Types of Watch Straps: A Complete Style and Material Guide

Are you looking for a new watch strap? We cover everything you need to know about the various types of watch straps and which one works best for you and your watch.

Sometimes, an old watch needs an update to reignite your love for it. Other times, truly extraordinary timepieces come with low-quality or unattractive straps.

Most watch enthusiasts can admit to taking watch straps off simply because they want to preserve the original. Regardless of your intentions, swapping your watch strap is the easiest way to modify your watch and entirely change its look. 

The enjoyable thing about watch straps is the many options, styles, and materials. You can find something to fit just about any watch.

Whether you’re looking to replace a worn strap on a field watch or turn a dress watch into a show-stopper. It doesn’t matter your end goal; there’s a strap out there for you. 

If this is your first time shopping for a new watch strap, you may not know where to start. In that case, you’ve come to the right place. This guide breaks down the most common types of watch straps and the popular materials they come in. Let’s get started. 

Watch Strap Materials

Before diving into the list of watch strap types, let’s discuss the common materials brands construct straps out of. Each of these straps delivers different aesthetic results.

Consider how you want to wear your watch. Are you wearing it every day in formal business attire? Or do you prefer something rugged to keep up with all your adventures? Here’s a breakdown of the most common watch strap materials on the market. 

Metal

One of the most popular materials for watch straps (or bracelets, in this case) is metal. Metal watch bracelets come in many styles, finishes and colors. You can find them in basic metals like various grades of stainless steel. Some brands construct their metal watch bracelets with precious metals like white gold or platinum. 

Leather

Another popular watch strap material is leather. Like metal, leather watch straps come in various styles and species. There are basic, casual straps made from run-of-the-mill cowhide. You can also find luxe options made from exotic species like kangaroo, crocodile, or stingray. 

Rubber

Rubber is one of the most popular watch strap materials. It is also typically included on various watches, including digital watches, smartwatches, and divers. Rubber straps are sweat—and water-resistant, so they’re especially suitable for guys with an active lifestyle.

Silicone

Not all synthetic straps are plain rubber. If you’re looking for something soft and pliable, try a silicone watch strap. These straps are incredibly comfortable and resistant to moisture. Some have antibacterial properties or are infused with a pleasant scent. 

Nylon

If you’re looking for something ultra-casual, comfortable, and durable, nylon is a common material for watch straps. Plus, most nylon straps can trace their history back to military origins. This history provides a hint at just how rugged and tough they are. 

Canvas

Canvas watch straps are similar in style and feel to nylon straps. However, canvas typically uses natural materials, while nylon is synthetic. That said, there are synthetic canvas fabrics out there like those sometimes used in sailmaking.

14 Different Types of Watch Straps

While many different materials are used to make a watch strap, the styles are endless. These are the most popular styles you’ll see and can choose from when upgrading your watch straps. 

1. Oyster Bracelet

The Oyster bracelet is the quintessential metal bracelet. Rolex has been using some form of an Oyster bracelet since the late 1930s, with a patent coming in the late 1940s. Aftermarket reproductions are very popular, even for guys who aren’t rocking Submariners or Explorers.

Rolex named this metal watch strap after its first waterproof watch, the Oyster Perpetual. The brand designed this strap style for life in and on the water, so it traditionally looks best on sports watches.

2. Jubilee Bracelet

Another popular Rolex original, the Jubilee bracelet, first appeared on a Datejust in 1945 to symbolize Rolex’s 40th-anniversary celebration. It’s been a popular style ever since. 

Jubilee bracelets typically have polished center links and brushed outer links. The inner links break into three small, shiny rows, making this bracelet look like a party on a wrist.

Today, you’ll mostly find Jubilee-style bracelets on dive watches, but if paired carefully, they can really dress up a field or dress watch.

3. Mesh Bracelet

Mesh-style bracelets are polarizing in the watch enthusiast community; some love them, and some hate them. However you might feel about them, their history is kind of cool. Mesh bracelets became popular in the 1970s, paired with dive watches used by professional divers. 

The Omega Seamaster Ploprof 600m was just one of those watches. Omega’s marketing claimed that their chainmail-like bracelets were “shark-proof.”

This led to watch enthusiasts calling these bracelets “shark mesh,” which eventually became mesh. I don’t know what good a shark-proof bracelet will do if a shark gets a hold of the wrist underneath it, but the story is interesting. 

Mesh watch straps are making a comeback. They are a fan favorite paired with smartwatches like the Apple Watch to give it an elevated feel. 

4. Canvas Strap

Yes, canvas strap is the term for a watch strap made from canvas fabric. Manufacturers have paired hard-working field and tool watches with canvas straps for years.

Traditionally an all-natural material, many modern canvas watch straps are actually synthetic. These synthetic straps are tougher than their older counterparts and more stain—and water-resistant.

You can’t go wrong pairing a canvas strap with a diver or field watch. Something about their rugged chunkiness inspires adventure, and where better to find adventure than the ocean or afield?

5. NATO Strap

The NATO strap is a design first attributed to the British military, and its popularity in today’s watch community is growing. Its original purpose was to prevent service members from losing their watches if a spring bar was loose. 

NATO straps are a one-piece design. They consist of a buckle, three keepers, and nylon webbing. The webbing has a long end and a short end, with the long end wrapping your wrist and the short end securing the timepiece on the longer strap.

They thread between the spring bars and the case for easy changes. 

Because they’re so rugged and durable, most guys wear them with divers or field watches. You could slide one behind the spring bars of your favorite dress watch, though, so keep an open mind.

6. Rubber Strap

Ah, rubber. If ever there was a strap that got a bad rap, it’s the humble rubber strap. Watch manufacturers have slapped rubber straps on watches since the 1960s. Admittedly, most of them are terrible.

They’re usually polyurethane rubber that’s stiff, brittle, and generally unattractive.

Luckily, today’s watch strap aftermarket addressed those problems. Many strap makers now offer silicone, vulcanized, and other modern rubber compounds that make these straps much more comfortable and attractive.

Depending on your watch, you can find straps with ends molded to fit your case perfectly. 

These modern rubber straps look great on everything. Just check out famous watch enthusiasts John Mayer and Kevin O’Leary. Both of these men make it a point to put some of their uber-valuable watches on high-end rubber straps. The moral of the story is don’t count out good old rubber. 

7. Perlon

Sometimes, it’s unbearably hot outside, and the last thing you want to deal with is wristwatch sweat. If you’re living in a hot climate, it doesn’t mean you have to tuck away your watches until the mercury heads south. Instead, check out Perlon straps. Perlon is also great if you want a super lightweight strap.  

Perlon is nylon-based—”Nylon 6,” to be exact—but its texture and weave give it an organic and natural appearance. And, even though they look a bit delicate, Perlon straps are stronger than standard nylon.

Perlon straps are adjustable to any size as you can place the tang of your buckle through any spot in the weave. This makes them almost unbeatable when your wrists swell a bit due to hot weather.

Of all the nylon straps available, a Perlon strap in a carefully chosen color can look incredible with a dress watch.

8. Dress Leather Strap

As the name suggests, dress leather straps are most at home on dress watches. These straps come in a wide variety of leather, from specialty tanneries like Horween or exotic species like crocodile or kangaroo.

Dress leather straps have refined features. They often taper gracefully from the lugs down to a size two millimeters smaller at the buckle.

They rarely feature contrasting stitching, instead opting for a monochrome aesthetic. If they have much to break up their dignified look, it’s usually not much more than a natural grain or a well-buffed sheen. 

You can often find these straps in leathers that match high-end belts and shoes, as the leathers originated in the same tanneries. 

9. Casual Leather Strap

Leather straps don’t have to be overly formal to be stylish. Many casual straps look amazing on almost any watch without high-end materials or shiny finishes. 

Casual leather straps come in various styles, and stitching is usually the detail worth noticing. Some have perimeter stitching down their entire length, while others have a simple double stitch up by the spring bar and nothing more.

Casual leather straps can be paired with almost any watch. They look at home on field watches and chronographs and stylishly break the water-proof rules on divers. Pair one with a dress watch, and you’ll have an excuse to wear a classy timepiece anytime. The possibilities are truly endless. 

10. Engineer Strap

Engineer-style bracelets are the way to go if you’re looking for a metal bracelet with some serious presence. While the origins are a bit murky, most enthusiasts relate these straps with Seiko.

Engineer bracelets are all about chunkiness and angles. These bracelets are heavy and thick, and their five rows of angular links reflect light in hundreds of ways.

While rarely polished, they can be a little flashy for understated watches. They’re more matched with oversized divers and conservatively-sized dress watches.

11. Sailcloth Straps

Regarding casual style and durability, it’s hard to beat a sailcloth watch strap. Many companies make these nylon-based straps out of, you guessed it, sailmaking material. It’s a material that’s incredibly tough, dries quickly, and looks really cool.

You can pair a sailcloth strap with a watch of almost any style. But they really shine when you pair them with an aviation or nautical-themed chronograph (for continuity, of course).

12. Zulu Straps

Zulu straps function a lot like NATO straps but are more streamlined. They’re a one-piece design, but they don’t have the additional shorter length of webbing that NATOs do.

Though Zulu straps are typically thicker than NATOs, they look very similar on the wrist since they both use nylon webbing for their construction.

Zulu straps are casual. Like NATOs, they’re excellent for sports watches, field watches, and divers. Pairing them with any rugged, military-style watch works nicely. 

13. Rally Leather Straps

Rally straps originated from auto racing. Drivers needed a strap to hold their watches in place to time their laps, but they didn’t want their wrists to sweat unnecessarily while gunning for the podium.

To solve this problem, rally straps include perforations to allow air to pass through the strap and let the skin underneath breathe.

Car guys instantly recognize those perforations and their automotive origins found in sports car steering wheels, seats, and other contact points that the driver would prefer to be breathable. 

Their history is what it is, so it’s best to pair rally straps with racing chronographs. 

14. Bund and Aviation Straps

If you haven’t realized by now, most watch straps have a history built out of necessity. The same goes for bund straps. A chunk of leather called a bund sits behind the watch case. 

A bund provided insulation for German pilots during World War II. At high altitudes, cockpit temperatures dropped so severely that a watch case could cause frostbite on the pilot’s wrist.

Conversely, in the event of a fire, a watch case could heat up quickly and retain heat, causing severe burns even after the pilot ejected. The bund would insulate the pilot’s wrist from both of these extremes. 

History aside, traditional aviation straps are much more streamlined if the bund isn’t your thing. These leather straps generally feature just two metal rivets on either strap. Some styles also feature contrasting stitching.

Obviously, aviation-style straps are a niche thing. They look best on Flieger-style aviators, military field watches, and aviation chronographs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Watch Band Types

In the preceding paragraphs, we covered a lot of information about various types of watch bands. We’re aware that you may have questions. We have you covered with these commonly asked queries about watch straps.

Which Type of Strap Is Most Comfortable?

Comfortability is subjective. However, if you’re looking for something lightweight, flexible and durable, there are a few contenders. If you value comfort, seek out NATO, silicone, nylon, Perlon, and supple leather straps. 

Which Type of Strap Is Best

The best strap for your watch meets your comfort needs, provides the best fit, and aesthetically supports your watch design. 

What is a NATO strap?

A NATO strap is a watch strap designed for security. The British Ministry of Defense designed it to pass through both spring bars, so if one fails, the watch stays on. It’s a popular strap among wristwatch enthusiasts. 

Wrapping Up the Types of Watch Straps

While we suggested which watch style each strap works best with, the watch game is as much about breaking the rules as it is about respecting horological history. Feel free to wear any watch in any way you’d like.

Throw your dress watch on an Engineer bracelet, and wear your Diver on a rally strap if that makes you happy. After all, It’s your watch to enjoy, and we want you to do just that. 

What kind of watch strap do you like to wear with your watch? Let us know in the comments below.