Let’s be honest, the strap or bracelet is really the most important part of a wristwatch, I mean, how else are you going to wear the watch? Luckily there are many, many types of watches straps, and while I still lack experience with most of them, I do know my favorite looking ones. That being said, not all straps are for every watch, some watches are known as strap monsters, others only work on the package included strap. The many variables include, the dial, the use of color, the case shape and lugs, and probably more things depending on your outlook on life. Further, some of these straps are cool because of where a certain brand is taking the original idea. As usual this is not a review and all pictures come from the given brands website.
The fitted rubber strap is tricky because you need to find one that fits your particular watch, which might be difficult depending on the watch, but these straps shine on integrated bracelet sport watches. My personal favorite is from Delugs, for the Tissot PRX. Rubber is a very sporty material in general, durable, not too heavy and easily moldable to a specific watch, which is perfect for dressing down these integrated sport watches, and can sometimes bring out the color of the dial a little bit more. These straps are also common on dive watches, but usually a non-fitted tropic strap is more common, for obvious reasons. You really do have to have the right watch to rock these straps but when you do, you’ll get a very nice look.
Many of these watch straps can be very Amazon-y, that is to say, you probably won’t find a name brand, but you will find a product that works. Such is the person strap, typically single pass this straps are woven so you don’t need specific holes for the buckle, for a perfect fit no matter what, combine that with the lightness you get a perfect summer watch strap. I’ve seen this style of strap fitted on everything from Bauhaus dress watches to rugged field watches, and it always works. The simplicity of this style of strap is a perfect do all piece of woven nylon. Sure you don’t get the seatbelt pattern on normal single pass nylon straps, but those also look heavier and more aggressive.
Fitted rubber watch straps are pretty luxurious just because they need to work for a specific watch, but if you are looking for THE luxurious watch strap, look no further than the sailcloth, more specifically, Artem’s sailcloth. These straps are made for people who own yachts, if you want a watch strap that can handle water but you don’t want to wear fabric like a yacht-less commoner. Usually seen on watches that cost no less than $5,000, they themselves can be expensive. I personally would buy one with a deployment clasp and quick release springbars, but that brings up the cost of just the strap, to $210. These straps only look good on luxurized tool watches in my opinion, yes I’m coining that term, like a Speedmaster, or a Submariner.
If you want that nato single pass through look, but want a little more elegance, your best choice is the Zuludiver Octopod. The actual straps are pretty cheap, but the buckle, what makes this watch strap stand out, is around $60. The clasp acts like a deployment clasp on a higher end leather or sailcloth strap, except it’s specially designed to work specifically with fabric nato straps. What makes this system special is the thinness of the clasp and how you adjust the fabric for the proper fit. What you get is a tool watch vibe with just a little bit of tech bro imagination, and I honestly think it looks great. With all that said, it does have more breakable parts than a normal nato strap.
Zuludiver takes two places in this list because of their interpretation of the straps that were fitted on the Speedmasters sent to the moon. These straps were designed for the Omega x Swatch Moonswatches, but they can work on any watch with a 20mm lug width, and I hope they expand this collection and offer different lug widths, because these straps are gorgeous. I love the idea of a nicer looking pattern with this two piece velcro design, I haven’t seen these straps on enough watches to know what else they would work with besides the Omega Speedmaster, but I do know I love them and I definitely want to buy myself a couple to work with any watch I ever own.
There are many more straps out there, including Milanese bracelets and Beads of Rice bracelets, but I think it’s obvious I prefer sport and tool straps over the dressiness of all metal. It does suck that sometimes you have to own the right watch for the right strap, because I don’t think I will ever own a watch that would look good on a sailcloth strap, but at least all always be able to admire these straps from afar.
Watching Watchmaking is written of Ribbon Eichler. © 2024. All Rights Reserved.
