Can I get them at a boutique? If so how much $ am I looking at?

 

Also, can I pick up a simple (non deployant) buckle there? Any help is much appreciated.

 

Any watch shop should have spring bars them for sale. Or just go online, you can get them from dozens of places including eBay, Amazon and other specialist strap stores.

Google "watch buckles" or "watch straps" and you'll discover a world of options.

 

Oh I know that, I should have phrased the question better I'm wondering if I can get OEM spring bars and buckles at an omega boutique, and if so how much they'll cost.

 

is this for speedmaster reduced? Most shops out there should have it although 19mm is less common.

 

No it's for my deville, the spring bars appear to be fine, but then again the watch IS ten years old and I'd rather get new spring bars than risk losing the watch.

 

Personally I NEVER buy "original/branded" spring bars. If you purchase high quality Swiss made ones from some parts supplier (Cousins/Ofrei or their likes) you will be getting at least 10 for the price of one. More often 20 or 30 or ....

Omega is not making their own spring bars. Neither does most others.
Example (there are MANY versions and dimensions to chose from):

Ø1.80mm - Single Flanged (Telescopic)

• ISO Swiss
• Single Flanged
• Steel
• Stainless Steel (SS)

19mm: Price for 10 pc = about GBP4.
(www.cousinsuk.com)

 

Indeed, Omega's spring bars are much more expensive than generic, but don't be under the illusion that the spring bars you are getting from your local supplier are the same quality as the Omega bars are.

Just happen to have this photo I took for someone else recently to show the difference:



One top is an Omega 2207 bar, so for 20 mm lugs on divers, or a Speedmaster Pro with bracelet (so a little shorter). Under that is a Horotec 20 mm bar - this is not some cheap Chinese bar from eBay, but a good Swiss made generic spring bar. The difference in quality is quite obvious, and the OEM bar is far better made and much more precise in it's construction - look at how the ends are retained on the tube and you get the idea.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with using something other then OEM spring bars, but it's more than just price that's the difference here...considering that OEM bars are just $2 each, that's money well spent for me personally.

Cheers, Al

 

Interesting comparison!

If I could walk into an Omega AD/Boutique and purchase Omega spring bars at USD2 each I would be happy. They actually charge about USD20-25 a pair over here.

Ofrei is selling these ones at about USD2 a pop:
http://www.ofrei.com/page1229.html
Perhaps worth a shot for us mortals without an account with the big guys?

 

Couldn't agree more. Many of us tend to neglect spring bars but the safety of our watches may depend on them.

 

Agreed as well. That is why cheap chinese stuff is to be avoided.
However buying good quality swiss made spring bars have never let me down.
I am not a "soft" user of watches. My watches are (almost) all worn, and I have a relatively active life.
All a matter of personal preferences. If I had half a dozen watches in rotation I would be fine with OEM pricing. However I am maintaining a collection of somewhat more than that.

 

Well I'm surprised they are charging so much - is that installed on the watch, or just loose bars that you install yourself? I order them usually 100 at a time, and I would not be ordering that many if it costs what you pay - they are making a killing on those.

Anyway, the key difference for me is the way the ends are held to the tube of the spring bar. If you look at any of the generic style, the telescoping part is a lot smaller in diameter than the tube. It's not because the tube has a great wall thickness, so when they just crimp the end of the tube to hold the telescoping end in the tube, it allows that end to wander off the center line.

If you look at my photo again, the Horotec bar has one end tipped up and the other end tipped down. Of coruse in the advertisements they always show everything perfectly in line, but in reality the ends move around. Movement is not good for a couple of reasons...first it allows the end link to potentially come away from the watch case, causing a gap between the case and the end link that many would have a problem with. Kind of like using a srping bar that's too small of a diameter, but this would be more sibtle likely. Now it's possible that a bezel on the watch may hide it to some degree. Second, this movement will get worse over time, leading to the bars failing prematurely. I see quite a lot of old spring bars where the tips have moved around so much that the crimp has opened up, and when I remove the bar the tip just falls out.

The Omega bars retain the tip differently. The tip is larger diameter, so no gap between the OD of the tip and the ID of the tube. So any bar you are trying, I would juge by how well the tip stays in line with the tube - if it's really loose and flops around a lot, I would look for something better.

Generic bars can work fine, as long as you replace them regularly you might not have an outright failure. For me as a service provider, I only use genuine parts, and when someone sends me a watch, I replace the spring bars. As I've said before, watch repair is a bit like a game of tag - last person to touch the watch it "it" and if the spring bar fails because I use a generic one, or put the old one back in, it's going to be blamed on me.

For this reason, I use Omega bars...

Cheers, Al

 

They charge the price for two spring bars over the counter. If you are lucky they will throw in a small plastic zip bag for free.

To have them installed they will ask you to leave the watch and pick it up in a day or two.
Additional charges apply.....

 

That sounds like highway robbery to me. And not very good service either.

 

Ce la vie.....

 

Is this at a boutique? Most boutiques in the US just give you spring bars if you have your watch and don't have OEM spring bars.

And they don't charge for it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Uprooting an old thread here. So just wondering what people are paying for spring bars these days, and considering that only the "enlightened few" are able to purchase OEM, what are my options in gaining good quality Spring Bars. It's always been a minefield.

 

I like how no one is telling him the price of an OEM buckle which any boutique can get for him.