Name: BlueShark Straps (Run by Joe Scarpati) Website: blusharkstraps.com Amazon storefront: Link What do you sell: Watch bands, primarily nylon and silicone
What are the origins of the company: I started the business in 2015 with the goal of providing nylon watch bands comparable in quality to luxury manufacturers’ offerings, but at a fraction of the price
What are your best selling straps? AlphaShark collection (especially the Bond pattern)
BlueShark Kwik Series 2-piece NATO style strap
Do you have anything new coming out? We recently launched elastic “Pajama” straps. These watch bands are made of a stretchy nylon that has just the right amount give to it. The straps are strong enough to keep your watch securely on your wrist while stretching enough to ensure the perfect fit.
Any fashion advice for strap buyers? I always recommend balancing the style of the watch with the strap. Meaning, if you have a very colorful/flashy dial, wear a subdued strap and vice versa.
This month we’re featuring watches under $500 and the watch straps that go on them, along with a few pictures from some custom strap makers. You can find links to the watch strap makers and most watches in the captions.
Today’s strap is from Haveston Tool Watch Straps, maker of fine canvas and premium nylon weave straps. If you’re looking for a high quality “seatbelt” NATO-style strap, then Haveston is a place to check out. They have a large selection of military inspired color schemes.
The strap shown is a M-22 A2, based on the 1942 US Navy camouflage scheme “Measure-22” utilized on battleships in the Pacific and European theater. The watch is a Hamilton Khaki Mechanical, a well reviewed military/field style watch which will run you about $400.
What: We handcraft watch straps for just about every brand out there and have a line of leather goods as well that we design and manufacture in house. These items include wallets, belts, handbags, keychains, dog leashes and collars as well as some custom one off items.
What materials do you use in your bands? We mainly use various leathers that range from most of the Horween line of leathers such as Shell Cordovan, Chromexcel, Dublin, Essex, latigo, etc all the way to reclaiming vintage ammunition pouches from the Swiss and French armies. Sometimes we incorporate various new and vintage canvas materials into the straps as well as offering rubber, nylon and Perlon straps too.
What are some of your best selling straps? Our leather military straps are definitely one of the crowd favorites as well as our one of a kind handmade leather watch straps that we individually name and sell in five sizes that include 18mm, 20mm, 22mm, 24mm and 26mm widths. If a client needs a width other than those, then we have a custom watch straps section that they can use to place an order for the strap of their dreams with a very quick turnaround time of 3-8x business days.
What advice do you have for people buying a new strap? It can be a very overwhelming process with all of the various options in the marketplace. Start off by finding out the lug width of the watch which will tell you the width of the strap needed to properly fit in between those lugs and be the correct size strap for the watch. The second main piece of info to need to know is the length of the strap needed. We always say that something around a 115mm/75mm length is a good starting point for most average wrist sizes. If you think you have a “small” or “large” wrist then we can adjust that length accordingly. Beyond that its pure fun on our custom watch straps page as you can select the material and its color, the thickness, stitching preference, stitching color and edge coating or lack of. People love to stand out and what better way than a true one off handmade watch strap!
What style of bands is your favorite to make or wear (personally)? I personally love shell cordovan straps. On my Panerai 233 I use a green Horween shell cordovan military style strap. While on my Rolex Air King I have a vintage ammo pouch strap that is made from a vintage French ammo pouch from the 1960s and we made it a tad thinner to match the case height of the Rolex watch so everything was proportionate. Subtle nuances like that are very important in the overall end result of the watch and watch strap combination.
Do you (personally) have a favorite watch? Patek Philippe Nautilus 5980/1A
DaLuca Straps Women’s Wallet in Dublin LeatherDaLuca Straps Apple Watch StrapDaLuca Straps Handmade Lizard Watch StrapDaLuca Straps Swiss Ammo Stamp DetailDaluca Straps Rolex Milgauss – image courtesy of @owenau89 DaLuca Straps Green Shell Mil Strap Wrist Close Up
Today’s strap is something we haven’t seen before. A NATO strap made in the style of perlon straps. Does it work? You be the judge. You can find Clockwork Synergy’s straps on their website or on Amazon.
You can find all the bands on the Barton website, or on their Amazon Store. You can find the Orient Defender, a relative inexpensive watch at around $130, on Jomashop.
Clockwork Synergy Classic Nato Watch Strap Sky blue kahki
Clockwork Synergy 2 piece classic nato bands
Today’s straps showcase the awesome NATO collection from Clockwork Synergy. If you’re in the market for a NATO band, they’re a good strap maker for the price, with a lot of their straps coming in at under $20. You can check out their store on Amazon or their website.
Benetto Cinturini ZULUDIVER Rubber Watch Strap by Watch Gecko on a Tudor
Today’s strap is from Watch Gecko’s ZULUDIVER collection. An Italian rubber watch straps for divers, shown here on a Tudor Watch. You can check out all versions of the ZULUDIVER line at the Watch Gecko Website. They are now also available on Amazon, along with the rest of Watch Gecko’s watch straps and bracelets.
