the clasp section of the bracelet with the tool and the pin with a hollow metal cylinder eventually ejected (see minigrip bag in the picture).

Despite managing to remove the bracelet after that I am not sure if this was a good decision as it is extremely difficult to put the pin back in place (it doesn't seem to go in the hollow cylinder in room temperature) You can see my progress in the pictures, I am not sure if I should continue and extert more force to the pin.

Is there a correct way to do this?

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Meme-Dweller
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Look up videos of sizing the bracelets of older Speedmasters, pre-screws. The process is the same. You're going to have to hammer it out then hammer it back in. Bang! Bang! Bang!
 
T
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Meme-Dweller Meme-Dweller
Look up videos of sizing the bracelets of older Speedmasters, pre-screws. The process is the same. You're going to have to hammer it out then hammer it back in. Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thank you for the advice 👍
 
dsio
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With the hammering it back in, it’s best to have the right tools, as without them you run the risk of bending the pin or damaging it. Most watchmakers will do it for $10-20 for you, I’d tend to leave it to them unless you have those tools.
 
Evitzee
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It's a 'pin and collar' arrangement. The pin is a tight friction fit in the collar so you'll need to assemble the two bracelet pieces with the collar installed, and then drive the pin through the collar with a hammer. It's a fairly typical way for bracelets to be constructed, I've never had problems removing or reinstalling a pin and collar, it's a straight forward process. I always use a bracelet block, but you'll have a tough time doing that due to the location of pin and collar in the clasp instead of in a linked bracelet, but it still should be easily achieved. If you don't feel comfortable any qualified watch guy, or a jeweler, should be able to reinstall it for you in 5 minutes. But if you are installing a leather strap you can always leave the bracelet unassembled and tackle it the next time you put the bracelet back on the watch.
Edited:
 
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