When buying a pre-owned watch, condition is king. One of the many value factors regarding a pre-owned watch is the bracelet condition. Use this infographic to determine the condition of your bracelet.

EDIT :
How does this infographic translate into value?
My main concern is when a prospect buyer inquires the condition of a watch and the seller claims it's near mint - mint condition and the bracelet is "perfect".

By requesting the bracelet test, you have a standard to determine the true condition of the band. When you know it's a 60% bracelet, you then can determine it's definitely seen more use than you're being told. Additional to that, watches can be refinished and serviced to hide their use, but unless a bracelet is repaired by a jeweler/manufacturer the slack of the bracelet can help determine it's condition.

Using this test determines the overall condition of your bracelet. It's a simple method of understanding the use the watch has been through. 100% refers to a perfect bracelet, as it decreases on the chart the heavier the use.

Hope this helps someone make a great buy!

Best,

Thomas

 

Sorry, shouldn't there more to this?

Like, what does 75% look like and how does that affect value compared to 85%?

Right now, its more like "Here's a brand new car, and here's a car in the junk yard, now you know the difference"

Genuinely asking, since you hope this helps someone in the future, I think there should more than the obvious to help someone.

 

This is verging into spam territory.

 

A lot of buyers don't understand how to gauge the condition of a bracelet. It's short and sweet, it's something that supports an unknowing purchaser. I'm sorry you feel this is "spam".

 

I will elaborate now thank you very much for the insight.

 

Looks like about 103% pictured below.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

 

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https://www.rolliworks.com/

 

Mmmmmmmm.. viagra

 

True. To be honest, when I came to OF about 5 years ago, I didn’t know how to gauge the condition of a bracelet. I believe that your thread is informative and helpful.

 

I think it’s important to add- for those new to the hobby for which this thread is intended to inform- that a “stretched” bracelet is not actually a stretching of metal (don’t flatter yourself- your not that strong), but is wear of the internal pins and links due to abrasion caused dirt & funk (think about how many times each of those links rotates during the course of a day- then add grit+ repeated wear).
This can be repaired by a few skilled independent tradesmen- or a new bracelet can be acquired from Rolex if you send it to Rolex for repair (it’s important to note that they would replace it - they will not repair the bracelet as part of the service, so be advised if you want to keep the date codes consistent from case serial to bracelet). A stretched bracelet should not scare someone away from buying a vintage watch in nice condition unless they are looking for a safe queen and it must be perfect. Just factor in the cost of a bracelet rebuild while negotiating a price.

 

actually just wondering, how much would a bracelet rebuild cost? if it is just to replace the pins ... shouldnt be too much?