Folded rivet bracelet that came with my 5513...

[HERITAGE82]

I started a new thread so I can get some information on the Bracelet that came with my 5513. Please go to the last page of the attached thread and let me know your thoughts.

Thank you.


http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=186573

[RLX-lvr]

Originally Posted by QCASANOVA

I started a new thread so I can get some information on the Bracelet that came with my 5513. Please go to the last page of the attached thread and let me know your thoughts.

Thank you.


http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=186573

Hi

Your bracelet is a Original 20mm Rolex USA C&I Rivet bracelet, year stamped from 1976.
Yes these bracelets came from the factory on 5513's. They also came with 9315 folded link, and some came with 93150 solid link.
Did your bracelet come on this exact watch from the factory, who knows? The date seems close to the serial, and with Rolex anything is possible, they will use up all there parts I'm sure of it.

The USA rivet is my least favorite bracelets, and I would sell it and use the money to buy a 93150 with 580 ends as a better replacement.

You can sell that rivet between $400-500 and add some extra cash for the 93150.

The bracelet shown is all original as far as I can see. The endlinks just need to be spread out a little and some fine adjustment.

Nice watch and enjoy it.

Jeff

[jjmcd]

Originally Posted by RLX-lvr

Hi

Your bracelet is a Original 20mm Rolex USA C&I Rivet bracelet, year stamped from 1976.
Yes these bracelets came from the factory on 5513's. They also came with 9315 folded link, and some came with 93150 solid link.
Did your bracelet come on this exact watch from the factory, who knows? The date seems close to the serial, and with Rolex anything is possible, they will use up all there parts I'm sure of it.

The USA rivet is my least favorite bracelets, and I would sell it and use the money to buy a 93150 with 580 ends as a better replacement.

You can sell that rivet between $400-500 and add some extra cash for the 93150.

The bracelet shown is all original as far as I can see. The endlinks just need to be spread out a little and some fine adjustment.

Nice watch and enjoy it.

Jeff

Agreed with all of the above, except that you should be able to get a bit more for the C&I rivet band - more like $500-750.

As for fitment of the end pieces, it's never as good with rivet bands as with regular Oyster bands, but you can make it fit better than it is now with some work. As Jeff said, first you need to remove the band from the case and spread the end pieces (so the "U" shape is broader at the top of the U). You can also make sure that the tubes into which the springbars fit are round (rather than oval) and, if not, use a screwdriver to push on the exposed side to make them round again. You can bend the springbars so they're slightly curved and fit tightly into the end pieces (push them into the tubes with needlenose plyers), with the ends of the springbar pointed away from the end of the end piece (which will push the end piece into the area between the lugs of the case). Finally, you can apply a trimmed piece of electrical tape to the area between the lugs with the engraving, which will prevent the end piece from rotating downward.

Best of luck!

[HERITAGE82]

Originally Posted by nanuq

very nice! I'm partial to vintage folded bracelets, so my vote is to keep it and avoid the newer 93150. Call me a rebel.

I see that yours has been repaired. See the large gaps in the 3 outer midlinks? On the opposite side of those same pieces of folded metal you'll see subtle "indents" where the metal curves concave instead of convex. When the links are inserted and closed down, it's almost impossible not to get concave dimples on the outer surface.

Also look at the wide opening at the end link. That's not right, it should be a much smaller gap.

The piece that forms the final "midlink" and extends into the innards of the endlink through the slot, through which the springbar passes, should be curled tightly in to pull the endlink close to the body of the bracelet proper. When it's curled tighter that will change the geometry of the springbar/endlink to the case lugs, and will close up the gap between the bracelet and the midcase. Then you'll be able to open out the endlink "u" shapes to look right and fill that opening.

Here's a photo of a really tight gap at that location

Thank you very much for taking the time to show me the illustrations of my band. I am going to work on my band over the weekend and see how i can get it to "tighten up"....I did notice that the slot where the springbars pass through are flat??? ......I will keep you posted as I progress and post some pics.

[HERITAGE82]

Originally Posted by jjmcd

Agreed with all of the above, except that you should be able to get a bit more for the C&I rivet band - more like $500-750.

As for fitment of the end pieces, it's never as good with rivet bands as with regular Oyster bands, but you can make it fit better than it is now with some work. As Jeff said, first you need to remove the band from the case and spread the end pieces (so the "U" shape is broader at the top of the U). You can also make sure that the tubes into which the springbars fit are round (rather than oval) and, if not, use a screwdriver to push on the exposed side to make them round again. You can bend the springbars so they're slightly curved and fit tightly into the end pieces (push them into the tubes with needlenose plyers), with the ends of the springbar pointed away from the end of the end piece (which will push the end piece into the area between the lugs of the case). Finally, you can apply a trimmed piece of electrical tape to the area between the lugs with the engraving, which will prevent the end piece from rotating downward.

Best of luck!

Thank you for the tip about the electrical tape... I think that will help my situation!!....

[springer]

I'm very partial to the rivet bands and wear an early 1970's rivet C&I bracelet on my 1981 GMT. I find the light weight of the C&I rivet bracelets very comfortable on the wrist, much more so than the 93150's or the 78360 bracelets.

It's a personal preference.

[HERITAGE82]

So I attempted to get the bracelet to fit better and I was able to get them to be tighter towards the case. However I am still having trouble getting the "U" to be wide enough to cover the entire case.... any special tools used to widen the gap???....

The last close up side angle pic is from before so you can see that there was a lot of improvement....

[jjmcd]

Looks good! The rivet band end-pieces were designed for a thinner case (like 1675 GMT Master), rather than the thicker Submariner case, so the contour match between the top of the end-piece and the top of the lugs isn't going to be perfect. Also, the contour match is affected by the rivet band end-pieces being more of a V-shape (flat from the apex) than a U-shape (convex from the apex) like the regular Oyster band end-pieces. This difference is more pronounced on the thicker Submariner case, as compared to the thinner 1675 GMT Master case. If you haven't done so already, try bending the springbars so they're curved away from the end of the end-piece, as per my earlier post, which will press the end-piece into the case.
As for tools to spread the end-pieces, I used two flat-end screwdrivers with the tips covered in electrical tape, pushed into the "inside" of the U of the end-pieces. Using plyers for this purpose will likely mar the tops of the end-pieces, except maybe the type of needle-nose plyers with the rubber-coated tips.

[HERITAGE82]

Originally Posted by jjmcd

Looks good! The rivet band end-pieces were designed for a thinner case (like 1675 GMT Master), rather than the thicker Submariner case, so the contour match between the top of the end-piece and the top of the lugs isn't going to be perfect. Also, the contour match is affected by the rivet band end-pieces being more of a V-shape (flat from the apex) than a U-shape (convex from the apex) like the regular Oyster band end-pieces. This difference is more pronounced on the thicker Submariner case, as compared to the thinner 1675 GMT Master case. If you haven't done so already, try bending the springbars so they're curved away from the end of the end-piece, as per my earlier post, which will press the end-piece into the case.
As for tools to spread the end-pieces, I used two flat-end screwdrivers with the tips covered in electrical tape, pushed into the "inside" of the U of the end-pieces. Using plyers for this purpose will likely mar the tops of the end-pieces, except maybe the type of needle-nose plyers with the rubber-coated tips.

Thank you... I must have missed the part about "bending" my springbars. Also, I am pretty happy with the fit it just needs to be tweeked a little more for it to be an optimal fit. Your explanation of the "V" shape vs. "U" shape makes perfect sense and explains my difficulty in trying to acheive a flush finish.... I will keep you all updated!