Do I need the exact links?

[TheWatcher]

Hello all.

Very light watch afficianado, I have several but in the $200-400 range, nothing crazy.

To help get over a breakup (everybody says do something nice for yourself) and to avoid wearing the watch my ex gave me, I bought unplanned a Ferragamo F-80 w/ ceramic and stainless band.  I was assured that he knew where the extra links were, packaging, etc.  Guess what?  He can't find them.

I've made an inquiry to MadaLuxe, that referred me to a contact in Europe with the domain universalwatch.net . 

While I wait to hear from them, I have a feeling its going to be a lot more money than I want to pay.  

What options do I have?  Can I take it a watch repair guy and he can just put in some similar stainless links?  I don't particularly care if they match exactly.

Thanks in advance.  

[noirrac1j]

YOu should be able to find a replacement bracelet (or modify a strap) of a similar style. What is the distance between the lugs?

 

J

[TheWatcher]

Hmm, replace the entire bracelet?  I kind of liked the way the stainless/ceramic looked.  

I'm not sure what you mean by distance between the lugs.  Where the bracelet attaches to the body?

I got a response from universalwatch.net, $50 a link, $25 shipping and 8-10 weeks.  Hmmmm. 

[noirrac1j]

Sorry I though you wanted options to be able to wear the watch. YOu want to add links to this bracelet, is that it? If so, then they do have to be the exact same links or you'll have to modify some other type of link.

 

J

[TheWatcher]

Gotcha.  I had only thought about matching/modifying a link, but a new bracelet might not be a bad idea, thanks for your help.  

I didn't know enough about it and wondered if there was a standard spacing, etc. that I might be able to use similar link just to lengthen it out a bit.  

[ro63rto]

What's the clasp like?

You may be able to use a clasp extender while you search for spare links.

 

 

[WatchMaker]

I think the $50 they want to charge you for a link is somewhat outrageous! If having a spare was a condition of the original sale - so that the watch strap could actually fit your wrist! - then you could go back to the seller and ask them to contribute or...

... the new strap suggestion might just be the best option. Once you've measured the distance between the lugs to find out the sizing (e.g. 22mm) then search online. For instance if you go to ebay and search for item 302266900608 you'll see you can get a similar whole silver-and-black ceramic strap for a fraction of what those toadies at universalwatch want to charge you for a single link!

[WatchMaker]

I went back to edit my last post but couldn't. What I wanted to amend/add was:

I'm not saying the strap I've referenced is the right strap for you as it's uniform width whereas yours widens as it reaches the lugs but you get the idea and there will be others out there I'm sure you can find with a search. But this also brings up another option...

...where you measure your strap link width near the clasp (e.g. 18mm) and get one of the aforementioned straps at that width and hope - because they look so similar - that you can extract a link (or links) from it to add to your strap. The whole strap is a fraction of what universalwatch want to charge you for a single link so it might be worth a punt! Just an idea!