New buckles

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Sifion
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New buckles

Post by Sifion »

I have meaning to do this thread of a while, as i got curious when Mr. Ward showed the pics of the new diving buckle on the chat.

Today we got the 1st "real" picture of one of the new buckles/deployant mentioned in the chat.

Image
Image

Seeing the new buckle made me think that it won't look good on the already existing straps, mostly because of the fixed keeper. The floating one could be removed but the other one will remain there with no real funcion and might look odd.

Any thoughts?


Kip,
Any more news on this?

Cheers,
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Re: New buckles

Post by Kip »

You will see in the photo that the fixed keeper is still there. That will only affect the appearance and not functionality.

Not sure if CWL will be going to bespoke straps without keepers or not.

I believe the "Bader clasp" will eventually be introduced across the line and replace the one in current use.
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Re: New buckles

Post by akirk »

It will be interesting to see how it wears - will it not separate / gape where the strap end now under the main strap has no keeper to go through - I guess it is trapped between strap and skin...

Also - the current system leaves the deployment central within the strap when you look at it visually done up - this will end with a step which is much chunkier - and I can see that catching on things - it would definitely concern me as it is more likely to cause damage to my desk (which cost more than any of my watches!)

will look forward to seeing it...

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Re: New buckles

Post by teestech »

akirk wrote:...this will end with a step which is much chunkier - and I can see that catching on things
A very good point. Definitely something that will have to be tried and weighed up against the current option.
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Re: New buckles

Post by The Naf »

definitely not one for the dressier watches...personally I really like the clasp on my C5 and its much better than say the Tissot ones...wouldn't replace it with something like this...on the more sporty models perhaps...
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Re: New buckles

Post by Sifion »

Kip wrote:You will see in the photo that the fixed keeper is still there. That will only affect the appearance and not functionality.

Not sure if CWL will be going to bespoke straps without keepers or not.

I believe the "Bader clasp" will eventually be introduced across the line and replace the one in current use.
I know that will not affect the funcionality of the strap or the buckle. The keeper itself is the one without function and will look odd on the wrist.....

The picture doesn't show, but i can assume that the deployant is signed right?

Alasdair,

Omega uses a buckle like this one and i don't think that will cause that much trouble, if i undestood your concern.

Image
Image

I think that keeper hanging around will be much more of a concern since it will be easy to get stuck in something.

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Re: New buckles

Post by downer »

I have one of those Omega deployants shown above.

It is extremely comfortable and far dressier than the previous CW deployant, so I think the new CW model is a clear step in the right direction. :thumbup:
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Re: New buckles

Post by akirk »

On the omega, how deep is the step? Bresumably it has to be about the thickness of strap + buckle?
On the current one it is buckle only, surely that has to be shallower?

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Re: New buckles

Post by downer »

Not sure I fully understand.. :)

In both cases, the total thickness (at the largest point) must be the thickness of the strap x 2 + the thickness of the actual steel deployant..

So, surely it comes down to how thick the deployant is... In the case of the Omega, it has a far, far slimmer profile than the CW (or Bremont, or other 'standard' deployants I've used). The result is that you cannot really feel the deployant when your wrist is resting against a solid surface (e.g. the desk).
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Re: New buckles

Post by highway62 »

looks a much more elegant solution that the existing clasp which I found pretty uncomfortable.
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Re: New buckles

Post by akirk »

Thanks Richard - difficult to describe :)
on the current deployment - when done up the underside of the watch is strap with a bit of deployment over it but then the strap continues and goes through the keepers
so if you run your finger along it - you go along the strap - up onto the deployment - down to the same bit of strap - up and over keepers etc. - so the step change in thickness at the bottom of the watch which hits the desk is only the thickness of the deployment clasp...
whith this other style of deployment clasp - the main bulk of the clasp is on the outside of the straps, not between strap and wrist - so if you run your finger long one side, you will go up slightly with the thickness of the clasp, and then down onto the other part of the strap - which is a much bigger 'step'

I can understand that this should make it far more comfortable to wear, but I am assuming that it makes a bit of an edge just where the watch rests on the desk as I type... if there is any danger of that catching on the desk, then it wouldn't work for me...

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Re: New buckles

Post by downer »

I (sort of) understand your explanation...

In the end, I suspect different people will prefer one or t'other solution. I have had deployants which I found incredibly uncomfortable - for example, the first time I tried the Bremont one on an MBII strap. The deployant was digging into my wrist and the actual steel part seemed to catch on all kind of surfaces.... However, when I tried the same deployant on a different (slightly thicker) strap, it suddenly worked! So, the combination of clasp thickness and strap thickness is quite critical.

For me though, the Omega solution (where the strap tail goes inside, rather than outside) has proved to be the best I've tried so far.

Only one way to find out................. :)
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Re: New buckles

Post by akirk »

Thanks Richard - makes sense - will have to have a look at them...
downer wrote:Only one way to find out................. :)
don't ;)

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Re: New buckles

Post by Sifion »

Just found new pics.

Image

Image

Look like they are going bespoke, Kip. I see no keepers...

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Re: New buckles

Post by Kip »

Yes they are. Confirmed for new introductions.
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