What Are The Different Types Of Watch Straps Available?

When it comes to watch straps, you will find that there are so many different options to pick from, however, if you actually take a step back and look at all of these straps, you will see that there is only a couple of different types of straps.

There are the two piece, single piece and then metal bracelets. Pretty much every watch strap is going to fall into one of these three categories, so let’s go through them in a little more detail. 

The Most Common Types of Watch Strap Are Two Pieces

When most people think of a watch strap, they think of a two piece strap. You have one piece attached to either side of the watch head and then these two pieces meet and form a loop.

This style of strap is probably the most common style, simply as they can be made from all sorts of different materials.

The classic material you will think of is going to be leather, but you can find these straps also made out of various forms of canvas and nylon and even rubbers and plastics too.

The best part about these is that they can be found in all sorts of different colours and styles and you can you can easily pair them with all sorts of different watches.

Most watch collectors have a little collection of these types of straps as they can easily interchange them in between their watches.   

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

Bund Straps

Bund straps are interesting, they are sort of a combination of the two piece strap, but they have an extra piece of material that sits underneath the watch, which makes them a “bund”.

Basically you thread either side of a two piece strap through the bund section, and then the back of the watch hit will sit on this, you then place the watch on your wrist as normal, but now you have the bund section in between your wrist and the watch.

These straps where purposely made so that you had this barrier between your wrist and the watch, which seems pointless, but when you think about very cold climates …an ice cold metal watch touching your skin is not going to be fun, so it is actually quite functional and stops the watch from hurting you.

The cool thing is that the bund section can usually be totally removed and you can just wear the strap as a normal two piece, so you kind of get two styles in one if you buy this style of strap.

They can be quite bulky, so they are not the most popular, but they can look good at times.    

Metal Bracelets Are Very Common

The other main type of straps you will commonly see are metal bracelets. These are usually a part of a watches design and everything is made from the same material and they look great and are very robust.

You can get different types of mental bracelets, but they are usually not as interchangeable as the two piece straps, because as I mentioned they are generally designed for individual watches. This doesn’t mean you can’t swap them around, it just not as easy. The first issue is the colour/type of metal may not be exactly the same and it doesn’t look right, but the bigger problem is the end links. Some bracelets have this designed in a way that it will only attach to a certain watch, while others may be more generic.

When you look at these bracelets you will see you can still get a lot of variety in them. The links used can be slightly different, giving a different look to the bracelet, as well as how they are polished and what materials they are made out of.

You can also get mental bracelets that are more of a mesh, than a solid bracelet, which can give a very different look.    

Single Piece Nato Straps

I feel Nato straps are more popular with watch enthusiasts than the general public, but you will still see these out and about.

Nato straps are a single piece of nylon that threads through the watch lugs to secure it in place. This single strap is then secured to the writs with a buckle and holes, in a similar way to a two piece strap.

Nato straps come in all sorts of different colours and they really give a sporty feel to a watch. They where originally made for the military, so they are really robust and actually offer a lot of protection to your watch.

They are normally found on field watches, but really you could put them on any watch. They are also really cheap and very easy to put on and swap out, which is why they are loved by watch enthusiasts, you can buy a lot of them and easily swap them around to give your watch all sorts of different looks.

(You can read more about – What Is A NATO Strap?)

You Can Also Get Different Types Of Clasps and Buckles

When you look the wide range of straps available, you will notice they have all sorts of different clasps and buckles and this can give you a difference experience wearing the strap.

The most common style of clasp is going to be the buckle and tang, where the buckle will be on one side of the strap and it will attach to some holes on the other strap and this is how the two sides of the strap are connected.

This is seen on most two piece straps and also Nato straps, both ends of the strap can move freely and you have basically join them together and secure them in place with the buckle and tang on your wrist.

You will then find that some straps have some sort of clasp that holds both sides of the strap together, and forms a permanent loop. You can then feed your wrist through this and tighten the clasp to secure it to your wrist.

This is more likely to be seen on metal bracelets, but you can also find this system on other types of strap. In fact, you can usually remove the classic buckle and tang style clasp and replace it with something like a butterfly clasp which will hold the two ends together in a permanent loop.

You also have the sort of in between of these two, which is the hook clasp. This is usually found on cheap metal Casio’s. Both sides of strap are free, but as they are metal, you can’t really have holes, like you would in a leather strap, so a little hook is used. These are not that common and when you first look at them, they don’t seem great, but they actually work pretty well, they are just as secure as any other type of clasp.    

Conclusion

When you take a step back and actually look at all the straps available, there actually are not that many different types, you have the two piece, the single piece Natos and then metal bracelets

 …however, when you actually look at how many different straps are available it’s pretty incredible how there is actually so much variation found within these 3 different types of strap.

You can take any category and literally find thousands of differences within them, so really this means you are always going to find a strap that you want and that will suit your watch and your style.  

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