Seamaster Chrono Black

[omeega]

For anyone who has purchased the black Chrono Seamasters that were released a while back, you probably know the steel bracelets are not correct. The ones that come on them are from the speedmaster line and have polished middle links. the real black chrono has a much beefier, tougher looking band that has no polished links on it and a seamaster clasp.

With my rep, the polished middle links bothered me a lot, so I went to Home Depot hardware store and bought 400 grit sand paper and a another rough 320 grit sponge material I found in the paint section. I used the 400 grit to brush the entire bracelet taking off the polished sections and followed with the 320 grit which was actually softer just because of the material. I also made sure to sand in a straight line, the way the "grain" of the metal was originally. If you don't it will look terrible. But the result was a wholly brushed bracelet whose color was a bit closer to the gen but still has a bit more shine. I was also lucky enough to have a seamaster clasp lying around and swapped that out. Not perfect, but much better "feel" to the watch now.

If you're a big fan of this watch like me, the brushed bracelet adds a much more gen feel for very little work.

Sorry these pics are really bad, its hard to even see anything but if you look closely you can see the polished middle links are duller and the entire color has changed a bit.

Before:

After:

Edited September 5, 2007 by omeega

[docblackrock]

Sorry hard to tell from pics but sounds good. That's what this hobby of ours is all about, a little tinkering here and there and the satisfaction that derives from that and of course the results.

Just curious, what's the crystal like on these SM chronos - was looking at getting the retro Timeless Olympic version. I'd put it on rubber anyway so bracelet not an issue, but interested to know how the head is put together, case, dial etc. A proper review even?

[omeega]

I don't have access to a gen enough to make a good review. But the construction of the case, bezel and crystal are all great. There isn't AR/not enough AR on the rep as the gen, thats for sure. The bezel is aligned, but again the subdial spacing is way off as well as the chrono pushers are too far apart. High quality, not super accurate rep.