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 a ZULUDIVER (MKII) 400 rubber strap in black, by Watch Gecko, shown here on a Seiko SKX009 watch. The rubber is embossed with a carbon fiber surface treatment and it comes with a folding buckle that allows micro adjustments for a perfect fit.
Additionally, the strap is reversible for a different texture and you can cut it to length (the buckle hides the cut). Made by Italian manufacturer Bonetto Cinturini.
You can find the strap on the Watch Gecko store. As they sell many other straps, Watch Gecko is a good place for E.U., U.K. or U.S. strap buyers.
Name: Seiko 5 SNK line Price Range: $65-95 (depending on color & sales) Style: Military/Casual Type: Automatic Watch Size: 37 mm Lug width: (size of strap where it meets the watch): 18 mm Best Place to Buy: Almost anywhere, usually Amazon will have the best price.
Note: We are an Amazon & Jomashop affiliate.
Pros:
Excellent starter watch for kids and a great casual watch for adults
Great watch strap fashion options & dial colors
Fantastic bang for your buck, commonly recommended on watch forums
Often found below $70 on sale, depending on the color.
Cons:
Missing a few features watch enthusiasts love
The stock strap is kind of “meh” on most models
Seiko 5 SNK Review
The Seiko 5 line of SNK watches are highly recommended as an inexpensive way to get into automatics. The watches are great for kids as a first watch and an excellent casual watch for adults. It meets all the check boxes for a good looking watch from a great brand at a great price.
Kids (and parents) will love the sub-$100 price, the good design and the ability to mix and match watch straps. It can be a first watch for a kid or a nice watch for a teenager that can go with a lot of outfits. While not anywhere close to as sturdy as a Casio G-Shock, it should stand up to some light abuse. The see-through case back that lets you see the internals of the watch as it tracks time is fun and an added bonus.
Adults will love the casual feel, and it makes a great fashion choice in the dressed-down category and an excellent beater watch (something you don’t mind getting scratched doing activities but still looks good). The watch is missing some of the features that watch enthusiasts are looking for, like hacking and hand winding, but it’s sub-$100 price makes up for that. It can often be found on sale in the $60 range.
Water resistance is minimal but useful. It will make it through the shower and being caught in the rain, but it should not be used for swimming or spend any major time under water.
First, lets get the naming conventions out of the way. The SNK line is part of the Seiko 5 line of watches, and the Seiko 5 collection of watches is huge. I mean gigantic. It includes a lot of great watches and searching for “Seiko 5” will get you nowhere if you’re looking for this specific watch line. Buyers should search for “Seiko SNK” or the exact model number instead.
The SNK model numbers are based on dial colors with the current range being the SNK 803 (beige), 805 (green), 807 (blue), 809 (black), and M95 (red). The guts of all models are the same, based on the Seiko 7S26 automatic movement. The power reserve charges by using the movement of your wrist.
All models have a see-through case back, allowing you to see the watch movement while it is off your wrist and a day-date window at the 3-o’clock position. The crown is at a more unusual 4-o’clock position, but a lot of reviewers like this as it doesn’t bite into the wrist as much. The models are shown below:
Seiko SNK 803
Seiko SNK 805
Seiko SNK 807
Seiko SNK 809
Seiko SNK M95
Where to buy
We would usually recommend going straight to the manufacturer, but in this case you won’t be able to find it on the Seiko website for some reason (it didn’t come up in our search) and it probably won’t be on sale if it was there (see our Guide to Buying Watches Safely Online for why this is the case). Amazon will most commonly have the best deal as the watch is cheap and fairly popular. International users might find the links don’t work, so they can just run this search.
However, the different colors go on sale at different times and sales are common, so always check multiple vendors. If its not on sale at one place it might be on sale at the other. Popular places to check are department stores (Walmart carries it, Costco usually doesn’t) and most watch shops. We link to our affiliates Amazon & Jomashop below:
All models are 37 mm wide (not including the crown) and 11 mm thick. Small for a modern watch, they will fit most men and women and overall it’s a great unisex size. People with very large wrists will find it too small and might want to look at the SNK’s larger cousin, the Seiko 5 SNZG series or the Citizen Eco-Drive.
Most reviewers don’t think much of the stock straps and find them basic and a bit rough. But all the Seiko 5 SNK models come in the popular 18 mm lug width, which means finding new straps won’t be a problem.
Buyers can easily upgrade the strap, and this is where this watch really shines. It’s made to show off straps and the different dials colors allow a lot of fashion opportunities. We recommend going with quick-release watch bands, as this watch lends itself to swapping out the strap to match your mood or outfit. If not, pick up a spring bar tool to quickly change the strap without marking up the lugs.
Straps to buy
Buyers should look for NATO, canvas, perlon, or plain leather straps that go with the dial color you’ve chosen. Stay away from crocodile, stingray, and other exotic or expensive leathers as the watch is too casual.
For leather straps, keep it simple, such as this Hadley Roma MS854 (goes great with the beige dial) or this leather NATO from Crown & Buckle. Smooth or distressed leather will work well, but stay away from high-end chromoexcel or Horween unless it has been roughened up a bit to bring it back down to casual (see this example). Suede is a good option for a casual strap if you’re looking to match boots or belts.
Canvas & NATO straps are a perfect fit for this watch. Try out different color combinations to fit your style and the dial color. Similar watches to the SNK include the aforementioned Seiko 5 SNZG & the Hamilton Khaki Field Quartz, which can help when looking for strap ideas on Instagram or Pinterest. If you need more inspiration, check out the gallery below or visit the Seiko SNK strap inspiration Pinterest board.
Most straps linked here are around $20, with leather being more expensive, and canvas and NATOs in that range. If you’re buying this watch as a first watch for a child or teenager, don’t be afraid to buy the multi-packs of cheap NATO straps for them to try out. See this guide for options.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the 2018 edition of the Basic Bands Watch Strap & Accessories Gift Guide! We’re here to help you find that perfect someone (or yourself) the perfect gift this holiday season.
We’ve divided the guide up into sections, so skip ahead to the one that interests you most. First we have perfect combos, the strap and watch match-ups we’ve seen this year that just work great together. If you’re looking for a watch & strap package, this section is for you. Whether you’re buying a first watch for a teenager or making a big investment, we’ve got some excellent options. Related Guide: Safely Buying a Watch Online.
After that we’re showcasing our favorite straps of the year from our favorite custom strapmakers. There are a lot of talented leather workers out there ready to make you a watch strap, and we’ve featured some of the best of them. If you’re looking to spice up a watch or get a new strap made to replace a broken band, this is the place to go. Don’t forget to check out our guides on watch strap style, tips for picking out a new strap, tools for changing a strap, and how to fix a broken watch strap loop.
Lastly, we’re covering watch strap accessories for those of you who already own all the watches and watch straps you need. But where to put them all? We’ve got some great ideas on watch pouches, watch winders and more. Related: Recommended Watch Storage, Winders & Cases on Amazon.
Great Watch and Watch Strap Combos that Caught our Eye
2018 was a great year for watch straps. Brightly colored silicone seemed to go with almost everything, especially diver watches. Canvas straps were a big hit on our Pinterest boards all year long, and high quality leather seemed a match made in heaven for luxury watches. Here are some of our favorites in various price ranges.
Watch & Watch Strap Combos: $100-$300
Clockwork Synergy Autumn Brown Suede Leather Band on a Seiko SNK 809 Watch
Clockwork Synergy Autumn Brown Suede Leather Band on a Seiko SNK 809 watch. You can usually buy both on Amazon for under $140, but sales on the watch often bring that down to closer to $110. All the Seiko SNK models make great starter watches for kids and teenagers and beater watches for adults.
Barton Band Leather Quick Release Watch Strap on Timex Weekender
B&R Bands – Oak Classic Vintage Watch Band on a Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Watch
B&R Bands Oak Classic Vintage Watch Band on a Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Watch. Combo runs just over $400 with sales, without sales the band will be about $80 and the watch about $475. The Hamilton watch is basically the go-to watch when it comes to field/military watches.
Custom Gray Perforated Apple Watch band by Etsy seller O2Leather. The watch is obviously an Apple Watch. If one of those is on your purchase list this year, keep in mind that there are a lot of strap options out there besides the ones offered by Apple. Custom straps are generally pretty easy to fit to all models of Apple Watches. Check out our list of custom watch strap makers and our Apple Watch strap collection on our Basic Bands Amazon recommendation list.
Luxury Watch & Watch Strap Combos: over $1500
Tag Heuer Carrera Watch on Brown Hirsch Speed Alligator Strap
Brown Hirsch SPEED Alligator Watch Strap on a Tag Heuer Carrera watch. Both the strap and the photograph are courtesy of the awesome guys over at Watch Obsession. Blue dials are a match made in heaven with dark brown and tan leather watch straps. Strap costs around $260, watch around $2,000.
Crown & Buckle Tan Kangaroo Leather watch strap on Nomos Orion Watch
Going custom – getting a new custom watch strap made just for you
We featured a lot of artists this year on the blog, you can check them out on our custom watch strap maker list. Dan’s canvas strap was one of our most visited pages all year, consistently getting hits from Pinterest (Dan is the owner of Red Rock Straps). High end leather was insanely popular, especially for luxury watches, such as the Horween leather straps from Jones in Tokyo. Exotic leathers also made an appearance, with some great work being done in string ray, crocodile and lizard leather.
If you’re buying a watch for a person who knows and loves watches but still want to keep the price reasonable, custom is the way to go. Even if you don’t want to give away your gift giving plans by asking about a watch size, make or model, a custom strap maker can probably find out the size from a quick snapshot and get you something that special person in your life will love.
One of our favorite leather crafters, Jones in Tokyo’s work always looks exquisite. Pictured here is his French calf tan/brown watch strap. If your special someone is the owner of a luxury watch, chances it will look amazing on a strap from his shop.
Omega Planet Ocean on an exclusive Grey SuperMatte Teju Lizard Watch Strap
Want to go exotic? Dangerous9 straps is the place to drool over crocodile, lizard and other exotic leathers on insanely amazing watches. Shown here is an Omega Planet Ocean on a Grey SuperMatte Teju Lizard Watch Strap.
Watch accessories: or what to get for the person that already has a nice watch
If you’re not sure about strap size or don’t know what style your gift recipient will like, there are other gift options. You can buy some inexpensive watch tools to make strap changes easier, like a strap change tool or spring bars, or delve into the wide world of watch cases, winders and storage. With prices as high as a few thousand dollars for some winders, there is a lot of room for every gift buyer.
Since a lot of watch cases and pouches are made of leather, you can also have one custom made.
Choice Cuts Industries valet tray and single slot watch roll with a Timex Expedition Scout and custom strap, all in English Tan leather
Choice Cuts Industries valet tray and single slot watch roll with a Timex Expedition Scout and custom strap, all in English Tan leather. Valet tray – $40. Strap $60, Timex – $40.
We are an Amazon, Etsy & Jomashop affiliate, and a few other jewelry stores listed on our about page. We do not get paid to promote any brands, nor are we an affiliate for any watch strap brands directly, only through the stores named above. Thanks for reading our guide and we hope you have a great 2019!
Today’s straps are by Watch Gecko, a strap shop in the U.K. Its a good option for those who aren’t U.S. based and are looking for some watch straps, since you can purchase in pounds or euros.
Today’s strap is a budget friendly combination perfect for a gift or to dress up a watch. The strap is a Clockwork Synergy Autumn Brown Suede Leather Band and the watch is a Seiko SNK 809. You can usually buy both on Amazon for under $140, but sales on the watch often bring that down to closer to $110. All around a great strap/watch combo.
You can find the strap on Amazon or on the Clockwork Synergy website. You can find the watch at Amazon. If you already have the watch and are looking for strap inspiration, you can find our Pinterest link here.
If you’re in the market for a new band or watch, check out our other guides:
The watch pictured is a Seiko SKX 007 diver you can find on Amazon or via our affiliate Jomashop. If you don’t know much about this watch, it is basically one of the best steals when it comes to a dive watch. An unbeatable combination of looks & history usually available for under $200. Put them together and you have a great gift combo.
If you’re in the market for a new band or watch, check out our other guides:
Clover Straps Denim Watch Strap on Seiko Orange Monster
Today’s strap is from one of our favorite custom watch strap makers, Patrik from Clover Straps. You can find more pics and a link to his website and our interview with Patrik on our Custom Watch Strap Maker Page. The strap is a custom denim strap with orange highlights custom made for a Seiko Orange Monster Watch.
It’s time for something a little different. Today’s straps are from the HNS Watch Strap Company, makers of colorful printed NATOs (and more regular straps too). Today’s bands are shown on a Seiko diver.
