How To Resize a Watch and Remove Watch Links

This is probably going to be one of those things that you didn’t know you should know, until you need to know it.

The lovely folks at JORD sent me this amazing wood watch (yes, it’s really wood!), but upon slipping it onto my teeny tiny wrist I knew I would need to re-size it.

I obviously wanted to start wearing it right away and didn’t want to have to take it somewhere to get adjusted, so I decided to have a crack at it myself and it was SO EASY that I just had to put together this tutorial for you. Who knows, it may save you a few bucks in the future if you ever need a watch re-sized.

How to Resize a Watch

After doing a quick search online for “how to remove watch links”, I got the basics but noticed that there wasn’t really anything about watches with two screws in either end of the links.

Most of the time there will only be one screw, and one rounded end that looks like a pin head. I’ll show you how to adjust both types. The above photo is showing that both sides of the link have screws.

First, you’ll want to set your watch onto something soft, like a towel, so you don’t scratch or damage it. You’ll also need two tiny screwdrivers, like the kind that you would use to repair eyeglasses. Mine came in a set and I believe you can pick one up at the dollar store.

Place one screwdriver into one end and hold it still while you unscrew the other end. If your watch doesn’t have double screws, skip this step. Don’t remove the links closest to the closure latch! You’ll need those.

One of the ends will have this little screw pop out. You’ll be able to feel which end contains this screw as you’re turning it. Pop that little guy out and put it aside.

The other end is the pin. All you need to do is push your screwdriver through the opposite hole to push it out.

If your watch only has one screw, loosen it, then stand the links up so the screw side is facing down. Place your screwdriver in the top hole and whack it with something that won’t damage it, like a rubber handled screwdriver. Once the end pops out enough, you can grab it with some pliers and slide it out.

Remove the pin and the link will be free! Repeat this process if you need to continue removing links to make it fit. you can compare it to a watch that fits you, or just do like I did and keep trying it on.

Then you just need to put it back together. Line up the pin holes and slide the pin back in (you may need to knock it in a little)…

Put that little screw back in place….

and with one screwdriver, hold the pin in place while you screw it back in to tighten.

Save your removed links in case you ever need to replace them!

Pin this for later:

Last Updated on

By Dana Fox

Founder of the Wonder Forest blog and brand and bestselling author of the Watercolor With Me book series.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.