Howto: Resize Your Own Watch
Colin M | January 10, 2007 | 5:35 pmI haven’t put too many posts up here that are actually helpful to anyone else in any way, so I thought I should start working on that. This may or may not be helpful to anyone either, but what the heck, I already had the pictures…
Disclaimer: I am not a jewelry / watch expert, and in fact know next to nothing about them. What I present here worked for me, but I make no claim that it will work for you and take no responsibility for your actions and any damage they may cause. :)
Back-Story
So why am I resizing a watch band, of all things? Well, my parents bought me a Seiko watch for Christmas during my senior year of high school, which I like very much. Unfortunately, wearing it for several years (and drumming with it on) popped one of the hands off one of the smaller dials, and that hand now rattles around freely under the crystal, frequently getting stuck under other dials and jamming the watch up:
Note the alarm dial (bottom) of the old watch is missing a minute hand, which is located upside down jamming its second hand (left dial).
After sending it off to Seiko for a repair estimate ($162), we decided it wasn’t worth the money to repair, as it would be better spent toward the purchase of a new watch. Fast-forward several months, and I find my very same watch on Amazon.com for $105 (no longer available). I was pretty excited to have a chance to get it fixed, so I bought it. Fast-forward another week or so, and my new watch arrives. Three sizes too large for my wrist. Oops.
And so, here we are.
Goals
- Resize a watch band of the “pin-and-link” type seen above.
- Avoid fees to have it resized at the mall
- Avoid damage by the inept worker at the Younkers jewelry department
Tools
- Pentel 0.5mm mechanical pencil tips
- Thumbtacks
- 1″ Brad
- Light hammer
Steps
- First, take a close look at your watch and determine how many links need to be removed, and from which sides of the clasp. Keep in mind that you should try to balance the removed links from both sides, or the clasp will end up on the edge of your wrist instead of the back.
I had this step easy, as the old watch was fitted correctly to my wrist already as a model. In my case, I needed to remove 3 links total: 2 from one side of the clasp and 1 from the other. - The next step is to determine exactly which links you will need to remove to accomplish this, and which pins hold them in place. Generally, you will need to remove 2 pins (one from each end of the link(s) you will remove), and then replace 1 to rejoin the watch band.
- Removing and inserting these pins without a commercial tool for doing so is the tricky part, and why I am writing this Howto. So, on to the pins:
- On my Seiko, I started by removing one of the pins on the links near the clasp, in the direction indicated by the small engraved arrow:
- One method to remove these pins uses the tip from a 0.5mm mechanical pencil. Remove the tip and place it point up on a solid surface. Then press the watch down, aligning the pin with the pencil tip’s metal shroud. Apply force as vertically and firmly as possible.
This was the first method I tried, and though it worked for two of the pins I needed to remove, it destroyed 3 mechanical pencils by pushing the metal shroud into the tip. For this reason, I do not recommend this method.
- A second method is to use a thumbtack. Place the tack point-upward on a sold surface. Very carefully align the watch pin on the tip of the tack and press downward firmly. It is very important to keep the watch aligned so that you are always pushing directly into the pin, not at any angle. If you are not careful, the watch will slip off the pin, and if you’re like me, you’ll stab the pin a full quarter inch into the tip of your finger.
Despite the increased danger in this method, I found it to be the most effective, and though I did destroy another few tacks in the process, I was able to remove the remainder of my pins relatively easily.
- Once all the pins are removed, you simply rejoin the remaining watch band pieces by reinserting pins as necessary. This is the second significant challenge.
- When reinserting the pins, it worked best for me to insert them in the opposite direction I had removed them in. I attempted to insert the pin in the direction of the arrow the first time around, pushing the “bulge” in the pin through first, with the result of destroying the pin:
- It is possible to push the pin nearly all the way back in just by hand and pressing the watch against a table, but replacing the pin the last 1/16″ proved trickier. You would like to reposition the pin as it originally was, to minimize the risk that it will fall out.
- The best method I found for recessing the pin back to its original position was to tap it lightly with a hammer, via a nail. Place the watch on a solid board or edge of a table so that the edge of the watchband rests solidly on the surface. Then align a small brad (I used a 1″) with the stub of the pin sticking out, and rap it lightly with a hammer as shown:
- Repeat for all pins that you need to remove and replace to adjust the watch size.
- And that’s it!
Finished watch, down to size with minimal scratches.
Total bill of materials:- 3 mechanical pencil tips
- several thumbtacks
- one watch pin
- one stabbed finger
Thanks alot!
The pushpin method works great, no pricked fingers and no damage to the watch. To push the pins back in that last little bit I just pressed against a table and that worked very well.
Thank you so much! Just reading a success story gave me the ambition to try it for myself. I used a push pin instead of a thumb tack and everything worked flawlessly. I found that it really helped to push the pin out just enough to protrude from the the other side, then use nail clippers (stay with me here) to pull it out. The grasp with the clippers was the perfect mix of strong put precise grasp to stay on the pin, but not damage it by pulling it out. Thanks again!
strong but* precise
Thanks for the tips. Just knowing that the pins go all the way through was a big help. I used a T-pin and a small hammer to tap the pins out just enough to grab with needle nose pliers. The pliers were used again to put them back in, instead of tapping. Just put pressure inwards and twist a little until the end of the pin finds the hole it fits in. It’s now a snap to add or remove links.
Thank you so much! I just took three links out of my new Allude watch, and it only took about ten minutes after I found a compass to push the pins out. The corner of my laptop worked fine to put them back, no scratches, pricked fingers, or bent pins. I had no idea there were even arrows in the band, so thanks again!
Thank you-the last time I did this, there was a spring inside the pin- I had no idea why I couldn’t push the spring in using a large needle. I felt bad that my grandaughter had put the watch away, after she gave up on me. I stored the extra links with a thumb tack. Thanks again-it was appreciated.
The procedure outlined here is very simple and I was able to take those links out in no time. The thumbnail step was the one and only I followed. Also when you are putting the links back, insert it in the opposite direction to the arrow and press it down against a hard surface. Thanks.
I just resized a Fossil clasp style band.
There are little arrow markings on the links with removable pins, and in this case they pointed in both
directions. Some bands point in just one direction, therefore the pins have to be pushed out as indicated.
Making a tool to push the link pins was easy, I took a metal push pin from my bulletin board and snipped off the point with a wire cutter, then filed off the burrs, making i nice and flat. The link pins took a solid push to loosen and then I pulled them out on the other side with a small pair of pliers. Wasn’t hard, and replacing the pins just took a careful alignment and some gentle taps from the flat side of the pliers.
Thanks so much for putting this out there. Now that I finally understand how these type of watch bands work it’s a piece of cake!
I just did a Fossil Clasp band. The arrows point both ways as they can be pushed out either way, The nail clipper trick worked very nicely. I pushed them back in with standard pliers. Thanks!
it worked great with 0.5mm pencil tip thanks for your step by step procedure with pics
Thanks a lot!! Worked just fine with my fossil (it had arrows pointing both directions)!! Was done in 5 mins!!
Hello man, you helped me a lot!!!
You are the Best!!!
Thanks.
I tried every method on every website and this was the only helpful information…It worked with my husband’s Fossil watch and took no time at all!!! Thanks so much!!
Thanks, perfect. I can finally wear the watch I’ve had lying around for almost a year. Four thumbtacks and one stabbed finger.
worked perfectly. thanks!
Great tip. I used the thumbtack method, but cut about 1/20 inch off of the thumbtack tip to blunt it a bit.
used the thumbtack method on an Invicta watch. worked perfectly first time! thanks fer the posting
Great advice and pictures. I trimmed the end of a pushpin off to blunt it, as recommended by Gabe. I also drilled a 1/8″ diameter hole into a small block from a 2×4 to serve as the base. So I set the watchband on edge on the 2×4, with the to-be-extracted watchband pin over the drilled hole. I was able to use the pushpin to push the watchband pin out of the band, and down into the hole. No fingers stabbed. :-)
I also found that re-inserting the pins in the opposite direction as you extracted them worked better in some cases.
…then I discovered that to remove three links from my wife’s watch band, I really needed to remove two from one side of the clasp, and one from the other. Went fine. Thanks again!
Nice post. Good work on the close-up pictures too! I was able to resize my band on the first try, and I did it faster than the associate at the store and with less scratches. Thanks again!
this is great thankyou
This is awesome! I fitted my new watch in 7 minutes with a push pin and nail clippers… i couldnt find the neddlenose pliers so i just used the nail clippers like the other person said to try to use. This saved me$ 15.00 at the watch place and 1 hour driving there and back. Thanks again!!
Thanks for the post… The push pin did really work great..just push it out and push it in .. done in 60 seconds !!
I just purchased an Invicta ladies watch and what worked perfectly for me was corn cob holders…the little ones that you poke into the ends of the corn on the cob? The little metal pokey ends fit perfectly…. whatever you use only has to be big enough to pop out the pin a little on the other end. Crazy! We did get somewhere with the tacks but I was afraid of stabbing myself, haha : ) Thanks for the great post!
great! worked perfectly
Thanks! I was looking for something like this.
Awesome! It worked like a charm! I was able to use a thumb tack for the pin removal, and used a set of regular pliers to pull the pins completly out. I just used a table to push the pins back in. I used a small screwdriver (philips head) to push the end of the pin in completly (the point on the small philips head screwdriver was the perfect size) and they snapped in with ease. You can also use the pliers to push the pin back in instead of the table – but be careful you don’t scuff your watch. Thanks again for the detailed instructions.
Cheers, really helped me to sort my watch put!
thanks for the quick and easy guide! 8-10 $ to get it sized at the local watch shop?yeah right, never again !
I used a safety pin…the sharp end to push the pins out, the blunt end to push them back in.
Thanks for the advice! I used a blunted (filed down) thumbtack. the trick was to find one that was thin enough.
I really appreciate the pictures — it makes all the difference!
All this advice was point on. My pins had little 1mm screw slots and looked like they needed to be unscrewed, but I just pushed them out with a cornholder and nail clipper, and was done in 3 minutes. This was GREAT! THANKS!
Thanks a bunch for this article! It was extremely helpful, and I really enjoyed resizing the watch myself vs. taking it to some yahoo who may or may not know what they are doing. Here are a few extra tips:
- Keep a ziploc bag around to put all the parts and tools in for next time.
- Keep the *extra* links and pins in case yours break.
- Be careful not to hammer the thumbtack in too far. You only need the very tip to go in the hole in order to dislodge the pin. My thumbtacks got stuck pretty quickly, so I had to be really really gentle to find the sweet spot.
- I used two nails to put the pins back in. I filed off the tip of one so it was easier to start the pin, then used the pointed one to finish, this method basically made 0 scratches on the watch.
- Use a cutting board to elevate the band while you’re working on it so you don’t hurt the crown, and are not hammering against the watch itself.
I think that’s about everything I learned from doing this. Great guide! Thanks again.
I found a large paper clip and tried it. I had no problem and it took about 60 seconds to remove two links (same side) and push the pin back in. Thanks for the helpful idea. I was going to buy another watchband, duh..
Thanks very much sir, you just saved me £15!
I also just stabed my thumb like a quarter inch, but with a sowing needle. I nearly fainted. The sight of my own blood does not sit well with me.
one word “unbelievable” !
absolutely amazing!!!!
Great directions. I followed the materials (including a stabbed finger). A push pin seemed to work better than thumbtacks but great directions. Thanks!
Thanks :) I bought my boyfriend a watch and felt bad because it was too big :P
great, thanks! worked perfectly.