Guide: choosing the right technical watch strap

How many years will you wear your watch on your wrist? 1 year? 10 years? A lifetime? The answer to this question depends on your habits. Some will wear their timepiece for decades, others will prefer to alternate periods, abandoning one of them and then wearing it again.

Sometimes, unfortunately, a watch ends up boring and that's how it ends up in the classified ads of watch forums or sales sites. But before reaching this stage, there is an alternative: why not change the strap?

THE BRACELET OR THE ART OF PERSONALIZING AND RENEWING INTEREST

Having the same watch on your wrist is a bit like some relationships: at first you embrace each other and then you get tired of it. The key point is: how to keep or rekindle the flame? To make a connection with the world of clothing, you probably all keep at least one piece in your closet that is gathering dust.

Maybe you like the style less or the piece no longer goes with the clothes you wear now. Before condemning it to the back of a closet or trying to sell it via an online platform, maybe an effort to try to twist it with new pieces will make you want to wear it again.

For watches, it's a bit the same logic .

Changing the strap of a watch allows you to see it in a different light and adapt it to your own tastes because, it must be admitted, the original straps can quickly become boring and this is not surprising: the strap was for a long time the poor relation of the watchmaking offer .

For my part, changing the strap is almost imperative. First of all, I want to "personalize" my purchase by adopting straps that correspond more to my tastes: in terms of color, design and comfort .

In addition, I note that many brands could produce good watch models while being let down by poorly made bracelets. It was often necessary to go to premium or luxury brands 3 to have a quality bracelet provided as standard.

This is even more true in the field of bracelets made of technical materials offered by brands, with one exception in this field with Tudor.

There is of course the option of custom-made leather bracelets, but the prices are high, especially if you are looking at the top of the range.

Beautiful leather made according to the rules of the art will always be very comfortable to wear, but it is not the only choice available. There is a whole range of materials to discover in watch straps and, in recent years, the offer has evolved continuously. Today, we have a wide choice and three main categories: the leather straps we have just mentioned, metal straps and straps made of technical materials. Let's focus on the latter in this article.

IS TECHNIQUE CHIC?

The technical is above all practical. If you have read BG articles regularly such as the files on How to dress in TECHWEAR / OUTDOOR #1 and #2 , you have been able to see all the interest in technical materials when they bring a real advantage to the clothing. In the case of watch straps, it should be remembered that the straps were generally of two types: leather and metal.

The straps during the First World War were very often made of leather and the problem encountered was that, subjected to the harsh life of the trenches, the leather had limits due to humidity. Also, between the end of the Great War and the 1920s, cotton subsequently arrived for military watch straps. They would evolve to the famous AF 0210 strap of the Second World War made of cotton canvas for the American army.

Cotton seems like a good solution, but be careful... as you already know, cotton retains perspiration longer than wool or linen. And the smell too. The military needs a material that is lighter and more discreet than metal, abrasion-resistant and inexpensive. This is the case with nylon, the perfect example of a technical material.

Nylon is a polyamide, itself a polymer that is made up of several macromolecules, nylon being a condensation polymer. The interest of this technical material is linked to its low absorbency and therefore, after contact with water, it will dry very quickly +.

It is thus found in many items of clothing: in certain raincoats, sportswear… or stockings + and tights or undershirts from Yohji Yamamoto .

For watches, nylon will arrive through the door ajar by the military through what is now called the Nato strap, which is the greatest representative of technical straps. And by the way, let's start our review with this strap.

THE “NATO” BRACELET

Whether it's on a watch worth several thousand euros or an entry-level quartz watch, the Nato has established itself as the most common technical strap in the sector. Easy to change, colorful, hypoallergenic and very affordable, the nylon strap has won over a large majority of wrists. But did you know that in fact what we call a Nato should be called a G10?

The term NATO is actually the acronym for the North Atlantic Trade Organization (OTAN in French) but it doesn't really provide any information about the real origin of the strap.

The real term that should be used for the strap we are talking about is G10 which itself comes from a… British Army form: G1028 which from 1973 allowed soldiers to request a nylon strap for their watches received in issue, often Hamiltons and CWCs.

For information, these bracelets were gray (Admiralty Gray). The appearance of the color on the G10 will come later: each unit wanted a bracelet in the colors of the regiment.

The G10 is not a simple strap made of a single piece of nylon as already existed before the 1970s. It can already be seen in the cinema in the 60s with the strap now nicknamed the "Nato Bond" worn at one point on a Rolex Submariner 6538 by the actor Sean Connery.

The G10 has two pieces of nylon, one to go between the lugs and pumps of the watch AND another to prevent the watch from moving too much on the wrist.

Although quite durable, if the nylon fabric starts to fray, a light flick of a lighter and the material will be glued back together and in place.

For simplicity, we will use the term Nato preferably which is the most common nowadays. Today, there are many ranges of Nato. You can perfectly choose the one you like the most but I would advise you to be interested in the higher-end models.

The sites offer premium models which can have more interesting patterns and above all better resistance , so I advise you to first favor the latter for a few extra euros.

Also, watch brands like Omega also offer soft and good quality Nato straps but beware of the prices which are really high. I would recommend them only if you want to have a watch and strap from the same brand from start to finish.

There are Nato straps that come close to these, including those from Timefactors, which are also made of polyamide and are quite soft to the touch. However, having compared those from Timefactors and the original from Omega, the latter does indeed have a superior finish, the problem being the gap between the two in terms of price.

The cheapest ones will be found on the Cheapestnatostrap website, which mainly offers entry-level products at a very attractive price compared to industry standards. No problem with deliveries and frequent discounts in addition to the usual discount for the purchase of five bracelets.

For entry and mid-range, I recommend the excellent Cheapestnatostrap site whose prices are very attractive. Don't expect huge quality.

The MAT Watches + site is mainly in 22 and 24mm. I hope we will have other sizes later because its quality sets it apart from the competition compared to what I have been able to test.

ADVANTAGES OF VELCRO:

• Very efficient quick release .
• Military solidity of the rare tactical models.

DISADVANTAGES OF VELCRO:

• More limited choice in terms of looks , obviously not recommended for dress watches or even sport chic.
• Unfortunately, there are not many choices available at the moment regarding tactics.

THE PERLON BRACELET

Perlon is the second major representative of technical materials in bracelets. Often available at a very reduced price at the entry level, it takes its name from the material used.

PERLON VS NYLON

Directly inspired by the creation of nylon, a German created a relatively similar version, Perlon. From the same family of polyamides, Perlon actually has almost the same characteristics, being extracted from coal tar 6.

Perlon is a cheaper competitor to nylon and will be used in the military industry 7.

On a technical level, we can see that it is generally more rigid than nylon. The latter can be woven in the form of Nato for example while perlon will be braided.

The Perlon bracelet is light, practical and very cheap. Its stretchy side makes it easy to adapt to the wrist. Behind the scenes, this bracelet is actually very inexpensive to produce and the sale prices of around twenty euros seem quite high, especially compared to the type of cheap buckle that we find on the vast majority of these bracelets .

I recommend opting for their versions with interesting twists in terms of shades and preferring models with better quality buckles. Some brands offer them and I found better buckles for example at the March Lab brand.

OUR ADVICE FOR BUYING PERLON BRACELETS

As for the Nato, the offer is plentiful so I suggest you buy from the sites recommended previously like Cheapestnatostrap or Crown & Buckle . I would have a flat for the quality of their buckles nevertheless * Update : the Cheapestnatostrap site has just launched new Perlon bracelets called 2.0 with an updated buckle 9. Some brands like WatchGecko offer them for example but I have doubts about the fact that it is canvas from a supplier in sailmaking.

In the high-end market, the Avel & Men brand seems to be at the forefront on the subject with the use of serious suppliers.

ADVANTAGES OF SAIL CANVAS:

• Impeccable technicality : solid, durable and flexible.
• Perhaps one of the technical materials that will have the greatest future in bracelets.
• Interesting twist in bracelet design for the high end.

DISADVANTAGES OF SAIL CANVAS:

• An offer that is growing but we still have to be careful between real sailcloth and that which is claimed as such.
• Rigidity of certain materials such as carbon fiber also makes it necessary to double it with leather on the edges to benefit from great comfort when wearing.

RUBBER BRACELETS

Part of the elastomer family 11 there are actually two categories of rubber: natural and synthetic. One comes from a process of harvesting and transformation of natural product and the other from the petrochemical industry.

Natural rubber comes from a tree from which the latex is extracted + which is itself subsequently transformed by a process involving "coagulation" of the latex followed by a drying stage until the rubber is obtained.

Synthetic rubber is produced by polymerizing hydrocarbons. Neoprene is an example of synthetic rubber that can be found in diving suits or simply the gloves used for your dishes. Today, synthetic rubber is the one that is, in the vast majority of cases, used for watch straps.

Rubber straps are another major category of technical straps. Particularly suited to the diving environment, it is naturally found in watches of this type. Its use is generally limited to this environment because it is rather difficult to match it with other environments, particularly more formal or urban ones.

This is obviously not a rule but some rubber strap designs are clearly not designed to be easily matched with all environments.

Both are composed mainly of hydrogen and carbon atoms that can be mixed with other materials such as sulfur, chlorine or silicon to give them different properties. Both are therefore polymers. The difference is that rubber has a much greater elastic property while plastic has much less.

Your plastic ruler used at school is an illustration of this: not very flexible, it tends to break if the tension becomes too strong. Rubber, on the other hand, due to its elasticity, will deform if pressure is exerted on it and will return to its original shape afterwards.

Fortunately, there is a large offer in the sector that allows you to find more versatile models. You should not hesitate to dare to use colors to change from black, brown or blue.

If the Watchgecko site offers references that seem interesting to me like this one , the largest offer on the market is certainly at WatchBandCenter . The choice is very vast and in a wide range of prices.

ADVANTAGES OF RUBBER:

• Lots of shapes and choices
• Relatively reasonable price and many ranges
• Suitable for diving

DISADVANTAGES OF RUBBER:

• You have to know how to sort between the different offers, there is a big gap in the quality of the rubber of the bracelets
• Not very versatile unless you opt for the less distinctive models.
• Outside of the seaside, the breathability of this bracelet is not its strong point and makes it a little less pleasant, unless it has large holes.

There is a wide variety of rubber bracelets, it would be difficult to review them all, so let's focus on a slightly different bracelet that has come back into the spotlight: the Tropique.

THE TROPICAL BRACELET

Appearing in the 60s, this very cheap bracelet that is mainly found in the entry-level range is made of vulcanized rubber. It turns out to be a little less flexible than a usual rubber bracelet.

The traditional Tropique bracelet has a typical shape: pierced with many holes with a characteristic shape and design. Waterproof, this bracelet would hardly let your wrist breathe without all these small holes.

The original Tropic had at one point disappeared along with the companies that manufactured it… before being reproduced with its return to the forefront. Knowing that it is very likely that the original “recipe” of the Tropic has disappeared and that the current bracelets are copies for form.

This is a strap that I use quite rarely, generally finding it a little more rigid and despite the presence of holes on the strap, not very breathable in the end12. It can give a vintage look to certain divers , particularly those from brands like Lip, which have historically used this type of strap for models like the Nautic-Ski.

The Watchgecko site has a model that seems honorable to me at around thirty euros. There are cheaper bracelets but I think that the quality of the rubber leaves a little to be desired. On the other hand, I think that going for the more expensive models is not really justified.

ADVANTAGES OF THE TROPICS:

• Vintage shape
• Cheap

DISADVANTAGES OF THE TROPICS:

• A little stiffer than a regular rubber strap.
• On the cheaper models, we find ourselves on the border between a rubber strap and a plastic material. Over time, current low-quality productions can crack with wear.
• After testing, I find it moderately breathable despite the presence of small holes.

THE SILICONE BRACELET

Discovered in the late 1930s, it is often confused with rubber but in reality the silicone bracelet is, as its name suggests, composed mainly of silicon which itself comes from silica, in other words, more simply, sand.

Very comfortable, even more elastic than rubber, silicone has some serious drawbacks: particularly electrostatic, it has the gift of attracting dust. Between a rubber bracelet and a silicone one, in my opinion, do not hesitate. Quality rubber should be your preference.

OUR ADVICE FOR BUYING A SILICONE BRACELET

It is easy to get them from the sites recommended above and even on Amazon if you want. I nevertheless advise to pay attention to the names and to check that the reference of the bracelet is indeed rubber or silicone because sometimes the references can be mixed.

ADVANTAGES OF SILICONE:

• Very flexible
• Generally very comfortable if you like this material

DISADVANTAGES OF SILICONE:

• Dust Catcher Number 1
• Electrostatic

THE FINAL WORD

It would be difficult to list absolutely all the technical type bracelets as there are so many. In addition, the possibilities in terms of technical bracelets seem endless as we see with the sailcloth more recently.

Research and innovations in the industrial sector or in the military field have already brought new developments in the past which have subsequently been deployed in the civilian world with an infinite number of variations such as nylon, perlon or velcro, not to mention rubber.

These materials have their advantages and disadvantages, of course, but they can help those who want to change metal or leather bracelets or simply to provide a technical solution to their needs.

My opinion is that you have to know how to use both and have a curious mind. I myself was reluctant with rubber bracelets until I multiplied the tests and found quality models with colors that stood out from the ordinary.

I also think that using past manufacturing skills like those of Julien Faure with technical threads like the polyethylene of the Tudor brand textile bracelets are an illustration of success: that of combining tradition with modernity. This is what I expect most from brands: that they do not seek to sweep away the past but that they seek to marry it with a future . And make good bracelets.