# IWC deployant clasp worth it?



## Mockingbird

I'm pondering purchasing one for my Mark XVI (currently it resides on a tang buckle) but the price (about $400) seems a bit steep for something so small.

Is it really worth it?


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## NightScar

I'll be honest, I don't think it is worth the price they charge. With that said, I still want one for both my IWC's but sadly having a small wrist, the single fold deployant just won't work. I think it completes the look even though not everyone will know. Quality-wise, I am pretty sure it top notch.


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## Mockingbird

Oh it's only single-fold? That's a disappointment. Deployants usually kill my wrist, but the double fold on my Jaeger feels great.


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## ulackfocus

Yep, single fold - and I had the same trouble NS did. It didn't wrap around my wrist correctly and was uncomfortable. Very good quality though. I sold mine for $175. It was a 16 mm clasp for the Mark XV. The XVI has an 18 mm clasp and would run more - and act fast if you see one because forummers jump all over them preowned.


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## tmw57

x
http://www.mywatchmaker.net/deployants/deployantBQ.htm


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## tmw57

I have the same problem with my roundish 6.75" wrist. I was unable to wear the IWC single fold that came with my Portofino (sold) and am unable to wear the single fold deployants that came with both my Omega DeVille power reserve and Rallymaster. I took both straps and deployants off to save for a possible flip in the future.

The solution has been the double fold deployant from Bob Davis along with new straps. Very high quality, great price and Bob is one hell of a nice guy...
No affiliation, etc etc...

the finest quality deployants available


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## Dimer

NightScar said:


> sadly having a small wrist, the single fold deployant just won't work. I think it completes the look even though not everyone will know. Quality-wise, I am pretty sure it top notch.


I also have that issue  I've got a small rounded wrist and the folding clasp makes my watch slide to side of my wrist. The quality of the clasp is really good!

If the folding clasp fits you, I would go for it. Don't forget that your strap will last longer with this folding clasp and it is also a safety clasp! We recently had a customer come in to buy his second Portuguese Chrono as he lost his first one because his watch slid of his wrist :-x


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## lvt

Mockingbird said:


> I'm pondering purchasing one for my Mark XVI (currently it resides on a tang buckle) but the price (about $400) seems a bit steep for something so small.
> 
> Is it really worth it?


Maybe a better solution is to buy a new genuine alligator strap with deployant clasp, it's not signed IWC but the quality is comparable, same grade of SS, even more comfortable. Anyway the old strap won't last forever with a daily use, why spend $400 on it ?


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## Broleo

worth every penny if you have a bigger wrist...

for small wrist it will 'dig' onto your wrist and will feel uncomfortable...

saying that... Im enjoying my IWC deployant and find absolute kwaleetee...


cheers


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## egzbuen

The deployant on my wrist sits at the side. Not a good fit.

Of course I am using the oem specs strap length so as stated before here at wus, better to get a strap fitted for the deployant.

To answer your question: the guys got it right already. Very nice quality but still too expensive


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## mrkjeezy

I bought one for my 3717-01 and just recently sold it. My wrists are small and the strap was uncomfortable with the Deployant on. If you have small wrists its not worth it....


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## dddrees

I purchased one for my IWC Pilot Chronograph.

I have 7 1/4 inch wrists and it seems to work just fine.


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## GuitarAddict

This thread is an example where the forum has proven its worth. I was thinking about ordering a deployment but my wrists are pretty small, 6.75". Sounds like I wouldn't be happy with one. So, now I can save my money for something else. Thanks for the input, everyone. :-!


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## Michael Schott

I'm not sure if it's still true but IWC has made a smaller version of the single fold deployant. Personally I don't think they are worth the money but the quality is excellent. There are plenty of quality aftermarket deployants available, both in single and double configurations. If you want a recommendation, send me a PM.


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## portauto

Is the deployment buckle for the Mark XVI the same as the one for the Portuguese Automatic? I find mine very comfortable, one of the best buckle's I've had on any watch

However for a military watch I think the tang buckle keeps the watch simple and classic, but that's just aesthetics

Kindest Regards,
Portauto


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## vbuskirk

The single fold on my Portofino "looks" great but I'm not particularly in love with it. It feels okay, but the fit to my wrist is not natural (e.g. strap bows out on the sides to pick up extra wear). What I dislike most is having to disassemble it to put the watch in a travel case and that it does't fit on a standard watch box pillow. I'm waiting on the courier to deliver an IWC tang that I recently purchased. We'll see how the horse race turns out...


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## FlyPenFly

IIRC, the straps required to use the single fold deployant might be a different size than standard.


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## vbuskirk

The tang buckle arrived today. It is a half smidgen too big. Drats. Also, it is certainly less sexy than the deployant. I'll give it a couple of weeks before deciding whether to backtrack.


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## charles2

Last week I went to have a look at a Mark XVI at my AD for the first time.
I also asked about their discount policy.
The reply was that they didn't really give much discount (from 3260€ to 3200€) but I would get the deployant clasp (€ 350) for free.
As my AD explained, 90 % of repairs that they get is because of people dropping their watch to the floor, and with a deployant clasp, the risk of accidentally dropping your watch is near zero.


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## akit110

vbuskirk said:


> The tang buckle arrived today. It is a half smidgen too big. Drats. Also, it is certainly less sexy than the deployant. I'll give it a couple of weeks before deciding whether to backtrack.


It may be less 'sexy' but I think the tang buckle is more masculine & traditional and better suits the military/utilitarian/sporty aspect of the watch. The deployant is more luxurious and to me better suits a dressier watch like the JLC Master Control or a Cartier on an expensive croc strap or something (where extending the life of the strap becomes more important).


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## bosfen

I have on (almost) every IWC I own and ever owned the deployant clasp. For me it's worth every penny !


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## premoon

Hi Guys! 

To me it is not a question of "sexy" or else.... with a deployment buckle you avoid that soon or later your watch get badly damaged by falling on the floor......this is what happens soon or later with a tang buckle bracelet when trying to install the watch around your wrist....... for sure.
But yes, original clasps are expensive, Omega asked me more than 2000usd for a solid rose gold clasp for my speedy......crazy. 

Cheers, Phil.


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## charles2

I have a 6 inch wrist, and a new Mark XVI with deployment clasp, and the first few days I changed continually between a little too tight and a little loose. When I closed the strap & deployment clasp tightly it became painful after a few hours. Then I decided to opt for wearing the strap slightly loose and now I find the deployment strap quite comfortable.


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## vbuskirk

vbuskirk said:


> The single fold on my Portofino "looks" great but I'm not particularly in love with it. It feels okay, but the fit to my wrist is not natural (e.g. strap bows out on the sides to pick up extra wear). What I dislike most is having to disassemble it to put the watch in a travel case and that it does't fit on a standard watch box pillow. I'm waiting on the courier to deliver an IWC tang that I recently purchased. We'll see how the horse race turns out...


I've officially and permanently transitioned back to the deployant. I bought a new travel case just for the IWC (i.e. one that doesn't require me to disassemble the deployant).

*EDIT*: I also sprang for a new IWC strap. They have since redesigned the OEM strap for the portofino to address the issue above about bowing on the side of the wrist due to deployant. Now, the tail portion of the strap is super long, so that this area of the hinge on the deployant doesn't coincide with an area of the wrist that gets a lot of exposure/wear. All is good now.


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## Cabaiguan

tmw57 said:


> I have the same problem with my roundish 6.75" wrist. I was unable to wear the IWC single fold that came with my Portofino (sold) and am unable to wear the single fold deployants that came with both my Omega DeVille power reserve and Rallymaster. I took both straps and deployants off to save for a possible flip in the future.
> 
> The solution has been the double fold deployant from Bob Davis along with new straps. Very high quality, great price and Bob is one hell of a nice guy...
> No affiliation, etc etc...
> 
> the finest quality deployants available


Im going to have to second that recommendation. Bob is great. I purchased one of his double-fold deployants for my Speedie and it is of excellent quality...for a fraction of the cost of OEM.


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## vbuskirk

Really? I love Bob, but the RHD deployants aren't exactly in the same league, would you say?


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## Mtl20v

tmw57 said:


> The solution has been the double fold deployant from Bob Davis along with new straps. Very high quality, great price and Bob is one hell of a nice guy...
> No affiliation, etc etc...
> 
> the finest quality deployants available


That's a great price for what seems to be a good product. Does anyone know what size i should order for a portuguese chrono?

Thanks for the heads up!!|>


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## anonymousmoose

Personally I can't justify deployment clasps for the watches I own. For the money they cost, I prefer to put it towards another watch or towards a nice authentic strap. I can't speak of the IWC clasp as I've never handled one, but I once got to own the OMEGA deployment that came with a watch I bought and owned for a short time and it was an excellent clasp. 

Deployment clasps are great if you can priorities the cost of one over putting the finances towards another strap/watch.


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## letangman

The double d clasp is well worth it, the single can sometimes feel a bit akward depending on who's wearing it.


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## mr.haha

I have a full sized deployant on my 3718 and i love it. i have pretty small wrists 6.75" and it rarely feels like i am wearing a deployant.


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## bigjoecary

I would prefer either of the deployment clasps to the alternative.


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## hobsong58

If you swap the straps ie long tail at 12 the deployment sits way better.


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## ricochet

It is worth every cent, not to mention that it slows the wear and tear of your expensive OEM strap


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## Cabaiguan

vbuskirk said:


> Really? I love Bob, but the RHD deployants aren't exactly in the same league, would you say?


Sorry, haven't checked this thread in a while. The RHD deployant from Bob is of excellent quality. I use it often and has always performed well. I just purchased an IWC Spitfire with OEM strap that I plan to put on Bob's deployant. Is it the same "quality" of IWC...not sure, but I do know that it's not $400 and Bob makes a double-fold deployant that fits my <7" wrist better than the IWC single-fold piece. Frankly, a SS deployant should not cost $400...you're paying for having the name engraved at that point...JMHO.

Check them out...www.mywatchmaker.net

I'm in no way affiliated with Bob. He has great customer service and is a really good guy. Always throws in "extras" in my orders, includes hand-written thank you's and other touches that make me go back to him. Stand-up outfit.


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## KRISPY

hi all - new to the forums, but having researched this topic extensively I can reliably share with you what I have found out being an owner of the 3717 pilots chrono and the OEM deployment clasp. 

Firstly - there is only one size of IWC clasp available for each model - the rumour suggesting there may be a smaller one is incorrect. For the 3717 pilots chrono, the IWC ref number of the clasp is IWA05337 (stainless steel)

Secondly - it's absolutely true that the deployment is NOT PERFECT for use with the original strap that comes with the watch - it's simply too long to provide a totally comfortable fit i.e with the curved part of the clasp sitting flat to the underside of your wrist - perfectly centred. If you want to keep the original strap, then the best way to improve the fit is by switching around the strap pieces i.e The shorter piece of strap (with the two loops on) needs to be fitted at the 6 o'clock position, and obviously the longer part with the holes in is at the 12 o'clock (this is the only way watch straps can be set up when using an IWC deployment clasp). 

This improves things somewhat, but the natural weight of the watch still shifts it to the side of the wrist during normal wear - it also slightly "bows" out the sides of the strap. 

Thirdly - for true perfect fit of the deployment clasp you will need a strap with specific dimensions. Unbelievably, even though IWC sell a folding clasp for the pilots chrono, they don't actually produce a strap to go with it - The dimensions you will need are: 

21mm width at the lugs
18mm width at the tips
short piece length: 55mm
long piece length: 135mm and unfortunately there is no OEM IWC strap with these dimensions!!

The strap for the Portuguese Automatic ref 5001 (sold WITH the watch on deployment already) is 135mm and 55mm in length, but, annoyingly, is 22mm wide at the lug, so unsuitable for the pilot. Take a look at one of these next time you're out and you will see exactly what I mean - the long piece looks strangely "long" and the short piece.. well... too "short". but trust me. it works.

So in conclusion - if you want to keep the IWC OEM strap and use a deployment clasp with the ref 3717, then you'll need to simply switch the strap pieces around. Not perfect, but absolutely fine for me.

- if you want pure comfort and perfect look/fit then you'll need to buy a strap or have one made with the dimensions above, and again make sure the strap pieces are switched as described - short at the bottom, long at the top.


Hope this helps - it's been frustrating finding all this out, but you learn a lot from these experiences! 

cheers, Krispy


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## vbuskirk

"Short at the bottom, long at the top" is how my AD mounted my recently purchased replacement strap [for Portofino], but I ended up switching it back to the more traditional configuration. With my wrist, the watch head had a tendency to rotate slightly away from me, when not sitting perfectly centered on the wrist. Now, if it tends to rotate any (i.e. due to the effect you described as "the natural weight of the watch still shifts it to the side of the wrist during normal wear"), it rotates slightly inward, toward my body (& thus toward my eyes).

P.S. By the way, the old IWC strap that was replaced was 114/75mm. They have since recognized that their deployant is a little odd, and created this 'extra long tail + extra short buckle' contraption.


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## 5959HH

Cabaiguan, my wrist is also <7" (6.6"), and you are quite correct that the RHD double deployant will be a much better choice for the Spitfire than the IWC single deployant, particularly on a small wrist. I almost always remove an OEM strap from a new watch and go with a generic alternative. One consideration would be a custom Stone Creek alligator strap with thumb nail tang buckle, which I used to wear on my Mark XVI Spitfire that looked good and was very comfortable. BTW the Mark XVI is not only an extremely nicely finished watch but also an outstanding value as well. I am certain that you will be more than happy with your incoming acquisition!


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## TeutonicCarFan

I am in the midst of purchasing a pilot chrono and hopefully a deployant clasp. I was wondering if anyone knows of places that can make a strap that looks like the big pilot with the 55/135 dimensions that they can recommend.

Thanks,
Kevin


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