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I’ll start with a disclaimer. Those of you pure of heart, who faint at the thought, much less the sight, of anything non OEM-adorning their cherished Anonimo time piece, read no further—DO NOT PROCEED!!
OK, the three of you that have remained, be seated. My purpose here is not to convince you to put mesh bracelets on YOUR watches, but simply to show you what one poor soul has done to counter the so-thick-you-could-cut-it-with-a-knife-humidity problem, without resorting to plastic, nylon, rubber or any other synthetic.
So, hold onto your seat(s)—both the one you are sitting on, and the one filling your pants—and let’s check out the alternative(s). As shown in another recent thread, it has become socially acceptable at least to consider, maybe even actually OWN a mesh bracelet for the stainless steel cased watches such as the Professionale, the Sailor Diver and the Millemetri. But, what about the DRASS cases? Anonimo of course does not make a DRASS bracelet, so one must look elsewhere…and look... and look... and look…
I finally found a solution that was acceptable to me, and that is what I am sharing with you here. Although there are a few aftermarket bracelet makers that make 22mm bracelets that will fit most of your Anonimo watches, including the DRASS case versions, and these bracelets come in PVD black or brushed and polished SS, just about none of them come in a “gun metal” gray PVD-type coating. I actually have bought both black and “brown” PVD-coated aftermarket bracelets, and take my word for it, both are hideous on the DRASS case. (I should say that Anonimo has tried all kinds of case processes, including Ox-B, Ox-Pro, DRASS and so forth, and though the orange dial here is officially called "Ox-B" it is in fact, by luck of the draw more than anything, exactly the same as the DRASS case finishing of the Notturnale--this is a lighter "gun metal" gray than seen on the first versions of the blackening process such as on many of the Militares, which are much more prone to scratching and bruising.)
So, one day, perusing TZ, I saw some guy had a “gun metal” mesh bracelet, 22mm, taken off a watch that he switched out in favor of a leather strap. I decided to take a chance and give it a try. It fit the Nimo perfectly well, both in lug size and, most importantly, in color. The only problem was more psychological than real—it was an Invicta bracelet, a brand that I generally don’t hold in high regard (apologies to anyone offended here—just personal opinion based on personal experience). However, the bracelet was actually made quite well, easy to adjust (both removable links and micro-adjustments at the buckle), and very secure, with a fold-over clasp lid holding down a longer fold-over clasp.
It seems, in fact, that Invicta makes at least two different “gun metal” gray mesh bracelets, both of which will fit the Anonimo cases with 22mm lug widths. One is a thinner 3mm thick bracelet with 20 rows of links along its width, while the other thicker version is about 4.5mm thick and has 16 rows of thicker links along its width. Now, the watches these bracelets come on are quartz “divers” that I wouldn’t ever actually wear, and would feel uncomfortable even trying to sell, but the good news is that the whole watch/bracelet combos can be had for around $100 or so (they retail at about $150, with a fake retail of something in the neighborhood of “$600”). Since a custom made leather strap costs $125 to $150 these days, it doesn’t bother me too much to buy the watch, take the bracelet, and put it on my Nimo, disposing of the actual Invicta watch head later. (I am told that you may be able to order the bracelet directly from Invicta, giving them the watch model number—don’t know the price for this route however.)
The thin version comes with at least the Invicta Sea Wizard, #0735 or #7535, and the thick version comes at least on the Invicta Corduba #6277 or the #6279. I prefer the thick version, and actually have two, but showed you both here in the photos for purposes of illustration. The thick is on the Notturnale, the thin on the orange dial Polluce.
These same bracelets also come in black PVD and polished SS, so be careful if you are trying to pick one up—the numbers may not actually refer to the “Gun Metal” version, and it is hard to distinguish between black and gray mesh in many online photos. Ask questions before you buy, should you choose this route. Both watches are discontinued, but both still show up on the boards and on the bay.
I have had the thick one on my Notturnale for several months now, and it does not scrape the inner edges of the lugs as Michael suggested might happen, but honestly, even if it did it really wouldn’t matter much, since these scrapes would be covered by whatever else you were using on the watch (leather strap, nylon, etc.). It also seems to retain its coating quite well, much better than some other aftermarket coated bracelets I have seen. Time will tell.
Peter
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Originally Posted by nelsondevicenci
