Reply With QuoteNothing wrong with using an old toothbrush, warm water and some wash liquid. A much cheaper way and your washing your hands at the same time.
I'm not very happy with the job I'm managing to do of cleaning my bracelets with a soft toothbrush and hand soap, so I would like to get a tool for removing them and refitting them (both are 20mm lugs) and a small ultrasonic cleaner.
Looking at ebay, I see this removal tool (£11)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Watch-Bra...4AAOSwUvVcZNRb
and this cleaner (£22)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pro-Stain...AAAOSwWG5emSDr
At that kind of price, will I just be getting useless rubbish? If so, how much more do I need to spend? It seems to me that the tool is the more important item to be sure of not skimping on, especially as my fingers are anomalously gerontic.
(Yeah, I know, even after six years I still haven't managed to absorb this information, terrible isn't it?)
Last edited by Der Amf; 20th April 2020 at 09:54.
Nothing wrong with using an old toothbrush, warm water and some wash liquid. A much cheaper way and your washing your hands at the same time.
I’ve tried an ultrasonic cleaner , don’t find them to be very good on the bracelet to be honest.
Shaving foam and a toothbrush then dried off with a microfibre cloth seem to work for me just fine.
Surprised at that, I use one on all my bracelets and they come up like new. A friend asked me to do his 18ct Rolex bracelet after 20 yrs of wear and the muck that came out was amazing. Looked like new again after.Originally Posted by Buster73
This will likely give a few people kittens but I use the dishwasher!
I tend to take a few bracelets off the heads at a time and put them on a quick low temp wash. (Without dishwasher tablet or last night pots and pans though)
The dragon’s jewellery comes up an absolute treat.
The standard TZ UK response to I have decided to do x and would like some guidance on how best to do it:
Byeeeeeee!
Please could you tell me what cleaner it was, so that I can avoid it?
Please could you tell me what cleaner it is, so that I can look into it?
What a charming response.
I bought a springbar plier tool just like the one you illustrate, and regret it. It's not particularly well made, and has no sense of quality or precision about it. This is particularly true of the forks.
I have managed to use it, but it was nerve-racking and I had no confidence it would work without breaking and/or damaging the watches.
Similarly I bought a cheap conventional springbar tool a while back which has three interchangeable forks of different sizes, one of which snapped whilst I was using it on a springbar.
I'd spend a little more and prioritise quality. Bergeon is generally reckoned to be the best brand, I think - not cheap but you get what you pay for, as they say. No doubt someone can recommend a good quality cheaper alternative.
No experience with ultrasonic cleaners.
I used to clean watch bracelets with baby soap and an old kids toothbrush and it worked fine. Bought a cheap ultrasonic cleaner from Lidl and if you cleaned the bracelet with the soap and toothbrush, rinsed and then put it in the ultrasonic cleaner there was zero difference - no dirt in the ultrasonic water at all. I’m not sure the cheap ones do much at all.
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Really happy with my ultrasonic cleaner to be fair, works very well
Thank you for this. I've just gone to search eBay for Bergeon bracelet removal tool. The 6825 is around £175. If there's no in-between tool - one not robust enough for heavy duty professional use, but good enough to feel reassuring when used occasionally - then I guess I'll have to suck that up. (Perhaps a WTB would find me one for £174?)
This ^. I've a cheap ultrasonic cleaner (less than £20) and the gunk that comes out of a bracelet can be shocking. Toothbrush and soap can do a job that looks good, but isn't really.
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Bought mine in Aldi some years ago about £20. There's plenty on Amazon similar, look for one with the most reviews or 'Amazon Choice'.
Pic of mine.....
I need to get one of these as I have never cleaned any of my watches beyond a quick rinse with soap and water.
I have a Bergeon strap removal tool (single interchangeable fork/prong) and a similar eBay cheapy. The Bergeon feels nicer but I’ve managed to snap the prong head on both over the years. I take that to mean that user (in)capability overcomes any characteristics of the tool up to a point.
I have carefully used this tool to remove bracelets, including a 1980s Rolex TT Jubilee, without problem FWIW. I’m just slow doing it though. Straps I am more proficient.
Like you I’d welcome a recommendation for an effective but cheap ultrasonic cleaner.
The Amazon Choice is the same brand as the one I found at random on eBay - Floureon - but a bit bigger - 600ml rather than 400ml
My fingers are too
(aka knackered) for me to trust them to wield a standard single prong tool on a non-budget watch.
Was recommended exactly this many years ago and still use this method today
I use Heli watch strap cleaner spray,works well.
It might be worth looking at Horotec - another Swiss-made brand but perhaps a little cheaper than Bergeon. Eternal Tools stock their plier-type, and there's also a tweezer-type similar to the Bergeon 7825.
Thank you, that's a great recommendation. Almost 40% cheaper.
Out of stock, unfortunately.
So I see. I'm sure it was in stock when I posted yesterday.
There is an eBay listing.
And also on Amazon, so no worries :)
I bought a cheap copy of the Bergeon bracelet tool from eBay for around £35. Quality is OK, it does the job, but I only use it on the rare occasions that I can’t get a bracelet off using a conventional tool. I find this type of tool fiddly to use, it has to be adjusted exactly to fit and ideally the watch head has to be securely held in a case clamp.
Any ultrasonic will be fine for bracelets I think. And a Bergeon for the removal.
I agree. It's a very awkward tool to use. I have used mine twice and never since.
That's the one I use, and mine gets plenty of use! Also had one of these that lasted as few years: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nedis-600....c100227.m3827Bought mine in Aldi some years ago about £20. There's plenty on Amazon similar, look for one with the most reviews or 'Amazon Choice'.
Pic of mine.....
I've found my Ultrasonic cleaner to work well if I use Ultrasonic Cleaning Solution rather than just washing up liquid. I also run bracelets through a couple of times.
I've been eyeing these up recently, has anyone tried them?
https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/cousins-swiss-style1
I took deliver Nedis model today and put a 5 year old sub in for a clean with solution. It amazing how much crap cane off in the cleaning!
As others have said, a £20 Aldi special will be more than adequate for watches. I have a cheap Aldi and a £100 GT Sonic UltraSonic cleaner for cleaning used C/F brass cases. The Aldi is my go to model if doing smaller quantities of brass and also my watches and friends. Very good value and I've seen the same models on ebay for a couple of quid more.
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