STRAP ON STRAP OFF

The best strap material for your watch and you

We just finished talking about how timepieces are no longer just about “telling the time,” they’ve become fashion accessories as well.  Indeed, fashion can be a tricky thing but done correctly those little touches we add to our outfits, whether it be a piece of jewelry, a different colored belt, or even contrasting colored socks can add to the overall expression of your personality.  This is why the best types of timepieces are those that are an extension of you.

And there’s the rub: there are many, many types of personalities.  Fortunately, there are also many, many different types of watches and watch styles for the many who feel style is as important as function.  And believe it or not, those choices extend to watch straps.  Yes, an old watch can be given a new lease in life simply by changing the strap.  This is the most inexpensive way to get that new watch feeling without having to pay for a new watch.  Then again, the entire raison d’êtra of ANY watch can be altered when suddenly matched with a different type of strap.  This is why matching the right watch with the right strap is more important than most people think. 

The question that must be asked first, however, is what you intend to do with your watch?  Will it be worn strictly for the office?  Will it be used for extreme sports or while enjoying an active lifestyle?  Will it used to go diving and exploring the depths?  Or will your watch be used mostly for decoration?  Whatever the case, there is a watch strap that is best suited for the situation, and here are some of the most popular types of watch straps.

LEATHER is the most classic type of watch strap and is the type that has accompanied most wrist worn timepieces since their inception.  Indeed, most (if not all) fashion ensembles benefit from the inclusion of any timepiece with a leather strap.  Of all the types of straps, leather is the most natural and definitely the most organic, and outside of a metal bracelet is arguably the most versatile with a variety of types and finishes that include alligator or crocodile leather, cow or calf leather, full grain, top grain, suede, and patent, etc. 

What most people don’t realize is how involved it is to manufacture a leather watch strap with a typical example taking a dozen or more steps to produce.  More involved, in fact, than making traditional leather goods such as belts and the like.  This is why the quality of a leather strap can vary greatly depending on where it is sourced.

More recently, the HYBRID COMPOSITE strap has come into vogue, with leather straps lined with rubber, or with silicone, just to name a few.  Beware though, some extra TLC might be needed to keep a traditional leather strap in tip top condition especially if you intend to wear your watch everyday. 

Which brings us to the METAL BRACELET, the second most classic type of watch strap.  Best suited for an active lifestyle, a metal bracelet not only provides the security and robustness that no other type of strap can offer, a metal bracelet is also remarkably easy to clean.  Ranging from the sleek to the sturdy, a metal bracelet offers all the durability anyone will ever need.  Best of all, with today’s technology, metal bracelets no longer need to be confined to cold metal gray.  PVD plating allows for gold metal watch straps as well as rose gold, and even black.

RUBBER is another popular option especially when dealing with sweat or handling water, and outside of metal bracelets, are usually paired with dive watches or other sport watches.  A rubber strap is non-absorbent so needs zero drying time and is great for prolonged exposure to the ocean.  On the minus side, rubber straps need to be broken in even more than leather straps, the best examples tend to be thicker on the wrist but they do last a long time.  There many types of rubber straps but the most popular is natural or vulcanized rubber, which is the most pliable and feels the most supple.  Most importantly, natural rubber does not pick up lint like its artificial counterpart: silicon.

A highly durable and long lasting synthetic material, SILICON is made without any natural materials and is highly resistant to heat and abrasions while also being inexpensive to manufacture and easily molded to suit any number of applications, designs, and tasks.  In fact, unlike natural rubber, there’s not much a silicon strap cannot handle…within reason, of course.

NYLON or NATO straps are another popular choice and usually refers to straps made of woven fabric or nylon.  These straps are designed specifically for an active lifestyle and are totally impervious to water, are relatively affordable to manufacture, and can be easily removed for cleaning or washing.  Best of all, these hook and loop straps are designed to stay put even in the most challenging of conditions, and much like the ankle straps on a surfboard will take a lot of punishment before coming loose.  One caveat though: the colors of many “lesser” nylon or NATO straps tend to fade over time.

Then there are ZULU and PERLON straps.  The former is generally built around the same principles as a NATO strap but is more robust with its use of thicker nylon.  This alone makes it heavier than a NATO strap especially when used with thicker and rounder stainless steel hardware.  Perlon, on the other hand, was once a trademarked commercial name for a woven nylon pull-through strap made by a German watch brand back in the 1950s.  Today, “perlon” refers to a woven nylon strap with a very distinct type of weave.  These are generally not as soft and pliable as traditonal woven nylon straps but make up for it with their distinctiveness.

Other strap materials include CORDURA and CANVAS.  The former is a synthetic material similar to balistic nylon and as such is most likely matched with military gear.  Best of all, it features a slightly different fibre structure that makes it even more resistant to abrasion than standard nylon making it highly suitable for dive watches and tool watches.  The latter is a kind of woven textile type of strap that is composed of natural fibres usually hemp or more often cotton, which may not be particularly resistant to water but does break in nicely for a nice comfortable fit.

For those in the know, JACQUARD is essential a fancy French process for creating a woven nylon or cotton textile with a variety of different woven patterns and is characterized by an especially dense weave and higher thread count compared to other woven straps making jacquard straps esspecially soft and supple.  Jacquard has also recently become synonymous with the watch brand TUDOR, which has specified the woven straps with many of its watch offerings.

Most recently, sustainable leather options have come to the fore especially the kind of vegan leather made from apple skin or hybrid processed straps made from ocean plastic.  Indeed, with today’s technology the choices are almost infinite.  But for those who prefer the more traditional, the suggestions stated above are more than good enough.