One of the easiest, and cheapest, ways to get the look of a new watch without actually buying one is to experiment with strap/bracelet combinations. I have been pleasantly surprised on many occasions by how good an old watch can look with just a strap change. Two prerequisites, you must get yourself a good spring bar tool (I recommend Bergeon but there are others. They generally cost $10 to $30. Otto Frei has an excellent selection.) and you should buy some spring bars in several sizes (they don't cost much at all, the Timezone Tool Shop sells 240 for $20) Once that is taken care of though, you can now change the look of your watches with very little effort.
There are many good sources for watchbands. One of my favorites is R M Nilsen�s ebay store. The Watchprince has a good selection as well. Look around, there are loads of other sellers.
As the pictures above show, I hope, it is relatively easy to completely change the look of a watch with a new band/strap combo. If you have a watch that you haven't worn for a while, try a new watch band on it. I'm willing to bet that you will be surprised by the result.
