I once broke a spring bar..
Hi Guys,
I once bought a watch on a strap, then changed it to a bracelet using some very cheap spring bars that I had bought at a watch fair.
A couple of weeks later, whilst clapping, the watch flew off. :-( Luckily the watch wasn't damaged, but there are now scratches on the crystal & case that weren't there before.
A spring bar had broken.
When I got home I checked the spring bars that I had left & found that I could bend them with my fingers.
I went to my local watchmaker & bought some from him. They cost considerably more than the "cheapies", but the unit price was not too bad & to be honest, since they attach a watch ( with a value anywhere between $500 & $3000 ) to my wrist they are STILL cheap.
Chucks advice is sound ( as usual ), If you are buying an "Older" watch & have ANY doubts about the spring bars, swap them out.
As Billy Boy says, if the watch also has a history of use around salt water, swap 'em out !
If you have your watches regularly serviced by a goood watchmaker, just ask them to swap the bars out at the next service.
If you buy only new (or newer ) watches, there shouldn't be a problem. Whilst the weakest part of the "chain" is undoubtetly the spring bar, Omega don't use cheap quality items. It's not not worth the risk.
Finally, for those of you who use Nato straps, you'd need to break BOTH spring bars to loose the watch in this case ( or break the strap ).
I have a Nato ( style) strap on my Dive watch, but I wouldn't dream of using one on an Omega .... Nato's , over a period of time, will damage the back of your watch.
Steve
