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By the looks of it they had a final go at sanding down the chain after the links were assembled?
There's something extremely attractive about that.
Question to the OG watch nerds on here, are there any watches today that feature similar chains? Flattened down across all links instead of individually rounded bulbous looking links.
starfish&coffee-
The Royal Oak bracelet is half the point of the watch, really, they're amazing. Just very precise and extremely well-finished. Lots of other watches of the period (the 1970s) were attempting similar sorts of things but nothing that has become quite as classic/iconic and stayed in production the way the RO bracelet has (and Rolex oyster/jubilee/president bracelets have).
There seems to have been a bit of a loss of knowledge / apprenticeship in the industry regarding bracelets, there are a number of manufacturers now who are making worse (or at least less attractive) bracelets than they were in the 70s. Mass production / automation is also a factor.
A cheaper example of a brushed bracelet with all flat surfaces is something like the Tissot PRX, or the brushed versions of the Autodromo Group B. That style of bracelet (and watch) has been relatively popular in recent years. The level of precision is very different though.
Regal
Today’s wear
