- Posts
- 571
- Likes
- 619
blueteg
·I bought a Zenith Daytona last year and was really excited about it for the first few weeks, but after the initial excitement wore off, I couldn't help but notice that the fitment of the bracelet was a bit off for my 6.5 inch wrist. With the minimum number of links fitted to the 6'clock side of the bracelet, it still felt too long on that side resulting either the clasp or the watch case sitting too far back on my wrist (closer to my ulna bone).
I love this watch, so it was a little disappointing to not get a perfect fit. In the quest for the perfect fit, I thought I would try swapping the bracelet off of my 39mm Explorer to see if it was compatible with the Daytona case. Since my Zenith Daytona is one of the later versions (U-serial) of the 16520 reference, it has the machined indentation on the lower side of the case, between the lugs, allowing compatibility with some SEL style bracelets.
The Explorer bracelet fit pretty well! The brushed surfaces give it a subtle look and blends well into the brushed surfaces on the lugs. The solid endlinks, solid links, and milled clasp give the bracelet a much nicer feel. Most importantly the Explorer bracelet can go down to 4 links on the 6'clock side of the bracelet, resulting in a perfect fit.
I've thought about sending the Explorer bracelet out to have the center links polished so it looks like the original bracelet, but I'm not sure I'm ready to make that kind of (permanent-ish) modification to the Explorer bracelet.
Original Daytona bracelet with misaligned clasp
39mm Explorer bracelet with the beautiful milled clasp perfectly centered on the bracelet
Comparison of the bracelet lengths on the 6'clock side from the endlink, down to the beginning of the clasp.
I love this watch, so it was a little disappointing to not get a perfect fit. In the quest for the perfect fit, I thought I would try swapping the bracelet off of my 39mm Explorer to see if it was compatible with the Daytona case. Since my Zenith Daytona is one of the later versions (U-serial) of the 16520 reference, it has the machined indentation on the lower side of the case, between the lugs, allowing compatibility with some SEL style bracelets.
The Explorer bracelet fit pretty well! The brushed surfaces give it a subtle look and blends well into the brushed surfaces on the lugs. The solid endlinks, solid links, and milled clasp give the bracelet a much nicer feel. Most importantly the Explorer bracelet can go down to 4 links on the 6'clock side of the bracelet, resulting in a perfect fit.
I've thought about sending the Explorer bracelet out to have the center links polished so it looks like the original bracelet, but I'm not sure I'm ready to make that kind of (permanent-ish) modification to the Explorer bracelet.
Original Daytona bracelet with misaligned clasp
39mm Explorer bracelet with the beautiful milled clasp perfectly centered on the bracelet
Comparison of the bracelet lengths on the 6'clock side from the endlink, down to the beginning of the clasp.
