Does anyone know if a GMT II Oyster Bracelet with SELs will fit a SUB ND 14060M?

[Nucengineer]

Hey TRF Members,

Just wondering if anyone has tried this experiment before

Regards,

Jim


PS Sorry if this question has come up before.

[sleddog]

Hi Jim..
Any SEL bracelet will not fit a 14060 without modification!!
Here's a thread form Larry(Tools) that may help explain it in a little more detail..
Read right through,it does mention the 14060.
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=110678

[Tools]

Here is an article that I wrote that tells you exactly why an SEL will not fit on a 14060...

[Tools]

Every once in a while we get asked "Can I fit an SEL bracelet to my 14060M Sub ?'

Well, the short answer is no, not without some modifications...

................ But, why not

Glad you asked............Let's find out..

First we'll need some volunteers and these two have stepped up. A couple of fairly late model 40mm Sports. an EXP II and the Sub 14060M. Both have 20mm across the inside of the lugs and case length and width is almost identical.

The Sub sports a non-SEL 93150 with 501B end pieces, the EXP II uses a 78790A with SEL:


I have already taken them apart and the first thing we will look at are the Spring Bars.
The Sub spring bars on the left are 2mm in diameter and have a 1.2mm pin on the end. The main body is also longer. These bars only go in the Holes Lug cases and are the strongest. In the middle are the EXP II spring bars, also 2mm in diameter and the end pin is about 1mm, not quite as much meat actually locked into the lug. To the far right is a set of Daytona spring bars. These look the same but are only 1.8mm in diameter. So, all Rolex spring bars are not interchangeable.

Here is a close-up of those ends:


Looking at the ends of each bracelet, we can see the SEL is much more compact and the non-SEL has the bat-wing at the bottom which stops the end from rotating up, but it also means that the spring-bar actually locates the end-piece in position where the solid end of the SEL fits tight against the case and is self locating.


Setting the SEL end in place on the Sub, we notice it fits nicely, the curve matches the case, and it fills it up side-to-side:


But, for some reason, none of the spring bars will lock in.. Why not...even the 1.8mm bars would give us some lateral movement in the case of a hole misalignment..

Let's look closer:

Here we can see that there is enough difference in the hole placement that it will be impossible to get a pin to lock in the holes


So, what's the deal..

The Sub hole, although larger, is located 4.30mm from the case edge to the center. There just isn't enough there to allow a spring-bar to snap in place.


Comparing to the EXP II, the hole center is located 4.5mm from the case edge and is a bit smaller for the smaller spring bar pin:


So....What do you do. Well, I don't have any desire to have the SEL on my Sub, so I'm not going to do anything; but, here are some options.

1. The hole in the bracelet can be slightly filed out using a thin jewelers round file on the case side until the pin snaps in.

2. The edge of the SEL can be ground down, staying in radius, until the lug hole aligns with the SEL hole

3. A pin can be pushed, forced, and shoved into place until it snaps in...this usually does a bit of damage to the pin and elongates the inside of the lug hole..

If I really wanted to fit one, I would choose option 2, knowing that it would then no longer be a good fit on an SEL equipped watch case. Option 1 is by far the easiest way, but would leave a bit of a void on the backside of the pin once fitted, although not a big deal as the bracelet cannot move once in place..

[Nucengineer]

Guys, Thanks for all the info. I didn't know that the Sub spring bars were so heavy duty compared ot the SEL spring bars. Maybe the SUB ND is good just the way it is afterall