The Seamaster 1450 Forstner bracelet review

Better than the OG...

When you find a watch that you know you will wear for the rest of your life, it makes sense to want to complete the experience.

My Seamaster 300 from the year 2000 has proven to be perfectly sized for me, to be exceptionally accurate and is interesting enough to keep me happy in the long term. After so many watches bought and sold over the past few years it is nice to be able to stop the trend and just enjoy one watch.

There is, however, a problem with the Seamaster 300.

The bracelet.

It is beautifully made, intricate and extremely comfortable, but my word it is UGLY. The lack of a taper, the overly fancy aesthetic and pure 1990's look just doesn't work in 2024. To be fair it has never worked to my eyes, but to this day Omega persists in providing this bracelet as standard with new Seamasters.

The Speedmaster comes with an astonishingly good bracelet, it is literally perfect, but the Seamaster is dragged back by an offering that has not changed markedly in decades. It speaks of obstinance and a refusal to move with the times.

Forstner offers a selection of bracelets designed to fit all Seamasters and all Speedmasters. You do need to make sure you are choosing the right one for your watch because the lug holes are positioned slightly differently depending on the year it was made, but the result should be a perfect fit.

For £169 you can get a 1450 President bracelet that is perfectly sized for the Seamaster. Now, I realise that this is a lot of money, but compared to an after market bracelet from Omega it is a bargain. You won't get the Omega branding of course, but there is little doubt in my mind that this is one of the very best bracelets you can buy for an Omega. A bracelet is a big part of a watch and £170 is not much to spend when compared to the price of the Seamaster it will be attached to.

One thing to note about Forstner is that the company is 104 years old so there is more than a little history in the brand as a bonus.

Of course I cannot write much about a watch bracelet, but there are some aspects that are worthy of discussion.

The links are held together by high quality screw pins for which a screwdriver is included in the rather pleasing box.

The lug fit is perfect and there is no gap anywhere at the points where the bracelet touches the watch. Spring bars are included, also of excellent quality, and although the process to size any bracelet is never quick, the tools and precision of each part do make the process somewhat enjoyable.

To say this bracelet is comfortable would be an understatement. You can lay the bracelet flat on itself thanks to the generous gaps between the links and there is a feel of an older jubilee bracelet in a look that is completely different.

I love a good taper and here you get 20mm at the lugs down to 16mm at the clasp. It isn't too steep, but it is noticeable and that is a decent compromise.

Even better, and more unusually, it tapers in the depth department as well. This is very subtle, but it brings a sense of fluidity to the overall shape when on the wrist. For us watch obsessives these things matter. Don't judge me.

Conclusion

The cost is high for this bracelet, but you are looking at less than 10% of the cost of a vintage Seamaster 300. If you are buying a new Seamaster 300 you are looking at 3% of the cost of the watch and for a solution that greatly improves the overall look.

I genuinely cannot fault this bracelet because it is so precisely made that it feels like Omega should have bundled it with every new Seamaster. If you can live without the logo on the clasp you will be onto a winner. Well done Forstner.

You can view all of the Forstner bracelets and straps here.