Atelier finder
Spring Bars for Rolex
Submariner, GMT-Master, Daytona, Datejust. Sixty years of references, each with its own measurement.
Technical glossary
1.8mm pin: the Rolex sport standard since 2008
From the Submariner 116610 onwards, Rolex has fitted spring bars with a 1.8mm pin — thicker than the standard 1.5mm. It's not marketing: the Oyster bracelet has tighter lug spacing, and a thin bar under a heavy strap bends within months. Daytona, GMT-Master II, Sea-Dweller follow the same spec. Datejust and Day-Date dress models keep the traditional 1.5mm pin.
Drilled lugs: spotting a transitional
Sub 5513, 16800, 16610 pre-2003, GMT 1675 and 16710 pre-lift all have drilled lugs — a through hole below the 9 and 3 positions. For those you need a pointed springbar tool that pushes from outside. Pin diameter is 2.0mm on many vintage 60s-80s pieces. If your Rolex has closed lugs (post-2003 sport models), the 1.8mm standard works with any fork springbar tool.
Rolex lug width: 20mm isn't universal
Modern Submariner 20mm. Datejust 36 → 20mm. Datejust 41 → 21mm. GMT-Master II → 20mm. Ceramic Daytona → 20mm. Day-Date 36 → 20mm, Day-Date 40 → 20mm. Air-King 40 → 20mm. Yacht-Master 42 → 21mm. Differences are in millimetres but they change everything: a 20mm on 21 won't fit, a 21 on 20 wobbles. The reference is the first thing I need.
Compatible
Other compatible watches
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Frequent questions
How do I work out the lug width without a caliper?
The manufacturer's spec sheet always lists it. If you don't have it, take a ruler and measure between the inside faces of the lugs — the value rounded to the nearest even millimetre is almost always the right one. To be sure, the finder above starts from the reference and gives you the measurement without guesswork.
Standard 1.5mm vs fat 1.8/2.0mm spring bars — when does it really matter?
On Rolex sport watches. A Submariner 116610 with a thicker leather strap needs the fat pin — 1.5mm would bend under the load. On a dress Datejust or an Omega Constellation the standard pin is fine. When in doubt, look at strap thickness: dressy leather under 4mm goes with the standard pin, sports straps over 4mm prefer the bigger pin.
My Rolex has drilled lugs — can I still use standard spring bars?
Yes, as long as lug width and diameter are right. Spring bars for drilled lugs aren't stronger — they're simply designed to be pushed from outside with a pointed tool, faster in the workshop. The standard spring bar works perfectly in the same housing.
Original Rolex or aftermarket Swiss Standard spring bars?
Original Rolex only come through the Rolex Service channel and are often hard to source. A good aftermarket Swiss Standard spring bar — hardened steel, proper dimensional tolerance — covers the same use. It's what I fit in the atelier on the straps I make for clients.
The next step
The right strap isn’t chosen. It is built, together.
From the atelier appointment to delivery, every step is designed for those who know that things done well take time. Your watch deserves exactly what it deserves.
Request an appointment →What we offer
- We guide you through every step — with exclusive images directly from our atelier
- Over 50 artisanal steps for each strap — from leather selection to final stitching
- The time it takes to do extraordinary things — four, five weeks. Not a day less.
- An object designed to last a lifetime — cared for by us for eighteen months
- The right leather for your watch — chosen together, in the atelier, only for you
By appointment only · Milan