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Whats so special about the Link Bracelet?

Anyone that's tried it on care to comment on how solid the clasp is?

Say the watch was in your sports bag and the clasp was open by accident. Is it solid enough to stand up to twisting/bending forces? Imaging throwing your bag in the trunk of your car, dropping bags of canned groceries on top and driving fast round corners. :)

Any worries?
 
Arran said:
Anyone that's tried it on care to comment on how solid the clasp is?

Say the watch was in your sports bag and the clasp was open by accident. Is it solid enough to stand up to twisting/bending forces? Imaging throwing your bag in the trunk of your car, dropping bags of canned groceries on top and driving fast round corners. :)

Any worries?
Click to expand...

What kind of car are you driving?

I understand that G-forces can be an concern in the Formula 1, but in my Nissan X-Trail I have yet do damage a gadget :D
 
Arran said:
Anyone that's tried it on care to comment on how solid the clasp is?



Say the watch was in your sports bag and the clasp was open by accident. Is it solid enough to stand up to twisting/bending forces? Imaging throwing your bag in the trunk of your car, dropping bags of canned groceries on top and driving fast round corners. :)



Any worries?
Click to expand...


Based on my hands on experience I doubt you would have an issue, but of course time will tell when these are out in the real world.
 
dotnet said:
I've been wearing link bracelets since forever (which in my lifetime equates to about 30-35 years). I love them and I hate them. My biggest issue is that they are loose early in the morning and tight late in the afternoon, and there is no easy way of fixing that (other than opening the clasp and wearing the watch flopping around, which I did a lot).
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The old problem of hair-tugging bugs me sometimes. What I wonder after hearing all these comments about it being light (very relative I know) is whether the links are solid metal all the way through or hollow. Or even folded, like the old Rolex steel bracelets.
 
angle said:
A combination of features; however the two that most readily come to mind:

1. Removable links sans tool - This is a huge factor as link bands typically require a tool to remove the links.

2. Flush clasp - This is obviously aesthetic, however it's an engineering aspect that took time / is impressive.
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The flush clasp isn't that big of deal. This type of clasp has been around for a while. It reminds me of the clasp on the Lunatik Lynk for the 6th gen nano.
 
McPhallus said:
The old problem of hair-tugging bugs me sometimes. What I wonder after hearing all these comments about it being light (very relative I know) is whether the links are solid metal all the way through or hollow. Or even folded, like the old Rolex steel bracelets.
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Actually, I wonder that myself. They've said nothing about this, so who knows?

Current Rolex links are solid. Cheap knock-offs are hollow, poor quality stainless, from China. There are some high-end knock-offs made in Italy that are solid, and good quality, but of course those are ten times the cost of the cheaper ones.

So, the upshot is yes, they can save a bunch of cash by making the links hollow. I don't think that is the case, but I can't say for certain.

When we have the band in hand, at home, we can remove a link and make a pretty good guess based on the weight. Until then, nobody knows.
 
NovemberWhiskey said:
Image

Image

Yes, that Casio version is tapered for women, and it is gold, but you can clearly see the resemblance. I am pretty sure they had silver male versions that looked even more like the Apple band.
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Those really look nothing alike.. You're basically saying all link bracelets look the same. You probably don't see a point in all the new emojis that were added in the most recent update.

Guaranteed the link bracelet has the highest demand and price for resale... However no one will want to buy a used leather band.
 
McPhallus said:
The old problem of hair-tugging bugs me sometimes. What I wonder after hearing all these comments about it being light (very relative I know) is whether the links are solid metal all the way through or hollow. Or even folded, like the old Rolex steel bracelets.
Click to expand...

I handled the bracelet when I went to my try-on appointment. The links are definitely NOT folded. They look solid. I suppose they could be hollow, but there would be no point in making them hollow.

The links are thinner than links on the other bracelets I've seen. If your idea of a quality link bracelet is one with thick, "chunky" links, then you might think the Apple one is "cheap". I didn't think there was anything cheap about the construction, but it is certainly slimmed down.
 
kdarling said:
We were discussing the link bracelet in another thread the other day, and OllyW brought up the fact that one of the normal features of such a band, is a way to make micro-adjustments.
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Thank you! I just adjusted one of my Movado watches using this technique (after 3 years!). My other Movado has both full size links and smaller links near the clasp to allow for various adjustments. Maybe the AW also has different sized links?
 
dyt1983 said:
If you look at the pictures of the link bracelet on the site (or if you see one in person), it's quite obvious that they're not "solid metal all the way through" ... to have solid links in the traditional sense, one link needs to fit into another and a pin is used as a hinge. From the external design of the bracelet, it's not likely based on the design (but still possible). But from seeing the back, it's pretty definitely not.
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Obviously there are pins holding the links together. The pin holes are not visible at all on the edge of the links. I assume the pin holes have been filled at the link edge by welding.
 
Apollonian said:
Based on my hands on experience I doubt you would have an issue, but of course time will tell when these are out in the real world.
Click to expand...

I tried one on myself today. My main concern is that it reminded me of some of my very high-end Sony Walkman/Discman purchases of the 1980's: Beautifully engineered, extremely finely engineered, utterly leading-edge, but not robust or durable enough for the real-world.

I was also surprised that when you close the clasp while not wearing it, the loop formed by the watch and bracelet is a springy/rigid oval shape. I didn't want to try it in the store with the sales guy watching, but I got the feeling that squashing the loop flat with the clasp closed could permanently damage/deform the link connections or even the clasp itself. I guess we'll get a bend-gate youtube video in due course if my suspicions are valid. The internet can be cruel :)

Personally, I've worn a high-end link bracelet watch for decades, but the bracelet is completely limp when off the wrist. You'd be hard pressed to damage the link hinges individually just by carrying the watch in your pocket and even sitting on it. It just goes completely flat.
 
Arran said:
I was also surprised that when you close the clasp while not wearing it, the loop formed by the watch and bracelet is a springy/rigid oval shape. I didn't want to try it in the store with the sales guy watching, but I got the feeling that squashing the loop flat with the clasp closed could permanently damage/deform the link connections or even the clasp itself. I guess we'll get a bend-gate youtube video in due course if my suspicions are valid. The internet can be cruel :)

Personally, I've worn a high-end link bracelet watch for decades, but the bracelet is completely limp when off the wrist. You'd be hard pressed to damage the link hinges individually just by carrying the watch in your pocket and even sitting on it. It just goes completely flat.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's illustrated here (photo courtesy of va.cambridge):
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What were you going to do if the sales guy wasn't watching? Smash it?
 
Honestly, the link bracelet reminds me of the old watch bands popular in the eighties that were stretchy for old people to slide over the hands without messing with a clasp.

Looks dumb and something for old people to use. IMO
 
I do wonder if it's solid or hallow. Based on the weight of the link bracelet, seems hallow :( Also, Apple hasn't advertised anywhere that it is solid links...

My solid stainless steel Orient band is a lot heavier and the dimension are very similar.

For $450 one would expect solid stainless steel at least. :confused:
 
I ordered the SS link bracelet, had a try on today, and came away a little disappointed. I will preface this by saying I've been wearing a 48mm Nixon watch, and maybe I'm used to it, but the SS felt feather light. I'm going to spend some time not wearing a watch for a while, then go back and try on again. I won't cancel my order, but if I'm not satisfied with the quality after wearing it, I may return for a cheaper version with the same functionality.

I plan on buying an Omega in the next year or two, and currently own a Tag Heuer, and there's just a significant weight to these watches (including the bands) that feel different. The 42mm definitely feels smaller on the wrist than it looks in pictures, to the point that I asked the Apple Store employee if it was the 38. It obviously wasn't sized for me, so I wasn't able to feel exactly how it will feel when I wear it. Anyway, I'm still excited about this launch and going to keep an open mind, but going to keep my expectations in check.
 
Bracelet all the way. Ordered a space black, but the regular steel one looks good too. Once you go black, you never go back #yolo
 
mightyjabba said:
The ease of removing links is impressive and innovative, but the thing is that most people only ever have to resize something like this once when they buy it, so I'm not sure if it's really a big advantage. It does seem like it's not really that overpriced compared to similar higher-end steel bands, but it also doesn't seem that different at a glance from the bands on much cheaper watches.
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A little tidbit.

If one of the links gets severely scratched or gouged, believe me. Being able to skip another one in without a professional jeweler or tools is PRICELESS.
 
solarguy17 said:
Honestly, the link bracelet reminds me of the old watch bands popular in the eighties that were stretchy for old people to slide over the hands without messing with a clasp.

Looks dumb and something for old people to use. IMO
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Speidel!

Gosh, I'd forgotten about them. They were so wonderfully stretchy/springy. You could flip them inside-out in one satisfying snap. Hours of fun. :D

I particularly used to love doing this with Dad's watch:
 

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Steve686 said:
A little tidbit.

If one of the links gets severely scratched or gouged, believe me. Being able to skip another one in without a professional jeweler or tools is PRICELESS.
Click to expand...

Unless of course you scratch one of the non-removable links. The removable ones are a fixed size whereas the non-removable ones are progressively sized to increase in width as they approach the case.
 
or just get the Milanese loop, even if it's scratch you won't be able to tell :)

I wonder how long the magnet last though and if it will demagnetize my credit cards.
 
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