All above are correct but the 1173/ with 633's may be the cheapest option. May have vintage rattle but some love that.
I also have an original 1116/575 for my -69ST, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to resize it. And, on top of that, the spring bars in some of the links have rusted so badly that they're stuck. I put on a newer 1171/633 cause it was cheap, but it really bums me out that I can't wear the original bracelet. Not to derail the thread, but have you resized your 1116, Incabloc?
The only downside to the 1039 is its fragility it's not very robust hence I generally wear my 145.022 on a 1171. The 1039 does come out on special occasions though.
People often use the word fragile when discussing the older speedmaster bracelets. More often I hear them described as flimsy. Some say the links catch the hairs on their arms. However it might be that we are all used to the heavy, over engineered modern bracelets, heavy enough to please customers by their sheer weight. I have never had a vintage Omega bracelet break, nor heard of one breaking. So the evidence suggests these bracelets are in fact very fine pieces of manufacturing engineering, using only enough materials as required to do the job. Has anyone heard of one failing ? I speculate the weakest link remains the spring bars, either at the watch head or in the bracelet link. As to the correct bracelet for the op watch, I think the 1171 was introduced a little later than this watch was originally sold. A 1039 is most likely, but not excluding the others suggested.
I've thought this a few times. Rather than fragile, they may well just be correctly engineered, as opposed to modern bracelets that are made overly heavy in order to reinforce the impression of quality. Id also be interested to know if anyone has had a 60's flat link bracelet fail. I'm not convinced this reputation is deserved...
it's the sprung links that are fragile I've had a couple go but luckily STS are able to repair these. the bracelets are pretty strong but they can twist and deform the bracelet.
Love the flat-link models because the spring-links give a little bit of a custom fit, without the stigma of a Speidel.
I can understand that. Some of mine have had failed springs in the links. However, while this isn't great for the bracelet, it isn't harmful to the watch, as the centre link maintains the integrity of the bracelet. I think this is where the misunderstanding comes from, with this spring failure being extrapolated to the point where people think it's risky to wear a Speedmaster on one.