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Old Yesterday, 02:01 AM   #1
gmtyacht
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Are new oyster bracelets shorter?

I just got an OP41 Green dial and i have it fully linked and bracelet micro adjust at the maximum. Bracelet is still a bit tight for my preference. My 11670 GMT and 126622 Yachtmaster are both on the middle bracelet micro adjust and are much looser. Anyone else with a similar experience ?
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Old Yesterday, 02:09 AM   #2
fooey
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Wouldn't surprise me! Company's cost cutting everything they can!
Did you buy it from an AD?

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Old Yesterday, 02:11 AM   #3
gmtyacht
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Wouldn't surprise me! Company's cost cutting everything they can!
Did you buy it from an AD?

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I received it as a gift from my business partner. He bought himself a Pikachu !
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Old Yesterday, 02:53 AM   #4
fooey
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Wow..what a nice gesture!
I know if the bracelet is too tight when buying from an AD they will supply extra links for free, but u might have to purchase one

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Old Yesterday, 02:56 AM   #5
fooey
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I was just halfway through writing that, and the people on the sun lounger next to us got their bag robbed!
Unbelievable!

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Old Yesterday, 03:04 AM   #6
gmtyacht
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I was just halfway through writing that, and the people on the sun lounger next to us got their bag robbed!
Unbelievable!

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I bought a half link from Steel Reef, but still cant get it right. Will probably just deal with it feeling a bit tight. Where are you that a bag got robbed?
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Old Yesterday, 03:06 AM   #7
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I was just halfway through writing that, and the people on the sun lounger next to us got their bag robbed!
Unbelievable!

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Where???)


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Old Yesterday, 03:14 AM   #8
fooey
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Morro Jable. Jandia. Fuerteventura.
2 young local twats casing everyone up. They looked dodgy, so I moved my bag 10 minutes earlier!

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Old Yesterday, 03:14 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gmtyacht View Post
I just got an OP41 Green dial and i have it fully linked and bracelet micro adjust at the maximum. Bracelet is still a bit tight for my preference. My 11670 GMT and 126622 Yachtmaster are both on the middle bracelet micro adjust and are much looser. Anyone else with a similar experience ?
Yes I think the removed one link from 2023 onwards.. Previously I would always need one or two links removed ony 7 inch wrist but now they come almost sized
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Old Yesterday, 04:40 AM   #10
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Yes I think the removed one link from 2023 onwards.. Previously I would always need one or two links removed ony 7 inch wrist but now they come almost sized

All my watches were purchased brand new from my AD, in ‘23 and ‘24, and I noticed the same. All have only one or 2 links removed, for my 6 1/2 inch wrist. Since I want to leave them to my kids, 3 of whom are men, I’m thinking of acquiring extra links for them.

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Old Yesterday, 04:41 AM   #11
davek35
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Originally Posted by gmtyacht View Post
I just got an OP41 Green dial and i have it fully linked and bracelet micro adjust at the maximum. Bracelet is still a bit tight for my preference. My 11670 GMT and 126622 Yachtmaster are both on the middle bracelet micro adjust and are much looser. Anyone else with a similar experience ?
Last week I picked up an OP41 for my 7.5"/19cm wrist. Fully linked and micro adjusted to the max. Fits great, but no where to go if I grow. :) So I bought an extra link at $67, with taxes, to put in the box if needed. Pretty sad to spend that kind of money and have to pay for a usable bracelet.

I'm on a list for a SkyD. If I need to buy an extra link, the deal will likely not happen.
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Old Yesterday, 04:56 AM   #12
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I'm on a list for a SkyD. If I need to buy an extra link, the deal will likely not happen.
I needed two extra jubilee links for my SkyD for my 19.5cm wrist
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Old Yesterday, 04:56 AM   #13
gmtyacht
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Originally Posted by davek35 View Post
Last week I picked up an OP41 for my 7.5"/19cm wrist. Fully linked and micro adjusted to the max. Fits great, but no where to go if I grow. :) So I bought an extra link at $67, with taxes, to put in the box if needed. Pretty sad to spend that kind of money and have to pay for a usable bracelet.

I'm on a list for a SkyD. If I need to buy an extra link, the deal will likely not happen.
My Wrist is about 7.5" as well. A bit snug for my liking, but manageable.
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Old Yesterday, 05:17 AM   #14
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Yes I think the removed one link from 2023 onwards.. Previously I would always need one or two links removed ony 7 inch wrist but now they come almost sized
Yup - got a new op41 and one link out for a 6.6 inch. That’s nuts. Cutting corners it appears.

May try the steel reef for a .5. This is my second op41 and I can’t seem to get the setup right either
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Old Yesterday, 05:39 AM   #15
fooey
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Don't you think it's a bit desperate from Rolex to go down this road? After all the recent price increases as well!
What will go next? The outer sleeve?
Will the card go cardboard?

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Old Yesterday, 05:41 AM   #16
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I would need three links out for my wrist. I may be getting a new one from an AD (miracles may happen) in a few months and will be interested to see what number need to be removed.
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Old Yesterday, 05:44 AM   #17
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Yup - got a new op41 and one link out for a 6.6 inch. That’s nuts. Cutting corners it appears.

May try the steel reef for a .5. This is my second op41 and I can’t seem to get the setup right either

Did you try repositioning with the 3 position adjustment inside the clasp? My SA helped me dial in the fit of my Explorer that way.

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Old Yesterday, 05:49 AM   #18
gmtyacht
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Don't you think it's a bit desperate from Rolex to go down this road? After all the recent price increases as well!
What will go next? The outer sleeve?
Will the card go cardboard?

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I wouldn't be surprised if some nerd in R&D calculated that if you shrink the links by 1/50 of a mm it saves XXXX dollars to the top line, and xxx amount of people with 7.5 inch wrists will need to purchase an extra link, thus adding xxxx more to the top line.
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Old Yesterday, 06:02 AM   #19
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Did you try repositioning with the 3 position adjustment inside the clasp? My SA helped me dial in the fit of my Explorer that way.

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Thanks Kat. Yup, all of it - the 3 pos there and the ez in and out.
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Old Yesterday, 06:06 AM   #20
Coronette
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Originally Posted by gmtyacht View Post
I just got an OP41 Green dial and i have it fully linked and bracelet micro adjust at the maximum. Bracelet is still a bit tight for my preference. My 11670 GMT and 126622 Yachtmaster are both on the middle bracelet micro adjust and are much looser. Anyone else with a similar experience ?
Yes they are smaller. My AD had to get me an additional link for my two tone yacht master from Rolex. However they did not charge extra for the link.
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Old Yesterday, 06:47 AM   #21
kwingy
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Hmmm disappointing to read. Most of my watches in the past 2 years from ADs come with the standard 12 oyster links.
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Old Yesterday, 07:01 AM   #22
gmtyacht
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Hmmm disappointing to read. Most of my watches in the past 2 years from ADs come with the standard 12 oyster links.
Mine all have 12 links. Perhaps the links themselves are a bit shorter
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Old Yesterday, 07:09 AM   #23
KatGirl
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Mine all have 12 links. Perhaps the links themselves are a bit shorter

My guess, as well, since mine all have 12 links, also. Someone who has both an older and new Oyster bracelet should measure the links, to see if we can verify this supposition. It could be as simple as Rolex having shortened the links by 1 mm, which might not be noticeable, when looking at it, but would make a significant difference in the bracelet’s overall length.

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Old Yesterday, 07:23 AM   #24
vesnyder
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I am curious. I have a 7 in (178mm) wrist and purchased my Oyster bracelet GMT BLNR in 2020 and was surprised that I did not have to remove any links - just some fine tuning adjustment at the clasp and I was good to go. What is the max wrist size for the new Oyster bracelets?

FYI - I purchased during Covid and had no contact with the AD. He just left it at the door!
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Old Yesterday, 07:25 AM   #25
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My understanding of providing one less link is that it is less likely any customer will sell on any extra links they may deem as being unnecessary. That way less genuine Rolex parts are available from EBay etc.

For context, I recently purchased a Cartier Santos and found the watch a little on the tight side. The AD ordered two spare links without any issues or additional cost. It wasn’t a gold Santos though!
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Old Yesterday, 07:46 AM   #26
KatGirl
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I am curious. I have a 7 in (178mm) wrist and purchased my Oyster bracelet GMT BLNR in 2020 and was surprised that I did not have to remove any links - just some fine tuning adjustment at the clasp and I was good to go. What is the max wrist size for the new Oyster bracelets?

FYI - I purchased during Covid and had no contact with the AD. He just left it at the door!

My guess is your wrist is the max size they allow for, with a standard bracelet, which is ridiculous, IMO. Seiko bracelets are long enough for a 8 1/2 inch wrist.

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Old Yesterday, 07:53 AM   #27
gmtyacht
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My guess, as well, since mine all have 12 links, also. Someone who has both an older and new Oyster bracelet should measure the links, to see if we can verify this supposition. It could be as simple as Rolex having shortened the links by 1 mm, which might not be noticeable, when looking at it, but would make a significant difference in the bracelet’s overall length.

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Any number of things could be different. Perhaps the 3 holes for the bracelet micro-adjust are moved inward making the bracelet feel "tighter" or "smaller". Or maybe the "link" adjoining the bracelet to the case has been made smaller.
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Old Yesterday, 11:33 AM   #28
KatGirl
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Any number of things could be different. Perhaps the 3 holes for the bracelet micro-adjust are moved inward making the bracelet feel "tighter" or "smaller". Or maybe the "link" adjoining the bracelet to the case has been made smaller.

I think it’s more likely that Rolex did, indeed, change the number of links from 13 to 12, creating a situation, where more guys need to acquire extra links to get a proper fit on their brand new Rolex.

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Old Yesterday, 11:57 AM   #29
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Yes I think the removed one link from 2023 onwards.. Previously I would always need one or two links removed ony 7 inch wrist but now they come almost sized
No, they didn’t. I have a 21’ OP41 green dial and it fits exactly the same, and it came with the same amount of links as my 24’ OP41 celebration dial.

Differences in the actual case dimensions can affect how it sits on the wrist resulting in the needing of additional adjustments. For example, I normally sit in the middle micro-setting but for my Pepsi meteorite, I had to switch to the tightest micro adjustment because the GMT differs from the OP41.
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Old Yesterday, 12:23 PM   #30
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Yes, they are all smaller now, on my older Sub with no micro adjustment one link had to come off same with the GMT these were oyster bracelets. On the new oyster bracelet I’m good because of the glide lock and on the models with the micro adj open, sometimes and the clasp on the full adjustment. With the jubilee, I always need an extra link with all newer models.

I’m at 7.25 wrist sometimes depending on the weather or stress level of the day.

Again, brilliant Rolex squeezing every last drop of profit.

Cheers,
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