Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In a message dated 9/16/00 5:38:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time, htsang@email.com writes: << I'll take a potshot at what makes Rolex falls on its face in the eyes of watch fanatics like me... the "Oyster Bracelet". The design is so shoddy that anybody with an average size wrist cannot even center the clasp at the bottom of the wrist, even after running out of adjustable links on the near side. You've got to own one to understand what I mean. The clasp itself? Forget it. Stamped sheet metal... unacceptable in a $3000+ watch. You want to see what the "Oyster Bracelet" should have been like? Check out the X-71 bracelet of the Blancpain Aqua-Lung. Now THAT'S engineering. Pure solidity, plus you have to remove at least three screws to adjust one link. Rolex? One screw comes loose, and your President gets a date with the concrete floor. And don't even get me started about the movements... >> You're right. I bought my plain OP at Bucherer in Geneva in 1969, for the equivalent of US$120.00. By the way, from the standpoint of both craftsmanship and value, take a look at the double deployment stainless bracelet on the IWC Flieger and Flieger Chronograph. Looks outstanding on an average sized wrist. Joe Sobel Joe Sobel