Pretty interesting article about the lowly (but vital) spring bar:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-08/who-invented-the-watch-spring-bar-a-brief-history

I think is quite puzzling we can trust a few thousand dollars watch in such small and 'non-important' part.

Maybe put it on a NATO is the way to go?
;-)

 

Timely thread but sad. My Vintage IWC fell off my wrist last Sat. Because the spring bar failed. The watch will need repair as it landed on a tiled restaurant floor. The crystal and steel ring popped off. Hands and dial seem ok but the watch stopped working and hands barely move ... going to repair this week. The spring bar somehow came loose off the lug - and I still don’t know why. No one grabbed my wrist etc.

 

Sometimes I wonder if there is a recommended interval to replace the springbars (but I guess that it really depends on watch's frequency of use).

 

If you send your watch to a brand service center or competent watchmaker, the spring bars will be changed at every service. But clearly this is not often enough, in particular since many people delay servicing well beyond recommended intervals.

I have had many instances where I get a watch in for service, and when I remove the bracelet the spring bars just fall apart. So the first thing I recommend is using the best quality spring bars you can find, and Omega bars are very good, even when compared to Swiss made generic bars:



I've posted this before but if you compare the construction of the Horotec Swiss made spring bar to the Omega bar above it, you can see the Omega bar is far superior.

As you can see the Horotec bars are crimped at the ends, but this method of manufacture allows the plungers to get misaligned - you can see that the ends of that bar are tipped in opposite directions. This can allow the end link to shift around and the constant movement can open up that crimp over time - that's when they fall apart on removal. The Omega bars don't use the same method, and stand up far better over time in my experience.

If you change straps or bracelets, I would be inspecting the bars each time you do so, and replace any that are worn or damaged in any way. Failing that I would replace them every 4 or 5 years maximum.

Cheers, Al

 

A timely topic and a cautionary tale.

I'd never given much consideration to spring bars failing.

 

This is vital information, thank you, @Archer and @valkyrie_rider !!

I guess I've been pretty lucky so far, cuz I have only been replacing bars when they look cheap, or fall apart in a strap change , and I've not had any accidents with them as yet...

I'll be less negligent from now on, no doubt!

If I liked NATO, I'd be wearing them all the time, but I don't like the extra thickness and bulkiness that results with them... although they certainly provide extra 'insurance'...

 

You could try a Zulu strap, which is just a single piece so it doesn't add any more than one strap thickness of bulk to the watch.

 

NATO straps really want non flanged spring bars for proper security(just cut them out if you want to go back to leather). If the watch head gets caught on something the push motion can cause both spring bars to grip the NATO and release at the same time. Yes this has happened (not to me).

I like my fixed bar mil watches for knocking about.

 

Yep it was also in Springtime for Springbars …a public service reminder on the same topic from a few years ago.

You went further there to include a check of the bracelet, and I found this instructive.

@Njnjcfp88 Bummer. Sorry to hear this. Same thing happened to me once but it was a very low value piece and it suffered no damage.

Anyway. Good idea to double check and occasionally replace the bars. Review bracelet clasps + links ...and the hardware on your NATOs as well.

 

Thanks for the great suggestion. Ordered a half dozen 19mm Omega springbars from Ofrei..

 

Do you happen to know which one to get? I'm lost at all the different variations. I'd like to have a few spares for my speedmaster pro (20mm)

 

For a watch that y'all wear regularly, how often do folks replace spring bars? I guess if you switch out a strap often and therefore move the spring bars often, that would change things too...

 

I went with the Omega 19mm 1.8 mm thick double flange springbars. 1.8mm is the standard thickness according to Ofrei site. $1.80 a piece when ordering 3-11.
Heads up on your Speedy Pro. 20mm. Otto Frei says that certain 20mm Omega bracelets “that lift out the back actually use a 19mm spring bar instead of the standard 20mm...maybe order both 19s and 20s???

 

I'm no fan of the Apple watches, but I have to say they nailed it when they created their quick release mechanism on their bands and straps. Fighting with a springbar tool and always worrying about scratching lugs seems pretty silly if you have ever changed a band on an Apple watch with the push of a button.

 

just curious here, how much are the Horotec's?

 

For a Speedy Pro with 20mm lug width, you want the 2207 spring bar for bracelets, and for straps you want the 2208. Free lengths listed below.

2207 = 22.428 mm

2208 = 23.317 mm

 

Wonderful, thank you. Just out of curiosity. Leather bands would be considered straps not bracelets. Right?

 

Typically you can get them for free, or low cost, directly from the Omega boutique. Should be around $2 a pair if they will sell them to you.

 

Great, I have a OB near by, I'll swing in there and pick a few spares up

 

Is there a place where we can reference the springbars part numbers X omega watch model X bracelet/strap application?