Since I've been collecting I've taken those old crappy GF and GP bands that are broken... WAY worn out and just plain shot and gotten rid of them.
Heck I've put them in they're like plated piles and sold them as scrap.
Now that we see more and more ads come out showing an actual difference in model names based upon gp/gf bands vs. leather straps....
What the heck are we to do?
And you can't tell me half the these other watches sporting leather straps didn't probably start out with a expandable band but it wore out after 60-70 years!
ALSO... we all know you can buy bands... JUST bands all over the interwebs... AND we've all seen the ads for the expandable bands right along in the same catalogs as the watches.
Seriously... there's absolutely NO way to tell what it was sold with... and I think it was more of a salesy thing than anything else.
"Well sir... this is the Senator "A" watch if I sell it to you with just the leather strap, but if I sell you this band here and put it on it, it's now the Senator "G"??!!
WTF.... really Bulova?!
I don't care what anyone says... that's just a matter that we're never going to solve. We should really think long and hard about dumping any letter model significants based upon bands... there's no way to tell unless it's NOS.
Sure... metal color and dial variance.. absolutely... you can see the difference... but bands? No way... to malliable.... to easy to manipulate.. and for crying out loud.. the band is essentially a consumable throw away product for the most part.
What about completely different model names based on the band, as opposed to just a variant letter, such as Tuxedo/Craftsman. Which is it?
This is one of the reasons why I proposed having individual ratings for the relevant components that determine the model/variant and then averaging the results for an overall rating.
I don't think the band should be discounted outright because that would be unfair to owners of a completely original, possibly more rare, model/variant.
It would be easy to say scrap the letter designation, but if it makes a difference to the case style, as in the recent Senator "A" debate, then it is a significant factor in the naming of the watch, and as such must be used. A band is usually the first thing to break or wear out or be changed due to personal preferences on a watch, so should not be taken into account when judging a watch by the panel. Maybe as Darren suggests, an extra "tick" at the side if it has an original or replacement band that looks like the ones shown on the watch in the ads, and scrapping the letter designation when it is used for band style, as judged by the panel members or proved beyond doubt by adverts in the database. Let's face it, a beautiful watch may be enhanced by it's original band, but doesn't really matter as it comes down to personal preference in the end.
I would prefer letters not be used, unless it makes a difference to the watch case and/or dial or anything within the watch itself, not something as ephemeral and peripheral as the band.