Chapter 01 — The WatchLife Journal

Straps& bracelets.

Everything about the thing that holds your watch on. Types, sizes, taper, pins, leather, care, and the words for all of it. Read them in order and you will never buy the wrong strap again.

LIVE THE WATCHLIFE · THE WATCHLIFE JOURNAL ·
01 Watch straps, the complete guide Watch straps fall into five families: leather, fabric, rubber, metal bracelets and pass-through straps (like the NATO). Leather suits dress and everyday watches, fabric and pass-through... 4 MIN 02 Lug width, and why 1 mm matters Lug width is the gap between the inside faces of your watch's lugs, measured in millimetres. Your strap must be exactly that wide where it meets... 2 MIN 03 Strap taper, explained Taper is how much a strap narrows from the lugs to the buckle. It is written as two numbers, such as 20/18 mm: 20 mm at... 2 MIN 04 Spring bars, and quick-release pins A spring bar is the small spring-loaded rod that holds a strap between the lugs. Its tips push into holes on the inside of each lug.... 3 MIN 05 Straight end, or curved end? A straight-end strap has a flat, square end and fits almost any watch with the right lug width. A curved-end strap has its end shaped to... 2 MIN 06 Strap sizing, and micro-adjustment Measure your wrist just above the wrist bone. A standard two-piece strap fits most wrists from about 16 to 20 cm (6.25–8 in). You should be... 2 MIN 07 The leather strap, how it's made A leather strap is a sandwich of layers: a top leather, often a padding or stiffening layer, and a lining that touches your skin. The pieces... 2 MIN 08 Leather grades, and what "genuine" really means Leather is graded by which layer of the hide it comes from and how much its surface has been altered. Full-grain keeps the natural surface and... 2 MIN 09 A good strap, how to spot one Check the material grade, the edges, the stitching, the lining, the hardware and the fit. A good strap has a clearly named leather grade, smooth even... 2 MIN 10 Buckles and clasps, a field guide A tang buckle is the classic pin-and-frame buckle that threads through the strap's holes. A deployant clasp is a hinged metal clasp that folds open and... 2 MIN 11 Strap care, material by material Keep leather and suede dry and give them rest days; wash fabric by hand; rinse rubber after salt or chlorine; brush metal bracelets with warm soapy... 2 MIN 12 The strap glossary, A to Z This glossary defines the terms used to describe watch straps, bracelets and their parts, each in one or two lines. Every term has its own link,... 3 MIN