Upgrades: New Clasp Deployed

Ratcheting In: It’s a disease that permeates technology in general, and perhaps watchmaking in particular: just as soon as Problems A though X have been effectively licked, Problem Y takes on almost overwhelming significance. Seiko, among all the majors in the biz, knows this very well: when the OG Seiko 5 series ruled the budget-sector roost, it was praised widely for its tough-but-elegant, high bang-for-the-buck status, but also criticized for lacking stuff like manual winding and hacking. When the heavily-revamped 5 Sports series was introduced a handful of years ago, the new line was both praised (hand winding and hacking, about time!) and lambasted (costs more, no solid-link bracelets or sapphire crystals, seriously?). When the 5 Sports GMT series mad e huge splash in mid-2022 and took virtually everyone by surprise, Seiko stuck to their guns with Hardlex (hardly, ahem, a biggie in my book), but upped the ante with solid links and end-links. I got my mitts on an 003 “Blueberry/Batman" last May, and was lovesick over the thing, quickly kitting it out with a Ritche leather strap and third-party deployment clasp (yay!) plus a sailcloth strap from Barton (boo…started fraying at the eyelets from the third wearing). I didn’t buy the straps because of being disappointed with the bracelet - I was seriously happy with it, as it seemed to tick every box. Almost.

And this is where the “Problem Y” phenomenon rears its head, aided and abetted by the seeming insidiousness of YouTube. During my post-moto-crash convalescence over most of last year, my YT cruising expanded a lot, especially on the watch front. Besides the usual suspects of MWC and The Urban Gentry, there was now Max of Watchcrunch, Andrew Morgan (both solo and via Watchfinder), W&W, The Watch Idiot, and, last but hardly least, the gang of the now-on-hiatus About Effing Time. Seriously dangerous stuff, but as my wife might say, at least it keeps me off the streets.

On one such video (Shout-out to Escapement & Watch) a pair of high-end Seiko divers had their clasps replaced with a clasp Seiko apparently makes - or made - for their upper-end Marinemaster divers, with perhaps the slickest divers’ extension I’d ever seen…in fact, for the very first time, I was convinced this previously useless-to-me feature was now the Killer App for a small but notable issue: maintaining a near-perfect fit regardless of time of year or degree of physical exertion, either of which leads to a notable change in wrist size. I wasn’t interested in making this change to all my bracelet-equipped watches - in one instance, it’s not desired, and in at least one other, it’s not possible - but for the watch I’m wearing most at the moment, yes, sir!

And today, some two weeks after ordering it, the new clasp arrived in the mail. And, long story short, it ’s seriously nice. Only two issues, both involving installation: the springbars holding the original clasp on the “new” Jubilee-style bracelet are a bit more tedious to deal with than usual, so a sizable helping of patience is necessary. Just as tedious is getting the bracelet itself back on the watch itself: while the drilled lugs on the GMT’s case make removing the bracelet a breeze, getting it back on is quite the different story…the solid end-links, loverly as they are, actually make the task a bit harder than hollow-links do, combined with the additional tedium of the inner links of the Jubilee. I managed the job with nary a scratch to any surfaces, but I don’t think I’ll be doing back-and-forth swaps with any great frequency. And that’s okay, since this new combo is absolutely sweet.

The Following Day...

Since making the change in clasps, I'm seriously amazed at the difference it's made, both in terms of how the watch looks and feels on-wrist: the look is tidier and more-tailored, and apparently not just on account of the clasp's unique ratcheting function…the actual around-the-wrist wrap looks and feels more cohesive. It certainly helped that I somehow didn't have to change even the position of the springbar in the outer section of the new clasp for a proper fit - same hole-position as the original. The watch hugs the wrist noticeably better, the weight balance improved. The locking mechanism on this clasp has a Fort Knox feel to it as well. I had a good feeling about making this switch overall, but now I'm truly floored by the full experience, just by changing a damned clasp.