Uncle Seiko Beads of Rice Bracelet for SARB017
Having always heard good things about Uncle Seiko I was surprised to have mixed feelings about the Beads of Rice bracelet I received from them. On the one hand, it looks gorgeous on the Seiko Alpinist SARB017.
And on the other, it was possibly the most difficult aftermarket bracelet that I have ever had to fit. I'm constantly changing straps and bracelets so I'm no novice. But after an hour of cursing and fiddling I finally managed to get it on.
The bracelet features brushed outer links that perfectly match the brushing on the case and highly polished "beads of rice". Solid end links and a signed clasp, with 3 adjustment positions and on my 8" wrist I didn't need to remove any of the links that are held inplace with pins. The bracelet comes with 2 different sets of spring bars.
One of the things I love about the Alpinist is how well it works with most straps. However, I can't see it coming off this bracelet for the foreseeable given how hard it was to fit!
The problem lies in the end links. They are extremely tight between the lugs and in order to get the bars to seat I had to pry them into position. It is so tight and misaligned that I broke one spring bar trying to lever it into position. My concern is they could break due to tension whilst wearing the watch day to day, only time will tell.
So in summary, beautiful high quality bracelet let down by poor implementation of the end link bar alignment.
Scottish, in my 50's and I prefer 20th century styling & design for my watches. Have no preference over movement type, Quartz or mechanical they both have pro's & cons. For me, a watch is for telling...
This Z199 never comes of my SBDC105. It’s all brushed and looks great with the chocolate gilt dial
Uncle straps are soooo good especially on Seikos. I think if I ever get a BB58 I’ll get their jubilee!
That looks fantastic and worth the effort. I love the OEM+ look.
I agree, I have the president for my sarb017, looks phenomenal but I too have been experiencing great difficulty getting the springbars to secure in the endlinks. I love swapping straps as well and while my alpinist is on the president 90% of the time, I immediately regret it when I decide to remove it. Might give strapcode a go and see how it fares in comparison.