Mesh bracelet / rubber strap suggestions

[RW16610]

I just received this from a Toronto based watch repair shop and need your help! I'm leaning towards a nice mesh bracelet that fits the 18mm lug width. Some sort of quality rubber strap would be nice as well. Since most of my watches are on bracelets I welcome all suggestions from TRF members with more experience selecting the aforementioned.

Here's a shot of the piece!

Circa 1975 (N5 date code)


I'm thrilled to have a vintage diver in the collection and of course the hunt for the next watches continue! A Breitling is next, then another Omega.

[Soarer]

Looks fantastic. Google up vintage Seiko divers and see if you can get similar rubber straps. Tropic rubber comes to mind. I bet some kind of shark mesh will do fine too for that piece.


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[RW16610]

Thanks, Albert I'm definitely leaning towards the mesh. There was one on my watch list (eBay) but it sold by the time this piece was delivered. My intent was to verify the lug width once it was in my hands.







Everything happens for a reason, I guess. My main concern with the mesh shown above was with sizing. My wrist is on the smaller side and it has no links, only the micro adjustment which is all the way in there. Also, the branding on the clasp but that's less of a big deal.

I'm having a hard time locating quality mesh bracelets online at the moment.

[bdex75]

Geckota for meat is a good balance of price and quality. Have a couple.


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[Old Expat Beast]

I've had a couple of Caravelle divers and put them both on a mesh strap from watchgecko.com (Geckota, as mentioned by Brandon). Cool watches and a fun brand to collect.

https://www.watchgecko.com/stainless...rap-by-geckota

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by bdex75

Geckota for meat is a good balance of price and quality. Have a couple.


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That's very good to know, thanks for this suggestion, Brandon! I spent a very long time searching but mostly found junk prior to this.

Seeing their offerings gave me an idea I can't believe I didn't think of before.



The one thing I couldn't seem to find even on Google was an image of this clasp open.

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

I've had a couple of Caravelle divers and put them both on a mesh strap from watchgecko.com (Geckota, as mentioned by Brandon). Cool watches and a fun brand to collect.

https://www.watchgecko.com/stainless...rap-by-geckota

Thanks, Adam! It's great to hear even more positive experience with the quality and strap choice. This is the first mesh bracelet I've stumbled upon with the quick release feature which is a huge bonus. The look of this piece would be ideal on a mesh, indeed.

The funny thing is I discovered this brand by accident days ago and was able to go ahead with this one without any hesitation.

Which ones did you enjoy owning the most?

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by RW16610

Thanks, Adam! It's great to hear even more positive experience with the quality and strap choice. This is the first mesh bracelet I've stumbled upon with the quick release feature which is a huge bonus. The look of this piece would be ideal on a mesh, indeed.

The funny thing is I discovered this brand by accident days ago and was able to go ahead with this one without any hesitation.

Which ones did you enjoy owning the most?

They all had their individual appeal. The only one I kept was a chrome-plated MOPAR branded manual wind (below) from 1975. Here's one of the divers on a Milanese mesh, too.

What's cool is that Caravelles were made all over the place, from Hong Kong to Japan, France and West Germany...and with the Bulova and Citizen connection were generally good quality. They were popular in Vietnam during the war and the name had a connection to the Caravelle jetliner which appeared just before the watch brand, and there was a picture of the plane on the early boxes.

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

They all had their individual appeal. The only one I kept was a chrome-plated MOPAR branded manual wind (below) from 1975. Here's one of the divers on a Milanese mesh, too.

What's cool is that Caravelles were made all over the place, from Hong Kong to Japan, France and West Germany...and with the Bulova and Citizen connection were generally good quality. They were popular in Vietnam during the war and the name had a connection to the Caravelle jetliner which appeared just before the watch brand, and there was a picture of the plane on the early boxes.

Very nice! Learning the history of this brand has been a lot of fun thus far. As I've been browsing listings I did start noticing how some were made in various regions which is even more fascinating.

Some of these watches seem pretty rare, and I bet that Mopar piece is one of them. Certainly worth hanging onto. In general you don't really see a lot of watches where companies paid to have their logo printed on the dial. Maybe this was more common practice in past decades. That or I just haven't been looking hard enough

[bdex75]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

I've had a couple of Caravelle divers and put them both on a mesh strap from watchgecko.com (Geckota, as mentioned by Brandon). Cool watches and a fun brand to collect.

https://www.watchgecko.com/stainless...rap-by-geckota

I believe you are the one that got me started on them!! . As a matter of fact I think one in my strap drawer came from you!

Hope you are well!


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[RW16610]

Originally Posted by bdex75

I believe you are the one that got me started on them!! . As a matter of fact I think one in my strap drawer came from you!

It's great to know he truly stands behind the quality of these.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by bdex75

I believe you are the one that got me started on them!! . As a matter of fact I think one in my strap drawer came from you!

Hope you are well!


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You're right! Hope it's still running well

[Dan Pierce]

Rubber? Bonetto Cinturini. Mesh? Strapcode flattened shark mesh.
dP

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by Dan Pierce

Rubber? Bonetto Cinturini. Mesh? Strapcode flattened shark mesh.
dP

Thanks for those suggestions, Dan!

I just did a quick Google search for the two aforementioned brands and like what I see.



The size of the mesh above reminds me of the vintage Omega watches, well in some cases.





I like that these have an actual deployment clasp for ease of use. I'm starting to see why so many become addicted to straps as it adds so much variety.

[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by RW16610

Thanks for those suggestions, Dan!

I just did a quick Google search for the two aforementioned brands and like what I see.



The size of the mesh above reminds me of the vintage Omega watches, well in some cases.





I like that these have an actual deployment clasp for ease of use. I'm starting to see why so many become addicted to straps as it adds so much variety.

Happy to help, Rommel!
dP

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by Dan Pierce

Happy to help, Rommel!
dP