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SARB033 Makeover Complete

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Finally found a suitable leather strap I liked well enough to make me drag out the tools and remove the 033's stainless bracelet. And the more I removed it, the more I began to appreciate it--I even began to feel down right guilty about about taking it off. It's a nice bracelet after all, it fit well right out of the box, and came with a machined clasp and solid end links--pretty much all the stuff you'd look for in a third-party upgrade bracelet. So why the swap?
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Well, I had this vision of what a SARB should look like--not a totally original vision, but a vision none the less, and I felt compelled to see it through. I began searching for a strap with exactly the right color, texture, stitching and feel I had in mind. There were some missteps, but eventually my quest for the el perfecto strap lead me to the shores England and the fine folks at Watch Gecko where I found a
"Vintage Highley Genuine Leather Watch Strap"

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It's an odd name, but turns out to be a pretty nice strap; the leather is nicely finished and padded, the stitching is perfect and the buckle is substantial. So, off with the old, and on with the new. The Seiko bracelet was easy enough to remove, despite the solid end links, and the guys at Watch Gecko also included three (?) upgraded spring bars that were a breeze to instal between the SARB's lugs.
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Am I happy with the results? Generally, yes. The strap looks fine on the watch and it's exactly the look and color I had in mind when I shelled out for the SARB in the first place--I'd never intended to wear it with the OEM bracelet. However, there are a couple of things I'll need to get used to. First, the overall look to my eye is a we bit diminutive, at least compared to my other watches, all of which are divers. This watch was small to begin with and the narrow leather strap makes it seem smaller, to my eye anyway. And is must be smaller, because it buckles only one hole from the end, meaning the floating leather keeper doesn't actually engage with the tail end of the strap. I'll probably remove it; the fixed keeper is all that's really needed. Both are minor issues, for a watch that will probably see less wrist time than any other I own. At least that's my thinking at this point, but who knows?
(Edited)
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ED61
1650
Apr 19, 2019
You nailed it nice strap good look
RayF
22213
Apr 20, 2019
ED61Thanks--appreciate it!
I like mine on leather a lot. I found I wore it much much more - it felt better with jeans and a sweater, where as on the bracelet it felt a little more formal.
RayF
22213
Apr 18, 2019
Vintage1982BenzThis is the only watch I've worn on leather for thirty or forty years, so I've some-getting-used-to to do. If things don't work out, the bracelet is safely tucked away.
Truelove1
2730
Apr 18, 2019
Very nice!
RayF
22213
Apr 18, 2019
Truelove1Thanks--it's growing on me!
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