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Hi rik,
I have purchased here before. I bought some straps for watches where it does not matter whose brand the strap was. They are generally very good products and I had a positive experience overall. But I would never do this for Breitling, unless it was an original Ling on offer. These are usually sterile brands and have no names to dilute the overall effect of a watch, where there may not be any original maker’s replacement bracelet available. Works in these cases, but if you are considering this for a Ling, then I would suggest that it’s a conditional procurement and for another purpose only. In my opinion only purchase if it’s a sacrifice bracelet to protect the original, eg:- used for an everyday wearer, etc. Ling bracelets can be expensive to replace, so a lower cost version for everyday use makes sense if you want to retain the overall effect of the original and save it for special occasions or for resale value later on. An investment in a sacrifice bracelet is worthwhile, but that’s the only case that I would suggest one for a Breitling.
Aftermarket bracelets can’t always be checked on-line for a few features which are important to the overall effect, such as feel, weight, finish, etc. Generally, I have no problem with them, but…….. it’s not universal and it is conditional. Some are better than others and you get what you pay for.
It is possible to determine the quality from a written description and to see and/or read the important details to some degree. My thoughts here; Are they solid links and not pressed/folded links? What grade of materials are used, what quality of pins, etc? Are the links close fitting or loose, etc? There is a big difference and it comes down to price, usually. Deployment buckles tend to be a big area of difference in the price for quality stakes too, and you may see some glaring differences from offers out there.
I recently purchased one of the last no name bracelets from a now defunct HK manufacturer for one of my Yemas FlyGraf. I was totally surprised with the quality and general appearance of the bracelet, as it was in keeping with the age of my French Beauty. It was a pressed/folded link model, which is exactly the same as the original. To see this against the real thing (which cannot be purchased anywhere now) was gratifying. They look so similar as to be almost indistinguishable, but you can see the difference. So in that case, it was a good alternative to another named brand or even a new Yema, as none would be as close to the original as this. However, there are still some subtle differences that are noticeable, which is important to me. This is good, as I neither want to pass this off as an original, nor do I want to deceive others of same.
Jim
_________________
Jim
"You have Control".
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