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Glashütte Original

Tongue direction?

Feb 10, 2020,03:55 AM
 

No, this is not a NSFW thread! Tried doing a search but couldn't find much on the topic, so apologies if this topic has been discussed before.

Question: is there a convention that brands follow for the strap tongue direction? I have noticed that GOs and IWCs tend to have "tongue in" straps i.e. tongues face inwards to the wearer. I thought this was a brand convention but then noticed a friend's Patek 5159 had the same "tongue in" on the strap, which he confirmed is how it came from the AD.

My Reverso GMT has its "tongue out" and so the only other hypothesis I had was single deployants="tongue in", butterfly deployants="tongue out"?

I would normally just choose whichever felt more comfortable but wondered if brands followed any conventions when they deliver the new watches.

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I prefer the " tongue " pointing towards 6 o clock. Patek does the inverse. No problem, just change the straps to point the tongue where you want it to point. [nt]

 
 By: amanico : February 10th, 2020-04:13

Patek...

 
 By: APROchrono : February 10th, 2020-05:33
Nico, always thought they had tongues to 12 o’ clock but this friend confirmed that his came with the tongue pointed to 6. Sounds like cazalea is right and it seems a bit random?

I have two Patek, and each of them came with the " tongue " at 12. Same for the third I had.

 
 By: amanico : February 10th, 2020-06:33
No message body

Curiouser and curiouser :) [nt]

 
 By: APROchrono : February 10th, 2020-07:23

Having fitted and changed hundreds of straps, I would say there is no convention

 
 By: cazalea : February 10th, 2020-05:11
It’s easy to say the buckle end attaches at the 12 o’clock position but it’s not true. The arrangement varies by brand, and by watch model within brands, or buckle type as you indicate. Some straps are extremely short on one side and very long on the othe...  

Thanks Cazalea.

 
 By: APROchrono : February 10th, 2020-05:35
Sounds like no real pattern or convention. Would be great to hear the brands’ instructions if any when they leave the factory.

"Your wrist may vary"

 
 By: cazalea : February 10th, 2020-05:46
It's easy to tell what they "recommend" because that's how they come mounted. Assuming of course that the straps actually COME WITH the watch, which is not always the case due to import regulations or CITES. They may come under separate cover, via a diffe... 

What I find interesting...

 
 By: APROchrono : February 10th, 2020-05:50
Is, as you pointed out, that the direction they come mounted may vary by model within the same brand. Any discernible pattern there in your experience? P.S. great odd straps. Thanks for sharing! P.P.S. I agree 100% - comfort trumps all.

Deployant v. Tang

 
 By: watch-er : February 11th, 2020-07:16
buckle may make a difference from the same manufacturer.

Thank you - one of my hypotheses was buckle too.

 
 By: APROchrono : February 11th, 2020-08:33
Butterfly vs single deployant. But Tang should be easier to pull towards the wearer to tighten, hence tongue at 12?

Germans?

 
 By: systematic.entropy : February 11th, 2020-10:05
I was always under the impression that it was a German convention. However, I see that Lange has the tongue pointing away....

I am beginning to ascribe to cazalea’s view...

 
 By: APROchrono : February 11th, 2020-15:58
The Random Walk Tongue theory.

Generally speaking, I find that the direction of the tongue is tied to the nature of the clasp, and the desirability of closing the clasp by pulling up towards 12 o’clock

 
 By: Moana43 : February 26th, 2020-06:12
(which is a more secure method than pulling down toward 6 o’clock). So, deployants will tend to have the tongue facing up toward 12 o’clock. Butterfly deployants follow the same initial logic, with the first section to close being the one that is pulled u... 

Thank you for sharing...

 
 By: APROchrono : February 26th, 2020-20:17
I have tended to leave them as they came. But aesthetically and comfort wise find it nicer to have the tongue pointing up to 12. May have to switch the GO strap around.

The Breguet clasp tongue at 6 is really good! The reasons, I think, are because they're both quite short and narrow. [nt]

 
 By: kjkt3 : March 2nd, 2020-16:53

A picture would be lovely! [nt]

 
 By: APROchrono : March 3rd, 2020-08:06