lhooq Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I bit the bullet and bought this rather expensive bracelet in November, but didn't have time to write about it. ebzen02 asked about it in another thread, so I decided to haul out a few photos I took during our brief time together. To be blunt, I was disappointed by the quality. For the price, I expected something more along the lines of of Yuki's 7206, and a bigger improvement over the rep 7836 that's been commonly available ever since the cartel overhauled its 1655. That bracelet, which sells for less than a quarter of the Yuki's price, looms constantly in the background. Let's start with the good: The clasp is noticeably better than the cartel's simple, angular, and short box. As on the gen, the profile is cut away beneath the holes. The coronet is better rendered, but the tines remain chubby, and there's some "ghosting" around the edges. Edges are softer all around, but the leading edge (above the coronet) is lumpy where it should be a smooth curve. The link connected to the clasp is probably the worst bit on the cartel 7836, as it makes the bracelet less flexible than it should be. You can see the simplified link in the background--a terrible example of cutting corners. The Yuki gets it right, and consequently fits much better. Alignment of the clasp engravings could be improved, but it's nothing to be exercised about. Endlinks looks clean, and 2mm bars will fit without issue. So what's the problem? There's my problem. Unlike the cartel bracelet, the endlinks are integrated on the Yuki, so what you get is what you get. Even worse is the lack of clearance between the endlink and the adjacent link. In practice, this means that there's almost no flexibility between those two links. You can even see the abrasion marks between them in the picture above. What ultimately sunk this bracelet was the fact that these '382' endlinks wouldn't properly fit on any of my Rolex or Tudor builds. Forget about using it on a DW 7032 or an MBW 5512. I could just about jam it between the lugs of a genuine Datejust 16203 case, but only with ugly, noticeable overhang at the corners. Good luck trying to mount it on a thinner Oyster case. As always, Yuki was very easy to deal with and offered a painless refund once I had decided (after 15 minutes) not to keep it. If Yuki would turn this into a detachable-endlink bracelet and cut the price in half, it would be a more compelling buy. In its current form, I don't know who I can recommend this to. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosnik Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thank you for intersting tread , M! edit: let's not use actual names until invited to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks! I've been looking for this exact writeup, specifically how it works with a "thinner Oyster case". You just saved me $200 mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duke1973 Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Great comparison, thanks for posting and saving a bunch of members their money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks And it was good to read a factual objective and not completly negative review, even to the point of telling Yuki exactly how to make this much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielv2000 Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks M. Was on the fence but now I've climbed down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 It makes me wonder how Yuki justifies 4x the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zeleni kukuruz Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Im happy i orderd mine from Joshua three days ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Great post M. THanks for taking the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebzen02 Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thank you so much for going the extra mile! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanH Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I was looking at those. I have one of the rep rivet bracelets but I don't like the end links on it. Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I have a cartel bracelet like in the pictures and had plans to put a fliplock clasp on it but it would be a lot of hassle because of the goofy one piece link on the end of the bracelet. It also looks like the 8.9mm center link on the hinge end of the cartel bracelet may be a little short making it too close to the outer links to accept a fliplock clasp cap with the two 'claws' that come down between the outer links and clasp blade where the hinge rivet is located. Cartel bracelets are good for regular watches without fliplocks (older 1016, DJ, 1675 etc) and will take 2mm springbars if you spread the end links out a little bit. Cartel bracelets will also work with many different hoods where the Yuki model will not but the Yuki bracelet will adapt to a fliplock clasp easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 Follow up... I spread the center of the last link apart on my cartel bracelet to see if I could install a connecting link and short center link like in the Yuki bracelet (my cartel bracelet is just like the one in the pictures above). The center link that I pried apart is the goofy looking hooded link that connects to the clasp with a press pin. There is a pin at each end of the folded link but none in the center for a short center link like the Yuki model so there is no easy way to install a short link in the center of the cartel bracelet. An oem type connecting link can be installed but you would end up with the last link with a space in the center that would look real bad...like a boxer with two front teeth knocked out. I put the center link back in the bracelet but spread it apart a little so there would be a little more room between the clasp cap and the bracelet link. This helps a little but not much. I thought about trying to drill a shallow hole in the inside center of the last link and trying to fit a pin (small springbar?) and short center link but decided not to try it. So...it looks like this type of bracelet works best with a regular clasp. On the good side... The cartel bracelet has a much better set of connecting links at the end of the bracelet where it connects to the springbars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woof* Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 Wow! How did I miss this thread? Thank you M! Great write up Thanks Auto for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justlounging Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 Well if yuki sells only the clasp, i'm in for it.. On the side by side comparison, it seems like the folded links are slightly thicker/fuller on the yuki bracelet..is this correct M? Once again thanks for the review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimster Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 I'll stick with the cartel. Thanks for a great write up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted February 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 Thanks, guys, and thanks to automatico for the additional investigation! When I first got a cartel 7836 from Mary, my first instinct was to try attaching the clasp of an older rep 78360 to it. My watchsmith indulged me, but it wasn't a smart idea. The combination made the lower portion of the bracelet as stiff as a board! justlounging: I didn't notice much difference between the dimensions of the cartel and Yuki links. What did feel different was the quality of the steel, which seemed a bit better on the Yuki. That's just a gut reaction, though, as I didn't pry any links apart to see how well they bent. (Is the word I'm looking for "malleable", "ductile", or something else?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 All said, there's one good thing about the bizarre stamped last link on the coronet end of the clasp: The bracelet was too small for my large manly wrists and it was very easy to open that link and cobble in a link from a Yuki 7206, which is also easy to open. After fitting the extra link, it's visible if you look for it, but it hides really well against the clasp and it just works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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