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Many wristwatches come with ready adjustable wristbands but many name brand watches require adjustments to change the size down. Instead of taking the watch to a repair shop, this can be done yourself at home using the following steps.
Part 1- Sizing your Watch
Put the watch on without adjusting it so that you can note how big it is. If the watch is very loose, you will have to remove lots of links. If the watch is only slightly loose and it doesn’t feel like it will fall off, you might consider leaving it as is unless it is bothersome. If the watch is too small, you will have to buy extra links from the manufacturer to make the band larger. Find the clasp. Pinch the band evenly from the clasp until it is the proper size. Make sure you have an equal number of links on either side of the clasp that need to be removed which will make sure the watch itself stays centered on the wrist band and write down the number of links that need to be removed from either side of the clasp. Tools that you will need are one or two push pins which you will use to push the pins that hold the links together out of their holes. Get a pair of needle nosed pliers to help you remove the pins. You will need a small jewellery hammer. You will need to be working on a flat surface with good lighting. Make sure to collect any pins you remove from the band.
Part 2- Removing Links from the Wristband
On your flat surface, lay the watch on its side. Be sure to leave about 1⁄2 centimetre (0.2 in) of space between the bottom of each removable link and the flat surface. Count up the number of links you will need to remove. Find the pin holding the last link in place, which is where you will remove the links. After this, get your pushpins. Use one of the pushpins to push out the pin holding the wristband link in place. Push the sharp end of the pushpin against the head of the link pin. If it doesn't give, use your jewellery hammer to force the head of the pushpin into the hole for the link pin. A small amount of the push pin should now be protruding from the other side of the link. When this is the case, use the hammer to drive the push pin in further to get more of the link pin out. Remove the pin with the pliers. You will have to pull forcefully to get the pin out. Once you have enough of the link pin out of the hole on the other side of the wrist band to grasp it with the pliers, you can use the pliers to get it out. Grasp the end of the pin tightly with the needle nose pliers and pull it out. The links you need from one side of the clasp should be removed now and then repeat the process for the other side of the wrist band. Detach the clasp from the section of removed links. You will need to do this to put it back onto your wristband. Use the same method you did for the links to detach it. There should be a pin holding the clasp onto the links. Remove it using the hammer, pushpins, and pliers, and then re-attach the clasp to the wristband. After this, attach the clasp back onto the wrist band by lining up the link on the clasp with the last link on one side of your wristband. You should see a clear hole where a pin should go to hold the clasp on. Take one of the pins you removed and insert it into this hole. It should go most of the way in on its own, except for the last little bit on the end. Use the hammer to gently pound the pin into the hole the whole way. Repeat this process on the other side of the clasp. After this, try on the watch to make sure the fit is correct. If you have over-adjusted the watch, try adding a link to each side of the watch band. If you haven't taken enough links out, re-assess how many need to be removed for the watch band to be tight enough and comfortable.