Fit The Watch Band and Get a Kiss!

Step 3 Exposing the Staples

Bend one cartridge tab level with the plane of the watch band at each location you removed the cosmetic cover.  The objective here is to open up a path for the staple to slide out while maintaining symmetry so the watch can be joined together again.  See the photos below for an illustration of this process.  The fourth photo below shows an inner spring cartridge removed from the band with two of the four staples still attached.

Bend only the flaps you need to, and bend them as few times as possible.  If the metal is bent multiple times, or is bent too far, chances are the tab will break off completely.

See the photo below for help choosing the proper tab to bend.  The tabs you bend will determine if an outer spring cartridge or an inner cartridge will remain on the band.  You must have an inner cartridge on one free end, and an outer cartridge on the other free end to be able to mate the band together again.  It is permissible to use trial and error to determine which tab to bend, but opening the correct tabs in this step will save you time.

I only needed to bend two tabs, but this was because the outer cartridges did not have tabs, and relied on the cosmetic cover to hold the staples in place.  If your band is designed with tab closures on all spring cartridges, then you will need to bend double the amount (four).