How to remove watch links

To remove a link from a watch, you take out the two pins that hold it, in the direction of the small arrow stamped on the inside of the band. That sentence covers most bracelets. The rest of this guide covers the exceptions that cause the damage: collars that vanish, pins that only go one way, and screws that look like pins.

First: does your band have links at all?

Many do not. Mesh bands, folded steel bands with a slide clasp (such as the Casio A158 and A168), Apple Watch bands, expansion bands and all straps adjust in other ways. Look at the inside of the band next to the clasp. No arrows and no slots usually means no removable links, with one exception: Fossil Group bracelets (Fossil, Michael Kors, Skagen) also use pin and tube links without arrows, see the Fossil guide. See how to adjust a watch band for those.

The five link fasteners

How to remove watch links, step by step

How to remove screw links

On a screwed link there is no arrow, the side of the link shows a slot. Choose a watch screwdriver whose blade fills the slot completely, both in width and thickness. Turn counterclockwise with firm downward pressure. If the screw goes through a tube with a slot on both ends, hold the other end still with a second screwdriver. Thread locker is common, so the first turn is stiff. When you reassemble, a tiny drop of low-strength thread locker (the purple grade) on a screw that came out dry prevents it backing out. Never use a high-strength (red) locker on a watch, the next removal would strip the slot. Never hammer or push a screw.

How to remove links from a watch without pins

If you cannot find pins, your band uses one of three other systems:

Can you remove watch links without a tool?

Honestly: on a pin or screw bracelet, not safely. People use thumbtacks, paperclips, nails and pushpins. They work sometimes, on loose friction pins, and they slip often. A slipped nail lands on the polished outside of the link, which is exactly the surface you look at. A basic pin pusher and holder cost less than having one scratch polished out.

What does work without a tool:

• Apple Watch Link Bracelet: quick-release buttons on the links, by hand. See the Apple Watch guide.
• Timex Perfect Fit expansion bands: squeeze and pull, by hand. See the Timex guide.
• Citizen Simple Adjust bracelets: Citizen shows a paper clip bent to a specific shape, pushed with the arrow, and only the pin closest to the arrow comes out. See the Citizen guide.
• Slide clasps and mesh: a fingernail or thin blade lifts the plate.

When a pin will not move

1. Check the direction. Pushing against the arrow is the most common reason.
2. Check it is not a screw. Look for a slot on both sides of the link.
3. Check the support. The link must sit in the holder so the pin can exit into the slot below it. If the link sits flat on the table, the pin has nowhere to go.
4. Check the tool. A pusher that is too thin bends. One that is too thick jams in the hole.
5. Stop before you force it. Tight pins, like the ones on the Tissot PRX, need a bracelet press, not more hammer.

Putting a link back in

Keep removed links with their pins in a bag. To lengthen the band later, join the link, fit the collar into the middle link first if there is one, and push the pin in against the arrow until it is flush on both sides. If a collared pin slides in with no resistance, the collar is missing, do not wear the watch until it is fitted.

Brand guides

• Apple Watch watch band guide
• Bulova watch band guide
• Casio watch band guide
• Citizen watch band guide
• Daniel Wellington watch band guide
• Fossil watch band guide
• Garmin watch band guide
• Hamilton watch band guide
• Invicta watch band guide
• Michael Kors watch band guide
• Orient watch band guide
• Seiko watch band guide
• Skagen watch band guide
• Timex watch band guide
• Tissot watch band guide