Adjusting watch bracelet

September 22, 2005 7:47 AM

I need resources / how-to on adjusting the bracelet size on a stainless steel Invicta watch.
posted by Scottk to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

how to remove watch bracelet links

You can't add links (make it bigger), just remove them.
posted by ducksauce at 8:15 AM on September 22, 2005

You may find it easiest to just take it someplace that sells watches and have them adjust it for you. It should be about $10. That's what I do even though I'm big into DIY.
posted by exogenous at 8:31 AM on September 22, 2005

Another site with instructions on how to change a band (the pin-type). There is apparently an Invicta sizing tool available at many online watch retailers (for example here) although it looks just like an ordinary watch pin remover that you can certainly find cheaper if you are intent on doing it yourself. exogenous is right though. It's usually simplest to take it to a jeweler or watch repair shop to get it resized. Some jewelers will even do it for free. I worked at a chain jeweler in the mall when I was young and we never charged to resize pin bands. Changing them is simple. Remove the pin, remove the desired amount of links, reattach the links and replace the pin. It's simple if you have the right tools. A watch pin tool like the one linked above not only has a pushpin to remove the band pins but it allows you to line up the links properly. Trying to line them up and reinsert a pin after resizing can be a bitch. A rubber mallet is indispensable for hammering the little bastards back in.

All of this is assuming you want to make it smaller. If you want to make it larger you usually have to have it sent out. If your watch came with extra links (the better watches usually do) you'll probably still need to have it sent out but it won't cost as much. If it's still under warranty it shouldn't cost a thing. It would be a bit easier to answer your question if you gave a little more info on the watch. What kid of band is it? And do you want to make it larger or smaller?
posted by LeeJay at 11:51 AM on September 22, 2005

Oops, forgot to say. IF you have extra links and the band uses pins you CAN make it larger using the linked method. You would only have to have it sent out if either the band did not use pins or you had no extra links.
posted by LeeJay at 11:54 AM on September 22, 2005

Ahh, the Invicta. If you're like me, you pulled it off a list of the best (cheap) watches in the world, ordered it from some fly-by night Internet retailer, and now have a giant metal bangle hanging from your scrawny wrist. I spent about an hour trying to push the pins out with all sorts of household objects: paperclips, tiny screwdrivers, awls, ice picks, telekinesis, obscene words and gestures. Nothing worked. A little more research revealed that most of the crazy internet watch people (no offense intended, CIWP) also invest heavily in watch-related tools, and it makes sense for them, since they're crazy and have different watches for different moods and shades of light. They're constantly buying, selling, and trading watches, and (I assume) adjusting them to fit. You _could_ buy the little plastic tool that one would use for the job, or for the same price, you could visit the little man with the thick accent who works in the back of your local jeweler's, and he'll chuckle to himself and adjust your watch.

I ended up taking the metal bracelet off my Invicta 8926, and replacing it with a rubber bracelet, which I like a lot better. Turns out I'm not a metal bracelet person.
posted by tew at 6:12 PM on September 22, 2005