# Odd Bremont Question about their bracelets



## russraff (Mar 28, 2008)

Hi,

After thinking that an Omega Planet Ocean was my "dream watch" I realised that it wasn't and that I really wanted something a little different and more British. Hence the move to Bremont, specifically the Solo with cream numbers on a bracelet. So I asked the nice people at the Jewellers in Newcastle (who aren't a dealer but they facilitated the sale from another branch in York) to change the watch for the Solo and they turned it around very quickly. York only had the Solo with a strap, but had another Bremont with the correct bracelet, so offered to swap them to make the right combination before sending it to Newcastle. I said "yes" and in a couple of days it arrived. Firstly I love the design and the look, exactly what I wanted. The case is unusual, in a good way and the exhibition back is a nice touch as well as the 100m water resistance.

However, I was most disappointed with the bracelet as it simply didn't fit (see picture of the watch held by the sales woman). You can see how the part of the breacelet that fits between the lugs can, with no real effort at all, be peeled away from the watch case. Is this how Bremont bracelets normally fit? Surely not? Puzzlingly, there were some new marks on the case, possibly done as a result of the strap being changed for the bracelet. If the cases of these watches are up at 2000V (if my engineering days are right, this is ceramic hardness territory) then surely these kinds of marks wouldn't be possible? The more I look the more questions I have, like I also noticed that some of the pictures that I saw of the watch have the placed hour markers indented into the chapter ring, whereas the one that I had delivered has not (see 2nd pic). I wonder if I have bought, quite by accident on everyone's part, an earlier release of the Solo. Hence all these oddities?

If anyone has any experience with the Solo, especially on a bracelet, then I would appreciate some feedback as I really like the watch but want to make sure I get the right thing.

Thanks,

Russell


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## CaptLeslie (May 15, 2011)

I think all of the Bremont watches are really designed to wear on a strap! They offer a bracelet because some people just really like them or maybe that is all they are comfortable with! All the cases of Bremont are finished between the lugs to show off the unique design of the case! If you take off the bracelet of that Omega, you would be surprised at how much it is scratched from the wear of the bracelet! The case between the lugs of my Rolex is not even finished, but is were they put the serial #. Anytime you have metal on metal you know what is going to happen! I think Bremont leaves a little space between the bracelet and case to minimize the wear on the case! But there will always be some wear! For me what drew me to Bremont was the case design, so I always wear a strap to show it off, and I can stare at ! I wear leather in winter and canvas in the summer! This is just my opinion on why the bracelet is designed like it is and yours looks like it fits the way it was designed! :-! Cheers Jim


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## russraff (Mar 28, 2008)

I think I see where you are coming from: the middle of the case is anodised aluminium and though that anodised layer is tough (more so if it's hard anodised) putting a bracelet on the case will wear the anodised layer, so they keep a distance that has the effect of the photo above? Hmmm. Maybe, and if so, I don't want the bracelet! 

As an aside, the marks were on the outer rim of the case, nowhere near the lugs. 

Russell


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## nikkicourtney (Jul 22, 2012)

I had the alt on that same bracelet and the fit was perfect, so perfect that it took the jeweler three hours to fit it. There was no gap, it sat perfectly flush and was rock solid. Yours looks like it might be the wrong bracelet or fitted incorrectly. I thought about trying a bracelet on my MBII and was told that it would go on, but the fit would not be flush or steady. I'd call bremont and see if this is the correct bracelet.


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## CGSshorty (Aug 16, 2009)

russraff said:


> I wonder if I have bought, quite by accident on everyone's part, an earlier release of the Solo.
> Thanks,
> 
> Russell


From the looks of the minute hand I would say you have the most current release. The first ones had very short minute hands and Bremont changed them at some point.


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## russraff (Mar 28, 2008)

Yeah, having looked about the place it looks like the one I had was the latest version of the solo. I have asked for a bracelet version direct from Bremont, so I would have thought that would be fault free. If not, then I will get that antique brown strap, instead, though I prefer bracelets to straps.


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## nolanz14 (Dec 12, 2009)

They should all fit flush to the case. The only issue I've seen is that the end link does not match up with the lugs on my MB11. That's probably because I used a SM 500 bracelet. I would suspect that should be the case as wel if the bracelet is the wrong one. Weird that it's not flush.


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## CGSshorty (Aug 16, 2009)

I am not sure this is even possible, but did they somehow manage to use the curved spring bars from the strap on the bracelet?


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## russraff (Mar 28, 2008)

I asked the same thing! The Newcastle branch changed the spring bars that were supplied for some Rolex ones and the same thing was happening. Looking at the Bremont website, there are three types of bracelet, one for the Solo/BC-S2, one for the Alt chrono's and one for the Supermarine range. I can but hope that the Solo has longer lugs than either of the other two options, and so allowed the lug link, or whatever that bit is called that fits between the lugs, to have much more float than normal. I also noticed that the thickness of the bracelet link as it mated with the case was much thicker. so that, while the top of the bracelet matched the curves of the lugs, the underside of the bracelet was so thick as to "step down" to the case back. Having said that, a picture that was posted by another WUS user shows that this may indeed be the actual fit of the bracelet, but then if they are all so similar...









The more I think on it the more I think that the bracelet was just not the right one.

Russell


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## bydandie (Mar 12, 2008)

The bracelets have different end links dependant on the model.


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## ericfeuer (Feb 8, 2007)

Dredging up this old thread as I just bought the proper ALT-c/Z end links from Bremont for my B-52 which is based on the ALT-Z case.......Im not super happy at how the end links actually stick out further than the tip of the lugs.....Check it out......ASked my buddy who has an ALT-C if his does the same, and his does as well.....Thats not the attention to detail i have come to expect from Bremont.


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## russraff (Mar 28, 2008)

To be honest, the bracelet for my solo was just as good as the breitling Sea wolf Avenger. Compared to omega planet and oris bc4 or even my current longines GMT the solo bracelet seemed like a fairly cheap oem part. Especially the clasp. Oris in particular makes a special effort in this regard. The old omega Seamaster was a class act too, with the clasp folding into itself so the inside of the bracelet was smooth. Difficult to explain...


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## matt.wu (Mar 24, 2008)

Did you email Bremont about it? Lots of endlinks don't fit exactly (by design), and sometimes the solution is just to not buy the bracelet. 

I'm a big fan of Bremont but I don't think their bracelets match the refined watch cases well.


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## ericfeuer (Feb 8, 2007)

I bought the links from them..


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## CGSshorty (Aug 16, 2009)

matt.wu said:


> I'm a big fan of Bremont but I don't think their bracelets match the refined watch cases well.


Same here. Straps only for Bremont.


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## bovie (Aug 20, 2011)

I used to have a bracelet for my solo and yes it should fit flush. Though I do remember the bracelet being a pain to install and wouldn't fit right if it wasn't installed correctly even though the springbar fit.


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