Rolex Bracelets and Clasps Over The Years

[inadeje]

While sat looking at my collection and wearing older 5 digit bracelets back-to-back with contemporary 6 digit bracelets I’ve come to the following conclusion.

Rolex possibly went too far with it’s bracelet and clasp designs in an effort to make these, quite frankly, too durable (if that’s possible?)

The 5 digit SEL bracelets with the pressed steel clasps are the most comfortable, well-centered (clasp) and perfectly balanced, combining an ideal weight and feel on the wrist.

The 6 digit bracelets with heavy cast clasps are over-engineered, too industrially perfect and nowhere near as lithe and comfortable as the 5 digit.

Looking at the 6 digit clasps it appears Rolex’s brief was to create an indestructible item that is simply just too, well, solid. The aesthetic appearance has also suffered as these clasps have become bigger and bigger. Huge reinforced cast slab sides, in most cases covering the whole width of lower wrist, even on my 7 3/4. It has grown markedly worse with the latest 21mm bracelets with their clasps looking like an appendage from Marvel’s Iron Man franchise.

Wearing a 5 digit SEL bracelet after wearing a 2022 latest iteration is a huge comfort advantage in favor of the veteran design. The solidity of the 5 digit SEL bracelet is perfectly fine for a few decades of daily use. The pressed steel clasp, while less substantial than the cast variants, is perfectly serviceable and light, taking up just one third of the lower wrist real-estate compared to the newer 21mm clasps. It distinctly seems that Rolex went overkill in it’s plight to make a solid feeling watch.

Making things indestructible can sometimes be both a disadvantage and discomfort. The finesse is gone in today’s iterations. Instead, replaced by overzealous engineering and atomic bomb proof designs that have lost the delicacy of the older bracelets and clasps.

What say other TRF members? Does anyone wear back-to-back contemporary with neo-vintage and not feel Rolex went too far solving a problem that nobody had?