How to resize your steel watch strap

Steel watches are really having a moment right now. When you shop your steel watch from one of our boutiques we'll make sure your watch fits your wrist perfectly, but when you buy a watch online it's good to know how to resize the watch strap yourself. Let us explain just how to do it yourself.

20 October 2022 | By Victoria Cowan
Read time: 3 min

Resize your watch strap with a special tool 

The easiest way to resize your steel watch strap is to use a watch link remover tool.

What you'll need:

● A watch link remover tool

●A small pair of pliers

●A buffing cloth

● A small hammer

How to resize your watch strap using a watch link remover tool:

1. Start by determining the number of chains you want to remove.

2. Turn the spring pin in your remover tool all the way back.

3. Place your watch strap upside down and make sure the pin of the link you're wanting to remove is right in front of the spring tool.

4. Turn the spring in your tool, so the pin is pushed out of the link.

5. Pull out the pin using your fingers or the pliers.

6. Have you removed all of the necessary links? Turn your watch strap back around and push the pin back into place.

7. Firmly press the pin into place. If necessary, protect your watch with a buffing cloth and use a hammer to lightly hammer the pin into place. 

Resizing a watch without a resizing tool

Don't have a watch resizing tool at home? No worries! You can easily resize your watch with some at-home essentials. Follow these tips and you'll be DIY'ing your own watch resize in no time!

What you'll need:

● Small pair of pliers

● A thick needle

● A hammer

How to resize your watch without a watch resizer tool:

1. Determine the number of links you want to remove.

2. Place the needle on the pin you want to remove.

3. Carefully hammer the needle.

4. The pin will come out on the other side, so make sure your watch is free and there's nothing in the way that could damage it.

5.  Is the pin coming out on the other side? Grab your pliers and pull out the rest of the pin.

6. Do you need to remove multiple chains? Make sure to spread it out over the length of the strap, on either side of the watch face, or you'll have an unbalanced strap.

7. Last but not least, make sure to store the removed pins and chains safely, in case you need to resize your watch strap in the future.

8.  Fix your watch strap by hammering the pin back into place et voilà!

If you'd prefer not to DIY your own watch resize, why not walk into one of our boutiques and have one of our boutique employees look at it for you. They'll happily and lovingly resize it for you! 

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