Are Metal Watch Straps More Durable Than Leather Ones?

Probably the two most common types of watch strap you will see are made from either leather or metal, but is one more durable than the other?

The reality is that a metal strap will be more durable, it is just a harder material that will last longer. This doesn’t mean leather is inferior, it just means that metal is more durable and cope with more stressors, but let’s go through why this is in more detail.

Metal Will Last Longer Than Leather

When it comes to longevity there is no contest, a metal bracelet will always outlast a leather strap.

The leather is going to wear out and start to fray and the holes may stretch and it is just going to eventually fall apart.

You can certainly get a lot of wear and tear on a metal bracelet, but it will be mostly cosmetic and its structural integrity will remain for many years.

This shouldn’t really be a surprise, metal is hard and solid, where as leather is soft and porous and it will bend and flex a lot more than metal. When it comes to just wearing either strap on a daily basis, a metal strap will always outlast a leather one.

Metal Can Go In Water

Metal straps are more durable than leather ones, simply as they can go in water. Metal straps are going to be made from things like stainless steel, so they are not going to rust and they are going to be totally fine getting as wet as you want.

Leather unfortunately does not have this ability as it is porous and will absorb the water, and while it may be able to hand some light rain, if you got it really wet it will usually ruin it and it will never be the same, even if you let it dry out fully.

This is especially true for salt water which can very quickly destroy a leather strap but of course would not have any effect on the metal ones.

This is exactly why people frown on dive watches with leather straps, the two don’t work together as one is designed to go in water …while the other is not. 

This does mean you need to be more cautious when wearing a leather strap, you can’t just jump into the pool and you would need to take your watch off first. 

Metal Is Easier To Clean

Due to its ability to go in water, it should be no surprise that metal is going to be easier to clean than leather.

You need to be extremely careful with leather and really you can only use a lightly dampened cloth and it can be quite hard to remove any large stains. This is also not helped by the fact that the leather is porous and will absorb the stain, so once it is on there, it’s basically never coming off.  

Metal is of course not porous and you can fully submerge it and scrub anything off. I would still be careful in case you scratch the metal, but so long as you are using a soft cloth, or an ultrasonic cleaner, then you can get the metal as wet as want.

This durability of metal straps makes the whole cleaning process so much easier and you will also get better results too. You can restore a metal bracelet back to pretty much brand new by cleaning it, which you can’t really achieve with a leather strap.    

Metal Can Get Scratched Up

While metal is a lot more durable material to use as a strap, it is not perfect. The metal is still quite soft and you can scratch things up pretty easily.

This is all superficial though, and the structure of the strap is not affected. You can also buff this out pretty easily, so really it is not a big problem.

If you get a scratch on a leather strap, you can’t fix that and it is potentially going to be quite damaging and could lead to the strap tearing in half.  

Metal Will Not Colour Fade

Metal is also more durable as it will not get damaged by the sun or friction and fade over time. The colour of leather will start to fade over time and after a few years the strap can look pretty worn and old and just not as bright as it once was.

I guess you can argue that metal can sort of go “dull” which is caused by lots of scratches. This is especially true of a polished surface, however, as I already mentioned, this can be easily fixed with a polishing cloth and you can pretty much restore the shine back to new.

In this sense, mental will not fade in the same way as leather and you will not be able to tell how old a metal strap is compared to a leather one, which should be obvious if it is old.  

Clasps Can Be The Weak Point For Any Strap

Really when you look at either a leather or metal strap, it is the clasp that is always going to be the weakest point.

This is the part that has the most movement and is also the part that holds everything together, so it will naturally hold the most tension and these forces will wear this area down faster. Usually when a strap breaks, it is more commonly at the clasp.

The good thing is that you can always replace this part, clasps and buckles can be swapped out pretty easily.

However, leather straps have the added problem of usually having holes, which are a part of the clasping mechanism. The buckle of a leather strap will feed though a hole in the strap and these can become stretched and damaged, even more easily than the buckle itself.

Annoyingly once a hole that has been stretched, this can’t be undone and it does mean that leather straps are less durable than a metal bracelet, simple as they do not use holes to hold everything together.   

(You can read more about – What Is The Best Watch Strap Material For Everyday Wear?)

Metal Straps Are Harder To Size

Part of the durability of a watch is just your ability to put it on and take it off and generally have it fit well on your wrist.

Both a metal bracelet and leather strap can achieve this, but initially when you first get the watch, the metal strap will be harder to get the right size. You are going to have to play around with this and resize it to get the perfect fit.

This is kind of annoying, but once you get it right it’s pretty much done. You just slip the watch on and close the clasp.

A leather strap is always going to be easy to fit to your wrist. Most straps will have a buckle and tang and some holes and it is really easy to instantly get the perfect fit.

You could also take the watch off and give it to someone and they would also be able to put it on easily and get the perfect fit, they would just need to use the hole that was best for them.  You couldn’t do this with a metal strap, they would need to get some tools out and resize things, unless their wrist was the exact same size as yours.     

(You can read more about – What To Do If A Leather Watch Strap Doesn’t Fit)

You Can Feel The Weight Of Metal On The Wrist

I am not really sure if this counts as durability, but you will feel the metal bracelet on your wrist.

Metal is just heavier than leather and you can often forget you are wearing a watch on a leather strap, it just kind of fades away and is almost invisible. You will always be able to feel the weight of a metal bracelet, and people like this. I’m not saying they are heavy, or a constant weight pulling on your wrist, but they do just have a different presence and they feel more robust and sturdy and capable of withstanding anything and some people really like this.

You will find people who are used to this, just don’t like switching to titanium as it feels too light for them and they feel the watch is too delicate now, even if it isn’t.   

Conclusion

Hopefully you can see that both straps are good, but when it comes to the overall durability, you will find that a metal strap is more durable.

Metal is just a better material, it can cope with more wear and tear and isn’t going to be affected by outside conditions such as water, it is just going to stay exactly the same, regardless of what you are doing.

Leather straps are amazing, but they are more delicate and they will wear out a lot faster, this isn’t a bad thing, it’s something to be aware of. 

(You can read more about – Frequently Asked Questions About – Watch Straps)