James Bonds 6538 Nylon Straps

[aeromatic]

With the new hd tv and new dvd hd we can see the correct colour of Sean Connery.s goldfinger gem! for many years we could only find the simple black and grey ones they are everywear! even new bond Daniel Craig has been seen wearing a rolex 6538 sub on one of these grey and black nylon straps off screen! i admire him rebelling when he is on contract to promote omega!

The correct colours are dark navy blue ,olive green with burgandy strips, these are supplied by the Corvus watch company

they have recently upgraded the fabric the old fabric was thinner and had problems with fraying around the buckle holes

the new one should fix these problems i will order one myself

Any way i have done some modding to the buckle to be more like the watch in goldfinger by removing the two stainless steel keepers and making a cloth keeper, for this you need a pen knife(camping knife) a pair of metal snips i used a pair of electricians wire snippers oh and you will need a extra strap to cut and make the cloth keeper ,i ordered a nato bond strap that has the extra piece underneath then i cut this off making it into a RAF strap,the RAF strap did not have the extra piece underneath it was thought that in a jet fighter it was not a good idea to have too much nylon on your skin which melts at very low temps specialy with the fums ect from the jetfuel.

First use the wire snips to cut off the metal keepers cut them close to the ends be careful not to cut your strap

once you have cut the cloth piece off the strap then use the pen knife heated up on your ketchen stove warning!(make sure your wife is out first!) then run the hot knifes edge along the point were you cut the the piece this is to heatseal it and

ithen stop it from fraying, then take your piece of strap cloth and wrap it accross your strap, then cut it about 2.5 times the width of your strap when wrapping it remember to do it around the buckle end,which is already doubled up or your keeper will be to tight (run your hot knife along both edges of your keeper to heat seal it)

to fit it has to fit on three layers of strap not to tight or to loose( the keeper will not be fixed in anyway to the strap but be free to move up and down depending on your wrist size. size it up then fold it and crease it holding it with your fingers checking by pushing the strap end in and out the keeper needs to stay put but let the strap end move in and out freely

then remove the keeper and fold/crease it and heat your pen knife up and run it along the folded keeper ends to heatseal it it only needs to be done about 1-2 mm dont leave the heat on the strap too long but just until it is sealed! you should end up with a thin black line this will be hidden under your strap!

6538 with james bond RAF nylon strap

photo showing the cloth keeper(this was not seen in the movie my 6538 franken! with gen rolex cal movement see my post for more on this watch!

yes this is the famed sean connery(goldfinger photo!

you will notice that seans rolex is worn on a 16mm nylon strap i found this not to my liking so i used an 18mm width to keep the understrapper look which gives this big watch a unique look i have tried the 20mm strap but some how it suites this iconic rolex well!

Edited January 31, 2010 by aeromatic

[TeeJay]

Absolutely fantastic, thanks for the mini-tutorial and photos

[aeromatic]

Absolutely fantastic, thanks for the mini-tutorial and photos

Thanks teejay hope it will be useful! to our 6538/bond lovers ! aeromatic!!!

[panerai153]

Great tutorial.That is a beautiful band, much nicer than the Black/Grey that everyone was using before.

[aeromatic]

Great tutorial.That is a beautiful band, much nicer than the Black/Grey that everyone was using before.

Hi panerai153 yes i had one of those grey/black straps too, the new bond strap correct colours suite the vintage guilt dial of the 6538 better! glad you liked the read! thanks, aeromatic !!!!!

[TeeJay]

Thanks teejay hope it will be useful! to our 6538/bond lovers ! aeromatic!!!

Any time, and I'm sure it will be, especially with the trick about modifying the back strap of the strap to form a fabric keeper

[freddy333]

Nice write up, Aero, but the Bond strap issue was discussed a couple of years ago here &, then, again, a few months later, here, & then, a year later, here.

[aeromatic]

Nice write up, Aero, but the Bond strap issue was discussed a couple of years ago here &, then, again, a few months later, here, & then, a year later, here.

hello freddy333 thats the second time iv stepped on you toes! Smile!! what about new members they will be looking at the latest posts not last years surely? my post was mostly about making a cloth keeper for a bond strap by using heat im sure that there will be many posts about the same watches over and over again, how many posts for instant have there been about the 6538 mabe i should have not bothered to post my franken project 6538 after the last member posted his 6538?