How to Choose a Suitable Strap?

When it comes to choosing and matching watchstraps and metal bracelets with watch heads, there’s lots to consider. For a start, there’s the watch brand and type; the strap or bracelet material, the security required from the strap; and how you’ll use the watch and strap. Personal taste also plays a major part in choosing the best watch straps for your watch (or watches). Of course, you’ll find guidelines and supposedly-correct combinations – everyone has an opinion on different straps, bracelets and types of watch clasps!

1. The material of the strap

Leather watch band:

Leather is one of the most durable natural materials. So it is not only high-quality material but also environmentally friendly. Products made out of leather are elastic, long-lasting and care-free. There are 3 different types of leather in the market.

The first one is faux leather, which is not real leather but made from a plastic base, which means it wears off pretty quickly. Positive thing is that faux leather is obtained by doing nothing harmful to animals.

Second is genuine leather that is already much more durable than faux leather and is a great choice as the quality is relatively high but the price- average. It is affordable and at the same time looks much more valuable. Because of these great qualities, Ovi Watch prefers this type of material used in their wristwatches.

And the third type of leather is full-grain leather. It is the highest quality leather material, most durable and the strongest. It has the same look as genuine leather and it is hard to tell the difference between these two materials but full-grain leather lasts much longer. In fashion, a leather watch strap always complements both casual and formal style, which means it goes with everything. Straps come in different colors and designs, it feels free on the skin and doesn’t cause any sweat. It is a perfect material to use in wristwatch straps as it has all properties necessary. And for sure- leather never goes out of style.

Vegan watch band:

Called also as cruelty-free leather it's another type of leather that differs from others by being eco-friendly as there are no nasty toxins or chemicals in vegan leather. Nowadays it's easy for people to support veganism as there are many vegan-friendly alternatives for most products. This leather is a great option for those who want quality at the same time avoiding animal products in their lives. Comparing vegan leather to the previous ones, there isn’t that much difference to real leather. It is as sustainable and durable but it surely more friendly for the environment.

Stainless steel straps:

Stainless steel is the most popular material used in watches. Not only is it durable, but it is also less expensive than gold, titanium, silver, and platinum. Stainless steel metal is a common material used for both the watch and strap. Metal as itself is a versatile un durable material that can outlast swimming and diving. Although stainless steel straps are durable, it is difficult to change the look of them. And because the metal is already heavy by itself, it can be quite uncomfortable to wear on a daily basis. Despite that fact, stainless steel watches and straps are still in fashion and don’t seem to wear out. Although metal like stainless steel represents toughness, stainless steel straps can be designed differently, which means that you can choose and suite the best looking for you.

Nylon banding strap:

Nylon may not be the very first choice when looking at wristwatch straps and it may be unrated, but actually, nylon is one of the best materials for wrist watch straps, especially when the warmer time of year is coming. You wonder why is that? It’s because nylon straps include qualities like durability, practicality, timeless in design, comfort and water resistance and they are more breathable than other materials. Nylon banding strap tends to be more appealing than a metal strap. Also, nylon watchbands are easy to clean and when wet, they dry quickly. If you want to go swimming with a nylon banding strap watch, you can be sure that water won’t make any harm to straps. These straps are extremely tough and can survive almost anything. There are various colors and designs available, so you can suite it for whatever you want to wear.

Silicone rubber watch band:

As a material silicone has good high and low-temperature resistance. Silicone straps not only feel comfortable on the skin but they also are in diverse colors for you to choose. The good thing about the silicone rubber watch band is that it is non-toxic and eco-friendly. Material is elastic, it is almost impossible to deform the product made of silicone. But undeniably, the silicone rubber watch band has a very low tensile strength, so it would be better if you don’t test it by stretching it. Overall, it is a soft and smooth material for watch straps to wear, it’s fashionable and won’t wear out so easily. Silicone rubber watch bands are very good to wear in winter because of the material that makes a warm feeling. In summer it’s easy to sweat with a wristwatch-like this, and because of that surface of silicone band can be easily damaged and once silicone bands are damaged, it is not so easy to recover them. You can take care of watch straps by ventilating them and keeping them dry.

Titanium watch band:

Titanium as a material is lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength. To understand how strong titanium is, it is almost twice as strong as stainless steel. Titanium has a very high melting point and is hard enough for machining, which also makes the price of products. It can be easily scratched and damaged but despite that, it won’t break easily. The overall titanium watch band is lightweight and will feel free when wearing it but for such a price it is worth considering if it’s worth the money and looks at possible alternatives of different kinds of metals and materials.

Ceramic watch band:

Ceramic as material in wristwatch straps is unique. Even if it’s tough, it’s also more difficult to scratch, which guarantees fresh look even after years. At the beginning ceramic is pressed into the desired shape and after baking at an extremely high temperature, it often gets coated with a very fine layer of a precious metal. Although it looks heavy, ceramic watch straps feel very light on the skin, it’s almost the same weight as aluminum. The most unpleasant thing is that ceramic is not resistant to shattering. If you accidentally drop your wristwatch with ceramic watch straps on a hard surface, it will probably break. But that doesn’t change the demand for wristwatches and watch bands made of ceramic. The price for straps ranges in between a stainless steel model and a precious metal model because of the difficult manufacturing process.

2. How to open the strap:

Jewelry-style hook buckle strap:

The principle of buckle is to fasten the link through the loose-leaf hook piece chain at one end and the fixed pin at the other end, using the loose-leaf folding metal micro-elastic hook piece. The advantages are slim body, small and smooth buckle; comfortable to wear; fast buckle, solid and durable. The disadvantage is that you have to be careful before hooking or unhooking to prevent the watch from falling off your hands.

Folding buckle strap with box cover:

The principle of buckle connection is to use the elastic force of the metal hook piece of the strap box cover to resist the elastic force of the folding piece fixing pin, so that the elastic force is balanced and buckled. The advantage is that there are multi-stage strap end pin holes on both sides of the strap box cover, which is convenient for micro-adjustment of strap length; it is convenient to wear and use, buckle is stable and durable, and has a long service life; and the degree of stability can be adjusted. The disadvantage is that the buckle is wide and the interface edge is partially raised, which affects the smoothness and aesthetics of the strap.

Folding watchband without a box cover:

the hooking concave-convex body set by two thick folding steel sheets is buckled with its own rigid elasticity. The advantage is that the buckle is tight and firm, strong and durable; there is no special strap case cover, the appearance of the strap is neat and uniform, sleek and beautiful, it can be said to be seamless. The disadvantage is that the strap length cannot be adjusted slightly.