: Well.....probably from a purely
: "technical" point of view, the
: fitted all metal strap does add structural
: stability to the spring bar. Picture in your
: mind a rubber or this other nylon or fibrous
: type band getting caught at a steep
: angle......putting a friction grip on the
: spring bar pin/pins and pulling them
: sideways. If they don't breat, this sliding
: motion often causes at least one pin to
: slide out of the hole, releasing it. As a
: long time jeweler i often see this problem
: when someone comes into the store with a
: leather strap on that's under sized in width
: by a couple of millimeters. You can actually
: slide the band across the extra play between
: the lugs and get the band to release rather
: easily. Imagine this happening without your
: realizing it and loosing a great watch!
: ALWAYS use a leather band at least the full
: width of the lug spread!
: A well fitted metal band avoids the problem,
: and increases the "sheer" strenth
: of the spring bar. This because all forces
: of an inadvertantly pulled band are
: concentrated very near where the pins go
: into the holes. A soft type band (leather or
: nylon/cloth) can cause forces to concentrate
: toward the middle of the spring bar pin and
: cause it to bend/break at this middle
: section. Any "bar" has more
: strenth at the end than in the middle. I can
: bend a 4 inch piece of gold wire a lot
: easier than a 1 inch piece......let alone
: one of only a few milimeters. So when you
: have a spring bar within a well fitted metal
: strap.......the effective strength of the
: pins is increased by a wide margin.
: I will say the fact that the watch will not
: fall off your wrist if one pin is lost is
: the one area where i like this military
: style band. But it's not always the best
: looking choice for a dress gold watch or
: some sport models, where the fitted band
: really looks great.
: By the way, the original factory spring bars
: are "usually" way above the
: replacement pins offered by the jewelry
: supply houses for general use. Factory
: originals often have thicker walled
: stainless steel tube walls with a tougher
: spring strength. Rolex and Omega i have
: noticed this with. But the aftermarket pins
: are usually brass tubed with weaker
: tensioned springs! Something that tells me
: the wait to special order a factory
: replacement is usually worth it!
I ordered my NATO strap...thanks for all the advice..you guys are the best.
