How To Change a Watch Band

Watch bands help maximize your watch’s style and versatility.

A classic timepiece is an essential menswear accessory. And if you’ve chosen a versatile wrist watch, there is no better way to maximize its style and versatility by having a few different watch bands to choose from. Changing them out is quick and easy and requires just a small tool and a couple minutes. It’s a small investment that pays big style dividends. Here’s how to do it.

What You Need

Watch pin/spring bar tool. You need a spring bar tool for two purposes: to depress one end of the spring bar and maybe to remove the watch pin from the band if it is wedged in tightly. There are lots of spring bar tools out there. If you search for one, it is actually a little overwhelming. Some are pretty expensive and unnecessarily so, in my opinion. This is the one that I use. It doesn’t cost much at all but feels like quality in my hand. Most importantly, it gets the job done on a daily basis.

Soft cloth. It is best to keep the watch face down when removing and changing the band. This is so if you accidentally slip with the spring bar tool, you end up scratching the back and not the front of the watch. As a result, having a soft surface to place the watch is a good idea to avoid scuffing or scratching the glass over the watch crystal.

Replacement watch band. No comment necessary.

Some people recommend having extra spring bars on hand just in case one goes flying. I have yet to have that happen but if you want to be prepared in case of an emergency, by all means, get some extra spring bars. Just make sure they are the same length as the ones you currently have.

How To Do It

1. Place watch face down on a soft surface.

2. Grab the watch band and, if possible, pinch it slightly to move it away from the lug. This will reveal the flange on the spring bar and give you a little more room to work with the spring bar tool.

3. Using the forked end of the spring bar tool, hook the flange and slide the spring away from the lug. It should come out of the lug easily and release the band.

4. Take the spring bar out of the band you just removed and slide it into the replacement band. I like to do this immediately rather than waiting until I have both sides of the band removed. This keeps me from accidentally losing the spring bar or mixing up which part of the band goes on which side of the watch.

5. With the spring bar in the replacement band, carefully thread one end into the lug. Hold the watch and watch band in place with one hand.

6. Take the spring bar tool, depress the other side of the spring, and move the band toward the lug until the spring snaps in. Give it a quick tug just to make sure it’s fastened properly.

7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 on the other side.