# New Bonklip-type Bracelets from Forstner (& Joseph Bonnie).



## drunken-gmt-master

On the heels of their JB Champion Komfit repros, Forstner is now taking orders for their revived bonklip-style "Klip" bracelets, including the hard-to-find 19mm width. Along with Joseph Bonnie introducing their version a couple months ago, this is great news for those of us who like the style, but haven't been able to find affordable vintage examples in decent condition. A nice feature of the Forstner version is that they can be attached to fixed-bar watches, like the original Mk. 11 & other vintage milwatches.


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## Nokie

Nice looking bracelet. A bit different than the rest, IMHO.


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## StufflerMike

The new Serica comes on a Bonklip bracelet.....


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## drunken-gmt-master

StufflerMike said:


> The new Serica comes on a Bonklip bracelet.....


Yes, Serica is part of the same company as Joseph Bonnie. I have the Joseph Bonnie/Serica Bonklip & it's well-constructed & comfortable. The drawbacks for me are they offer it only in 20mm width & it doesn't work w/fixed bars, hence my interest in the Forstner version.


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## brianinCA

I have the Joseph Bonnie bonklip on my Serica. Looks great on it and is very comfortable. Took a minute or two to figure out how to adjust it and how to take it on and off, but after that its great!


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## brianinCA

I also have the Forstner Komfit installed on my speedy, and likewise, took a bit of figuring out how to adjust it and get it on and off without having to readjust the length every time, but it is very comfortable and really gives that vintage vibe to it. Love it! 

Forstner has also posted teaser photos of a flat link bracelet similar to the one on the 1957 trilogy speedmaster which I am looking forward to.


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## drunken-gmt-master

brianinCA said:


> I also have the Forstner Komfit installed on my speedy, and likewise, took a bit of figuring out how to adjust it and get it on and off without having to readjust the length every time, but it is very comfortable and really gives that vintage vibe to it. Love it!
> 
> Forstner has also posted teaser photos of a flat link bracelet similar to the one on the 1957 trilogy speedmaster which I am looking forward to.


I have the Komfit on my Ollech & Wajs Early Bird (yes, the little button for the clasp gets some getting used to) & the Joseph Bonnie/Serica bonklip on a Habring2 Chrono-Felix. Just got my Forstner bonklips yesterday & currently have them on a Zenith Class 4 El Primero & a Time Factors Smiths PRS-29A. All is well.


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## brianinCA

drunken-gmt-master said:


> I have the Komfit on my Ollech & Wajs Early Bird (yes, the little button for the clasp gets some getting used to) & the Joseph Bonnie/Serica bonklip on a Habring2 Chrono-Felix. Just got my Forstner bonklips yesterday & currently have them on a Zenith Class 4 El Primero & a Time Factors Smiths PRS-29A. All is well.


How does the Forstner bonklip compare to the Joseph Bonnie/Serica bonklip?


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## drunken-gmt-master

brianinCA said:


> How does the Forstner bonklip compare to the Joseph Bonnie/Serica bonklip?


They're similar in construction quality & comfort, but the designs are a bit different. The female/non-clip end that attaches to the 12 o'clock lugs is much longer on the Forstner, more accommodating for fat wrists [edit: Joseph Bonnie/Serica offers 2 lengths, Standard & Long, & I have the Standard; Forstner is only offering 1 length, at least for now.], & the clip fastener has spring-loaded hooks that latch onto the "ladder" instead of the simpler (& less secure if worn loosely) friction hook & clasp on the Joseph Bonnie/Serica. The Forstner also has bigger links w/more space between them, so less adjustable but more breathable than the Joseph Bonnie/Serica.


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## futurepx

drunken-gmt-master said:


> Just got my Forstner bonklips yesterday & currently have them on a Zenith Class 4 El Primero & a Time Factors Smiths PRS-29A. All is well.


Can you share some pictures with the PRS-29A? Thinking about grabbing the bonklip for it as well but wanted to see what it looks like together


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## drunken-gmt-master

futurepx said:


> Can you share some pictures with the PRS-29A? Thinking about grabbing the bonklip for it as well but wanted to see what it looks like together


Here you go.


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## futurepx

Amazing, thank you! 

You’ve made me a believer


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## Thirdgenbird

Is it possible to shorten the Forstner? My wife has considered one of these on her vintage air-king but has pretty small wrists.


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## drunken-gmt-master

Thirdgenbird said:


> Is it possible to shorten the Forstner? My wife has considered one of these on her vintage air-king but has pretty small wrists.


Unfortunately, per my earlier post, the Forstner only comes in 1 size right now, rated for 115-230mm wrists, no max hand size provided, but I would guess averaging 250mm, depending on watch size. The Joseph Bonnie comes in Standard & Extra Long; if you go to their web site, you can see they write that the Standard is for 150-200mm wrists, max hand size 240mm & Extra Long is for 190-240mm wrists, max hand size of 280mm.


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## Thirdgenbird

Yeah, I saw it was one size. I didn’t know if the links could be opened to remove them. I assume that’s how they are expecting you to attach it to a watch with fixed bars.


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## drunken-gmt-master

Thirdgenbird said:


> Yeah, I saw it was one size. I didn't know if the links could be opened to remove them. I assume that's how they are expecting you to attach it to a watch with fixed bars.


Got it. If you have the right tools & skills, you could remove the links, as the brushed parts are made of folded metal like the originals. So definitely possible, but if someone like me were to do it, it would probably get pretty ugly! Maybe shoot an email or Instagram message to Forstner & see if they can do it for you.


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## drunken-gmt-master

drunken-gmt-master said:


> They're similar in construction quality & comfort, but the designs are a bit different. The female/non-clip end that attaches to the 12 o'clock lugs is much longer on the Forstner, more accommodating for fat wrists [edit: Joseph Bonnie/Serica offers 2 lengths, Standard & Long, & I have the Standard; Forstner is only offering 1 length, at least for now.], & the clip fastener has spring-loaded hooks that latch onto the "ladder" instead of the simpler (& less secure if worn loosely) friction hook & clasp on the Joseph Bonnie/Serica. The Forstner also has bigger links w/more space between them, so less adjustable but more breathable than the Joseph Bonnie/Serica.


Update. Now that I've had some time to compare them on the wrist, I can see how the different designs explain the different sizes of the ends: the Forstner has a longer 12 o'clock end because that's the pull-through adjustable end that clips onto the non-clip end, while the Joseph Bonnie/Serica is closer to the original Krementz/Bonklip by having the longer pull-through adjustable end at 6 o'clock. Not sure if this difference was due to actual ergonomic design choices or patent issues (I'm guessing some of both). For my wrists, I find the Joseph Bonnie/Serica design to be more comfortable because of the added adjustability of the smaller links & because it has a smaller "buckle" where the adjustable end passes through the fixed end; the Forstner's larger, less rounded "buckle" w/its own clip (to prevent overly fast loosening & loss of the watch if the clip breaks?) can protrude sometimes & get caught on clothing, etc.


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## svetoslav

I've just bought the Forstner bonklip for my new Mido 1961 and I don't know what springbars I should get? I read that it is best if they are at least 1.5mm in diameter, but what is the maximum thickness the bracelet would take? I could not find any pictures of the back of the endlinks and how they are attached to the watch. Could someone help me please?


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## drunken-gmt-master

svetoslav said:


> I've just bought the Forstner bonklip for my new Mido 1961 and I don't know what springbars I should get? I read that it is best if they are at least 1.5mm in diameter, but what is the maximum thickness the bracelet would take? I could not find any pictures of the back of the endlinks and how they are attached to the watch. Could someone help me please?


The end links have tubes for standard spring bars (1.7mm barrel), so just use the standard spring bars that came w/the watch. Fat (2.5mm barrel) spring bars will be too big.


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## svetoslav

drunken-gmt-master said:


> The end links have tubes for standard spring bars (1.7mm barrel), so just use the standard spring bars that came w/the watch. Fat (2.5mm barrel) spring bars will be too big.


Thank you very much, I've written to Forstner and here is the answer:
"Hi there! Standard inexpensive spring bars are 1.5mm wide, so those would work. You can also find higher quality (still inexpensive) spring bars that are 1.8mm wide or larger. The Klip bracelet will work with spring bars up to 2.2mm wide."

The original spring bars of that Mido Rainbow reissue are all quick release so I suppose they will not fit, plus my watchmaker does not have 21mm bars so I've bought 1.8mm thick high quality pair on ebay.

Just curious how the endlinks are attached to a fixed lugs watch?


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## drunken-gmt-master

svetoslav said:


> Thank you very much, I've written to Forstner and here is the answer:
> "Hi there! Standard inexpensive spring bars are 1.5mm wide, so those would work. You can also find higher quality (still inexpensive) spring bars that are 1.8mm wide or larger. The Klip bracelet will work with spring bars up to 2.2mm wide."
> 
> The original spring bars of that Mido Rainbow reissue are all quick release so I suppose they will not fit, plus my watchmaker does not have 21mm bars so I've bought 1.8mm thick high quality pair on ebay.


Sorry, I didn't know about the quick release spring bars on the Mido, but you got the definitive answer from Forstner & it sounds like your 1.8mm barrel eBay spring bars will work fine.



svetoslav said:


> Just curious how the endlinks are attached to a fixed lugs watch?


Instead of a solid tube for the spring bars that would see on a normal bracelet, the inner side of the tube facing outward from the watch lugs is slit lengthwise (i.e., it's really a long C-shaped clip) so that it hooks onto the fixed bars (or spring bars for that matter). I suppose if your quick release bars had small enough tabs, you should be able to simply clip the bracelet onto them as if they were fixed bars, but it would be a tight fit.


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## mario24601

drunken-gmt-master said:


> Update. Now that I've had some time to compare them on the wrist, I can see how the different designs explain the different sizes of the ends: the Forstner has a longer 12 o'clock end because that's the pull-through adjustable end that clips onto the non-clip end, while the Joseph Bonnie/Serica is closer to the original Krementz/Bonklip by having the longer pull-through adjustable end at 6 o'clock. Not sure if this difference was due to actual ergonomic design choices or patent issues (I'm guessing some of both). For my wrists, I find the Joseph Bonnie/Serica design to be more comfortable because of the added adjustability of the smaller links & because it has a smaller "buckle" where the adjustable end passes through the fixed end; the Forstner's larger, less rounded "buckle" w/its own clip (to prevent overly fast loosening & loss of the watch if the clip breaks?) can protrude sometimes & get caught on clothing, etc.


Great feedback, thanks! So it sounds like the JB version is a bit more comfortable and has more adjustment. I can never find a bracelet or rubber strap that I find totally comfortable. Does the JB have small "steps" in adjustment? Would they be equivalent to a micro adjust on a bracelet or longer like a hole spacing on a strap? Hope this make sense. I guess, how far is the distance from one adjustment to the next? Thanks.


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## drunken-gmt-master

mario24601 said:


> Great feedback, thanks! So it sounds like the JB version is a bit more comfortable and has more adjustment. I can never find a bracelet or rubber strap that I find totally comfortable. Does the JB have small "steps" in adjustment? Would they be equivalent to a micro adjust on a bracelet or longer like a hole spacing on a strap? Hope this make sense. I guess, how far is the distance from one adjustment to the next? Thanks.


You're welcome, I try to be helpful in these types of posts.

In any bracelet that has removable links, the smaller the links, the more adjustable (1 reason I like the old NSA/Novavit bracelets + they also had spring-loaded expansion clasps), even if they have no micro-adjustment option. Similarly, the adjustability of Bonklip/ladder type bracelets also comes down to the size of the links because the adjustable end simply clips/hooks on to the other end in the space between the links, so they're more like hole spacing on a strap that had holes along the entire length of the adjustment end (1 reason I like Perlon straps). The JB is more adjustable than the Forstner because it has smaller links (about 2.1mm v. 3.1mm) & less space between the links. On the other side, the Forstner is more breathable than the JB because of its bigger links & larger spaces between them.


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## mario24601

drunken-gmt-master said:


> You're welcome, I try to be helpful in these types of posts.
> 
> In any bracelet that has removable links, the smaller the links, the more adjustable (1 reason I like the old NSA/Novavit bracelets + they also had spring-loaded expansion clasps), even if they have no micro-adjustment option. Similarly, the adjustability of Bonklip/ladder type bracelets also comes down to the size of the links because the adjustable end simply clips/hooks on to the other end in the space between the links, so they're more like hole spacing on a strap that had holes along the entire length of the adjustment end (1 reason I like Perlon straps). The JB is more adjustable than the Forstner because it has smaller links (about 2.1mm v. 3.1mm) & less space between the links. On the other side, the Forstner is more breathable than the JB because of its bigger links & larger spaces between them.


Thanks again! Even more helpful! I am going to start my hunt for a NSA and bonklip. Our hunts never end do they?


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## drunken-gmt-master

mario24601 said:


> Thanks again! Even more helpful! I am going to start my hunt for a NSA and bonklip. Our hunts never end do they?


Good luck w/the NSA/Novavits, as they're vintage & hard to find in good condition for reasonable prices. 1 thing to watch out for is that because they're entirely pin-based, 1 in not-so-good condition can have rusted pins that are hard to remove & are not visible from the outside. The only modern repro of an NSA bracelet that I'm aware of is from Rado, but it's only offered in 18mm (& has the Rado branding on the clasp).


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## Fepofepo

Hi guys, do you think the Klip bracelet will look good on a hauer monaco ?


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## StufflerMike

Fepofepo said:


> Hi guys, do you think the Klip bracelet will look good on a hauer monaco ?


Heuer Monaco ? NO.


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## underhill

Love my Joseph Bonnie bonklip. I might buy the Forstner too, to put on another watch. The only thing scaring me on the Forstner is the bigger links, so less precise adjustment.


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## gmgSR50

Here's my Tudor Black Bay 36 on 19mm Forster Klip. I'm not typically a bracelet guy but I'm liking it so far.


















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TypeR10

I know it's an old thread but hope I still get answer.
I've just got a Bonklip with my Serica..my first impression is very comfy, lend rugged look and easy to adjust.
However having slender wrist the last hole on the standard length version seems OK in summertime but worried if it will be too loose in winters. It's just a tiny bit longer with 1 or 2 links.
My question is do anyone know a way to shorten the whole bracelet a bit? 
Thanks.


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## TheGanzman

TypeR10 said:


> I know it's an old thread but hope I still get answer.
> I've just got a Bonklip with my Serica..my first impression is very comfy, lend rugged look and easy to adjust.
> However having slender wrist the last hole on the standard length version seems OK in summertime but worried if it will be too loose in winters. It's just a tiny bit longer with 1 or 2 links.
> My question is do anyone know a way to shorten the whole bracelet a bit?
> Thanks.


Hogy Vagy?


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## TypeR10

TheGanzman said:


> Hogy Vagy?


szuperül, köszönöm! tetszik a Serica és a Bonklip is, de 1-2 linkkel kevesebbel még jobb lenne talán.


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## TheGanzman

TypeR10 said:


> szuperül, köszönöm! tetszik a Serica és a Bonklip is, de 1-2 linkkel kevesebbel még jobb lenne talán.


Sorry that I can't help you with your question - I hope someone else can! Just wanted to give you a "tip of the hat" in Hungarian; my grandparents were from outside Budapest, and my grandfather was a butcher there...


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## TypeR10

TheGanzman said:


> Sorry that I can't help you with your question - I hope someone else can! Just wanted to give you a "tip of the hat" in Hungarian; my grandparents were from outside Budapest, and my grandfather was a butcher there...


appreciate it,and hope you'll visit Budapest once - if you have't done yet


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