- Hirsch/Equation
of Time combo...
- Written
by Chuck
Maddox
on 4 June, 2000, certain
rights reserved.
- Last
Revised: 4 June, 2000, 5:01
GMT
-
- I recieved the
following post via e-mail a week or two
ago:
-
- From:
??????@???.com
Date: Sat, 20 May
2000 23:55:47 EDT
Subject: Your awesome
leather band / clasp
combo!
To:
cmaddox@xnet.com
-
- Chuck:
-
- You don't know me but I
have been lurking in the Omega forum for several weeks
and have finally followed the advise of the experts
(mainly yourself) in obtaining a vintage Speedmaster
which will arrive this week.
-
- In looking at your
photos, I am becomming more interested in the leather
strap with deployment buckle as my "look" than the
steel bracelet the watch is coming with.
- As such, I would like to
ask a favor- could you create this great combo (see
photo attached) of black strap (with cool white
piping) and deployment buckle for me? I would be happy
to pay all costs involved including a little extra for
your time.
-
- Thank you for taking the
time to respond to a stranger!
-
- <Name omitted for
privacy...>
-
-
- Since I get e-mail's
like this frequently I thought I would post my reply
publically with the idea that I could submit it as a
TZ Classic at a later date. Today is the date I submit
it in TZ Classics! The original questions posed are
formatted like
this, my
response is anything else! Here is my response
interspersed with the original post:
-
-
- Chuck:
-
- You
don't know me but I have been lurking in the Omega
forum for several weeks and have finally followed the
advise of the experts (mainly yourself) in obtaining a
vintage Speedmaster which will arrive this
week.
-
- First off,
congratulations on your Speedmaster! Second, thank you
for your kind words (me an expert! =)). If you have
been lurking for a while you'll know that I own a
number of Speedmasters, although most of them are
variants and not the mainline moonwatch versions. I'm
interested in hearing more about which vintage
Speedmaster you purchased. I also hope that you will
"de-lurk" when you can because the more the
merrier!
-
- In
looking at your photos, I am becomming more interested
in the leather strap with deployment buckle as my
"look" than the steel bracelet the watch is coming
with.
-
- Personally, I'm
traditionally more of a "bracelet guy" than a "strap
guy"... I went to straps on these Speedmasters because
I intend to put a display back on one of them and to
me the idea of having a metal bracelet where it could
easily come in contact with a crystal display back
wasn't a comforting one to me.
-
- As
such, I would like to ask a favor... Could you create
this great combo (see photo attached) of black strap
(with cool white piping) and deployment buckle for me?
I would be happy to pay all costs involved including a
little extra for your time.
-
 -
- First a problem... The
picture of my two moonwatches with the deployant clasp
was taken with my old (Kodak DC-120) camera which
doesn't have a decent macro capability. As a result
the strap that is on the watch does _NOT_ have white
piping. It's stitching is black. You can see a much
better impression of how the Hirsch Windsor Strap
looks at the following links which are done with my
new (Olympus D-620L) camera:
-
 - '63 Speedmaster
(Pre-Pro) c.321
-
 - '67 Speedmaster
Professional (Pre-Moon) c.321
-
- So if you are looking
for White Stitching you will need to find a different
strap than I used.
-
- Second thing... The
reason I went with the Hirsch Windsor Straps is
because I have large (8") wrists. The Hirsch Straps
were the only straps I have been able to find locally
that I can order in the longer lengths that easily fit
my wrist. If you have less beefy wrists your strap
options are much greater and easier to
find.
-
- Now if you still like
the looks of the Hirsch Strap I do have to tell you
that they take time to obtain if you need the long
lengths: at least 6 to 8 weeks, and I have been
waiting much longer for the last batch that I ordered
locally.
-
- I'm just a guy that
likes watches (well I like watches, I LOVE Chrono's!).
I'm not really set up for doing watch work. I would
much rather point you out to links where you can find
a strap that _you_ like than to have to make judgement
calls for you (and potentially disappoint
you)...
- I guess to sum up...
-
- I'd rather
_empower_ you, than do it _for_ you if
possible...
-
- I hope you
understand...
-
- Here is the
plan of action that I would recommend:
-
- 1) First find
(obtain) the strap that you wish to use with your
Speedmaster.
- Here are some
links:
- --------------------
-
- ***
I created this chart of available long length
straps available for order from Hirsch from a
1998/1999 Hirsch data sheet. It is NOT official,
probably out of date and probably has
mistakes... It is for casual reference only!!!
-
- What I would do if the
Hirsch strap is what you want, is I would call all of
your local Jewelry stores to see if they carry Hirsch
Straps (my local mall Rodgers & Hollands is where
I get mine). Take your watch along and buy/order the
strap of your choice. If you can not locate a local
dealer for Hirsch Straps I would contact their US
office for assistance:
-
- HIRSCH
Speidel Inc.
(http://www.hirsch.co.at/english/company/index.htm)
70 Ship
Street
Providence
R.I.02903
Tel. 001 / 401 /
421-8600
Fax 001 / 401 /
421-6244
- If you have a Pre-Pro
(straight lugs) you'll need a 19mm strap, if you have
a Pro (flared lugs) you'll need a 20mm strap but DO
measure or have measured the distance between the lugs
so you get the proper sized strap.
-
- 2) When (after)
you have the strap(s) you wish to put on the watch you
can then proceed to ordering the Deployant buckle from
Equation of Time. What you need to do there is to
measure the width of the strap at the buckle. You can
either do an outside measurement of the strap or an
inside measurement of the buckle. The Hirsch Windsor
straps have a 16mm width at this point (for point of
reference).
-
- When you have this
measurement you can order a buckle that suits your
tastes and or needs. Here is the link:
-
- Equation
of Time Deployant Buckles:
(https://www.wsccommerce.com/eotstore/index.cfm?do=list&CategoryID=8)
-
- I prefer the 16mm buckle
size deployant clasp, double folding with push button
release myself as the button release assures me that
the buckle isn't going to pop open unless I want it
too. But your tastes may differ.
-
- Ordering through EOT is
easy and painless. You can place an order via a secure
browser and reasonably expect to have the clasp within
a week. Then all you have to do is to swap out the
existing buckle for the deployant. You may wish to
invest in a proper tool for working with spring
bars... I use this tool from the TZ
Tool Shop
(http://www.tztoolshop.com/FB_Catalog_Link_Pin_Removers.html):
-
- "First-Quality
Spring Bar Tool
-- If you can afford
it, this is the spring bar tool to have. It comes with
one tip that is reversible in the handle: a small fork
on one end and a pin on the other. The other tip is a
large fork, which is the most useful end for removing
spring bars quickly on leather straps. The large folk
end is just about the only tool which will remove the
bars on Seiko rubber divers bands. Order an extra set
of replacement tips and use the large fork in one end
of the handle and the pin pusher in the other end. The
small fork grabs the most stubborn of spring bars on
the backside of metal bracelets and makes removal easy
and reliable. The pin tip is for pushing out open-lug
spring bars and press fit bracelet pins. FB-504
$18.95"
-
- But the Standard Spring
Bar Tool (at the top of the same page) would probably
be sufficient.
-
- Thank
you for taking the time to respond to a
stranger!
-
- No problem. When you
post as often as I do it comes with the territory! I
hope you understand my hesitance to take you up on
your request. I believe you will get even more
satisfaction if you do a little bit of leg work to
accomplish the same result and you'll know the "lay of
the land" for future reference.
-
- The other piece of
advice I would offer you is that a strap will not last
as long as a bracelet... Sooner or later you will have
to replace it. I would recommend that when you buy any
strap is that you purchase two so that when you have
worn out one, you put the second one on the watch and
use the first one to reorder (or to use as a sample)
for the purchase of two additional straps. This way
you are not ever in a lurch. I recommend the same
thing for printer ink cartridges too! (buy two when
you get down to 1 on hand buy two
more...)...
-
- Looking forward to
hearing from you again!
-
- Cheers!
-
- -- Chuck
-
- Since my initial post
I recieved the following information from Mark Hanson
which is also very helpful. I am including it so that
his contriubtion isn't lost for the ages!
- I have the
18mm EOT single and double deployant clasps. I prefer
the double clasp as the single clasp digs into my
wrist a little bit. Neither clasp has opened
accidently and the single clasp is slightly easier to
close than the double.
-
- Some other
strap choices...
-
- ***
- This one I
saved info from the forum several months ago. I later
ordered one and sent it back the next day. The quality
looked OK, but not for the price. The show stopper was
that the cutout for the tang of the buckle was off
center so the factory tang buckle was loose on one
side and was compressing the leather on the other
side. FYI - it is 16mm at the buckle end
-
- Omega, Calf
skin 20mm black strap w/SS Tang style buckle. Part
#97631079021. Price is $86.50 (USD)
-
- ***
-
- Breitling -- I
picked up a great brown buffalo leather Breitling
strap for my Speedmaster '57 Re-edition. It looked
great but it was too long. It was $100 and I returned
it to the store. Short and long straps are available
for $150 by special order.
-
- ***
-
- Girard
Perregaux -- The make a great rubber strap 20mm at
lugs, 18mm at buckle. It's the strap I wear almost all
the time now on my '57. It's not going to damaged by
sweat and still looks great after 4 months of wear. It
will probably last several years. I believe the list
price is $175. GP also makes a kevlar strap that is
said to be very nice.
-
- ***
-
- IWC -- I also
have the brown water buffalo leather strap that ships
with the UTC watch. It looks great on the '57
Speedmaster. I sealed the stitches on the wrist side
of the strap with super glue to help make it last
longer. It seems to be fairly water resistant and
should be a long lasting strap. The stitching will be
the first part to show wear. If I remember correctly,
the list price of this strap is around
$150.
-
- Regards,
-
- Mark Hanson
- Jerry Tollison also
replied and said:
-
- "...You may
want to add Don Ginsler to your list of strap
people,,,,,,don@tick.ca He has good straps, good
buckles and excellent prices. Jerry "
-
-
Acknowledgements:
-
- My thanks go
to Mark and Jerry for the ideas and thoughts they have
added. I hope that you find this posting
useful/informative/educational/entertaining!
-
Statement of
rights retained and permissions
granted...
-
- Permission for
personal, educational or non-commercial use is
granted. The author retains all other rights not
specifically mentioned here... For all other use
please contact the author.
-
- Cheers!
--
Chuck
Maddox
(mailto:cmaddox@xnet.com)
|