The Bergeon No 5685 Case Holder

by Gary

For most of us our watches become a part of our everyday life. After a while they become almost like children. We take pride in them, try to give them good care and as soon as they start getting older we want another, even if we can't afford it. One of the things everyone wants to avoid happening to their kids and their watches is an injury. So, we do our best to prevent accidents from happening. That is why I am very happy to have purchased a Bergeon No 5685 Case Holder.

We all know that one of the pleasures of owning a Panerai is the ability to interchange straps with relative ease. The only problem is when you slip with the screwdriver in the process. Then you turn your beautiful lugs into battle scarred steel. Although I consider myself fairly adept mechanicallly, I have to admit that my eyes aren't quite as sharp in the macro range as they used to be. This couldn't be a sign of aging, could it? Consequently, trying to hold the watch steady and replace straps can be a tense propostion. Until now! With my Bergeon Case Holder it's a snap.

The case holder is a very nicely made device that is much like a vice. It consists of two heavy duty grey plastic bars that are connected by metal sliders and are opened and closed by a knob at the end of a threaded bolt. Inserted into the grey plastic bars are four red plastic pegs that are further adjustable by postioning them in different holes.

Although the case holder is really designed to be clamped into a bench vise and hold watch cases while they are being opened for repairs, they also work perfectly for hoding the case while exposing the screw heads at the lug ends.

This makes it easy to hold the watch securely and motionless while removing and replacing the strap. It is even more helpful with a Radiomir or Pre-Vendome watch which uses a screw at each lug.

I imagine it would also work well with watches that use spring bars, however I have not tried this.

I have not yet had any problems fitting any watch into the case holder. The No 5685 is the larger size model and it easily accomadates a 44mm Panerai. I would expect it is adjustable to fit watches well over 50mm. Because of the plastic construction there should be no problems with damaging the finish on any watch case. The watch actually sits on the crystal and the four red pegs contact the case. The only place I have had to be careful is in making sure the pushers of a chronograph are not pinched when tightening the case holder.

On a scale of 1-10 I would rate this product a 9. It does exactly what I expected, and it has been very handy. I paid $78.60 plus shipping from Otto Frei & Jules Borel Co.. I felt this was a little high, but considering the cost of the damage to a watch, I now am very statisfied with my purchase.