Q&A for How to Remove Watch Band Links

It would depend on what type of watch or watch bands you have. If you have an adjustable watch band, first examine the snap-down deployment buckle on your watch. Look for small holes or dots located on the side of the buckle, near its edge. These holes indicate the attachment points for the spring bar inside the buckle. To make the band smaller, depress the spring bar and slide the buckle closer to the center. By doing this, you effectively shorten the bracelet by the distance between the dots. Depending on the design of your watch, there may be some flexibility in how much you can adjust it in this manner. However, the extent of adjustability varies depending on the specific watch model.

The watch should be snug enough so it doesn’t slide around a lot (the rule of thumb is that it shouldn’t slide down more than 2 in (5 cm) when you let your arm hang down), but not so tight that it feels uncomfortable or leaves imprints in your wrist.

If none of the links have arrows, push the pins through from the side where you can’t see a seam in the pin. If some links have arrows and others don’t, you won’t be able to remove the links without arrows.

Use a very strong and thin needle. There's a small hole on the other end of the pin, so insert the needle and just push the pin out.

They look something like a tiny shock absorber. Tiny pins on each end, inserted into a cylinder with a spring in between. Warning: these things are diabolical and will spring away at the slightest slip of your tool. Always work with the watch band on the horizontal with some sort of backboard for them to bounce off if you slip.