I posted in my previous thread about my “lost or stolen” Orient Mako that I subsequently replaced with a Seiko 007. Well, I found the Mako  … but I’m keeping the 007.

The Mako needs work. I’ve procrastinated on it because my Mako has been my nicest looking watch, and I wanted it to look good with its metal bracelet. Now that I have the 007 that’s no longer the case.

The spring bars are bent due to the hollow endlinks. I’ve heard it described as “pulling down on the center of a metal coat hanger.”

The spring bar on the right was bend out of shape, and I had to use pliers to make it straight again. The one on the left is a little curved, but it’s hard to tell from the picture.

It’s held up for about 2 years like this. After trying to replace these with spring bars from another watch and doing a lot of reading, I’ve found that they have a diameter of 1.6mm, which happens to be really narrow for a spring bar of 22mm lugs. 1.6 mm spring bars are also uncommon enough that replacing them would be a challenge.

Especially now, since I have the 007, I’m willing to allow the Mako to look more casual. I’m thinking about putting a nato strap on it with a new pair of spring bars.

Here are some pictures of the watch. There’s a nice scratch above 12 o clock

And another one above the day/date window

Any color/pattern suggestions on the nato strap?