Poljot Alarm Caliber 2612, Made in USSR

Lazy Sunday 7th May 2006 or how the ROWI Superfixo Flex ended up on this Poljot
My daughter played a board game with my wife (my daughter said, that I could not play :) ) and I was happily rummaging in my bracelet box. Actually I started to search for a tropicalized watch band solution for this mechanical alarm because suddenly it came to my mind that all my inexpensive mechanical alarms were on leather straps.
Because I tore a muscle during tennis, I needed to fit the therapist into my work schedule. What nicer, then to be reminded by the "scratchy" snarling of a Poljot caliber 2612? ;) It is nice to use the 7T32 SEIKO alarm chronograph or its successor 7T62 or a Miyota 3S10A from Citizen. But when you are living in Bangkok, chances are very high that a Tuk-Tuk (very noisy 2 stroke 3-wheeler) or fruit vendor truck with a roof top megaphone or a noise from a nearby construction site - and in Bangkok you are always near a construction site - will sound exactly when  your alarm goes off. And you wonder why you did not hear the alarm. Note, I am talking about being at home. If you are on the streets in Bangkok, you have no chance of hearing a Quartz alarm. You need a mechanical alarm that's vibrations can be felt on the wrist. Many times you do not even hear the most penetrating phone ring tone if you are outside and are wondering whether it was the phone provider (again) or the noise that made you miss that call.
I presented a collection of flex bands with different finishes to my wife and daughter and my daughter pointed immediately to the Rowi from Germany. I admit that I had been too stingy for a long time to use this flex band for my personal use. I was a bit worried that the slight oxidation spots (cupper from pink gold, brass from yellow gold) would reduce the value of the bracelet for sale. And then why sell it after all? The price was very stiff, THB 3'800 was the original Thai retail price and that was from a time when the dollar exchange rate was fixed at 25, making this watch band cost USD 92.50. About 6 times of what I had paid for the watch 16 years ago near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. But since my daughter selected the Rowi without hesitating a second and because really need a mechanical and climate proof alarm watch right now, I decided to open the ROWI box and start resizing the bracelet.
 

WS 24: HOW TO RESIZE A FLEX BAND

Resizing information for this flex band style - most flex bands are quite similar

The tube contains additional end-links, the factory end-link was 18 mm, perfect for the Poljot. You can also see a bit of scotch tape left of the white writing of the pink user's guide: 3 spare U-bows are supplied with each ROWI bracelet. Very thoughtful TU! (thumbs up!). The golden wrapper holds the 10 links that I had removed to resize the flex to my 6.5 inch wrist.

Don't worry, the next picture is the English - French - Spanish version :) But I had to include this side of the manual to show the drawings. You can also note the additional end-links drawing on the top right. Forget about the resizing pliers, I found that a Bergeon spring bar fork with a fine tip did a great job. Please see my online shop's tool section for a Taiwan Made spring bar fork tool with Bergeon tool tips.

The oily spot, but this is the 23 year old glue of the scotch tape that holds the 3 spare U-bows. From the manual ... 3) You need the new shortening pliers ... not really. The picture below shows how to stretch and twist the bracelet in order to create enough clearance for the U-bow so it can be easily pushed out with a spring bar fork tool

Note: this picture shows the disconnected bracelet already. Please read the text in the picture.

Stretching and twisting is the trick, then the U-Bows can be removed quite easily. Oops, I forgot to mention that you need another arm... not really. You can create that twisted and stretched position shown in the picture above with the index and thumb of the left hand alone and then the right hand uses the spring bar fork tool or a small ale to push the U-bow out.
WARNING! Punctured finger tips are a "normal result" if you slip here. I sure hope I got the blood color right for this line :)

The End
After the first U-bow is removed, you can simply slide the bracelet apart as described in the manual above. Reinserting the U-bow is also very easy. You will need a pair of watch maker tweezers to hold that U-bow, unless you are about 12 years old or have very fine finger tips. Simply push the U-bow back into the reconnected but shortened bracelet parts and you are done. The manual also talks about leaving one U-bow in the disconnected bracelet parts. This happens naturally if you slide the bracelet apart carefully.