“Hey that’s a cool watch, can I see it?”

BINGO! Here is a girl who loves and appreciates watches.

I took it out and proudly shared with her that this watch is a gift by my grandma who gave it to me as a gift when I became an architect before she passed on.

This was the only memory left of her that I treasure and I keep it close to me wherever I go because she was the only one who believe in me and encouraged me when I was discouraged at school…

I looked at Tina and I felt that whatever I was saying to her, she was not registering because… 

Her face was showing a big disgusted look as she said…

Ewww… that smells KINDA funky, you should go clean that watch soon

As she returned my watch, a rich stuck up old boomer who sat next to our table gave me a condescending look and left a nasty remark…

“So this fishy smell came from this young man, I thought I was at red lobster cause all I smelt was smelly fishes and crabs.”

As he started laughing, his companion who looks young enough to be his daughter, started laughing  at me too. 

The whole night went from awesome to awkward in an instant for me afterwards. I could tell my date felt sorry for me, but all I wanted to do was to end the date quickly and get away from this.

The damage has been done to My pocket as I forked out my card to pay for it.

I went back home in despair with both a bruised ego and my savings for the month is gone. I was dead set on getting rid of this funky smell from my strap once and for all!

I googled how to remove the stink from my leather watch strap.

I wiped it down with baking soda and leather conditioner but the odor remained.

I had no choice but to buy a new leather strap to replace it because nothing seems to work on the leather strap. 

I went on Amazon and saw the various straps designs for my Rolex watch but none caught my eye because it looked so flimsy and cheap plus the reviews were so mixed.

Here’s what I found out,

Leather Straps

I realized that leather straps are not as durable as it seems after repeated use. It can get torn and worn out after awhile. 

A rotting cheesy smell can be left on the strap if it’s not cleaned regularly and fungus can grow on it if it’s not maintained.

Metal Bracelets

I thought of upgrading to a metal bracelet but I just didn’t like how it bangs against my laptop when I work.

The base of the bracelet gets scratched easily when it comes into contact with the desk top causing desk rash on the buckle surface after long use.

Plus I have a hairy wrist and the metal bracelet nips on the hair of my wrist whenever I wear it which is annoying.

Wearing the metal bracelet too long would cause both an itch and rash because of dirt and grime stuck in between the grooves of the bracelet and clasp.

Silicon Straps

Silicon straps makes my skin starved of oxygen after long usage and nobody wears a silicon strap on a Rolex.

I saw how others with silicon straps are broken after not wearing for a period of time. Some silicon or rubber straps ‘dry up’ and become brittle over time.

So it was a big NO for me.

Throughout my search for the perfect strap, I thought I will be stuck with these problems for the rest of my life until I saw what Mr. Bond was wearing. 

Why didn’t I think of NATO straps? 

While trying to see how this strap can solve my stinky wrist syndrome issue and prevent any future mishaps, inspiration struck me when I was doing my laundry and loading my underwear into the washing machine.

I asked myself… 

After 11 failed prototypes I built this strap with the design objectives that it would incorporate meticulous attention to details and also last a lifetime under rugged & demanding conditions.

Using 316L Surgical Stainless Steel For Hardware

By using only 316L Surgical Stainless Steel for the ring keepers and buckle because of it’s hardiness and anti rust property so that you can take your watch for a dive, withstand shocks and impact and keep its shape. 

Free Flowing Adjustable Keeper Rings For A Custom Fit On The Wrist 

By switching to a free flowing keeper rings (right) over a fixed keeper rings (left), the strap length can be adjusted to fit your wrist size comfortably.

Using a single pass design to reduce bloat & weight and yet keeping the failsafe design 

As for the strap design, I opted for the single pass over the double pass because it provides the same safety feature and it also reduces bloat under the watch.

This Single Pass ingenuity is its simplicity in its construction. The buckle and first keeper can be easily removed. The remaining textile strap can be washed in a washing machine. 

Single pass adjustable strap with free flowing keepers instead of fixed keepers to help give a custom fit regardless of wrist size and fail safe design with single pass.

 

 

Design Sketch Of The 1st Ladder Buckle Design

Prototype created with the 1st ladder design

I redesigned the traditional pin buckle by combining it with a ladder design to ensure a snuggly and comfortable fit for most wrist sizes. 

By keeping the pin buckle on the front, the strap can conform really well to all types of wrists thanks to its use of far less moving parts, making it much slimmer.

However the limitation of just a normal pin buckle, it might be a little bit annoying if your wrist is actually a size between the holes: one may be slightly too tight, and the next one up a little too loose.

This is why we added the ladder design together with the free flowing keepers to ensure an adjustable fit to give your wrist the most comfortable and custom fit experience when you wear our strap. 

Combat Fraying With Superior Hardware & Cutting

To combat the issue of fraying on most fabric straps, I opted to use a rounded edge tongue over a sharp edge tongue because it would be gentle on the holes of the fabric strap after repeated use.

By using precision laser to cut accurate holes on the watch strap and heat pressing the edges of the holes to prevent the strap holes from fraying while maintaining the minimalistic design. 

Latest Version Of The Ladder Buckle

Using Polycotton Instead Of Nylon As The Material For The Fabric Strap

By using polycotton fabric instead of nylon for the strap because of 9 reasons:

1. Lighter than nylon fabric
2. Breathable when worn on skin
3. Tear-resistant and it doesn’t fray easily
4. Abrasion-resistant
5. Wrinkle resistant.
6. Tough, strong and durable. Great for rugged and outdoor use.
7. Fade resistant and retains their color after repeated washing.
8. Comfortable on the skin
9. It’s machine washing friendly. You can easily throw this strap together with your laundry and it dries quick under the sun. 

This is the reason why polycotton fabric is being used by the military for it’s webbing and helmet chin strap. By taking the same fabric that the military is using and applying it to the everyday watch strap makes perfect sense!

After creating it, I brought it out for a dive and stress tested with my other watch by letting it swim with the fishes and going on hikes with it.

The failsafe mechanism of this watch strap held the watch to the strap despite loosing a spring bar during hiking. Plus the color remained on the strap when underwater and dries in minutes.

I fell in love with this new Military Vintage Watch Strap because:

1. The new strap has the toughness and durability of a metal bracelet and it doesn’t leave any scratches on the strap.

2. It is lightweight, classy and flexible like a leather strap because of the color and weaving. Plus it doesn’t get worn out after repeated use.

3. Because it is washing machine friendly, I am able to let the washing machine clean my strap regularly as often as I do my laundry. No more itchy wrist and smelly straps!

4. It is great for rugged use. The custom fit to my wrist with the ladder buckle and the breathable material makes it comfortable for any situation you go through in life. The fail safe design works like a charm when the springbar malfunctions. 

5. The single pass design reduces bloat on the watch plus it makes it’s easier to do micro adjustments. This gives you a comfortable and perfect fit for your wrist. 

As for looks, some might find fabric straps to be cheap looking and boy scout-ish. They think that fabric watch straps only goes well with low to mid ranges watches but it doesn’t go well with their high end luxury watches are just dead wrong on that.

Just look at Daniel Craig spotting a fabric watch strap with an Omega Speedmaster. It simply looks amazing for work, play and even on secret missions to save the world.

Fabric watch straps looks amazing for any watch and wrist size.

It also brought new life to my old watches and these watches became my new favorite again.

Come to think about it, It’s so much cheaper to change to a fabric watch strap than to buy a new watch.

New Strap, New Watch!

Suits any occasion. Perfect for work and play!

Believe me, it’s a total jungle out there when you are looking for a quality watch strap. If you buy a cheap strap, you will almost certainly get cheap quality and risk damaging/loosing your wrist watch. You might save money on the strap but you risk loosing your watch and that will cost you more like it did to me. 

You can stick to what you are having and suffer from itchy wrist, smelly straps and constantly worry that your watch might be damaged/lost due to a weak link in the strap design. 

What’s the price of this strap? 

My dream is for every watch wearer to wear a walrus by making this strap affordable and yet enjoy luxurious comfort & style for all watch wearing wrist. I wanted to spread the vision of how our everyday actions can make a difference to both the wildlife and our children’s future.

Tudor is selling their fabric straps at $295 and I know it might be tough for someone who is starting work and need to make a solid good impression. 

I want you to enjoy all the benefits that my watch strap has given me…

At only $97 $45 until it’s sold out

The reason why I am doing this at this price for now is because I know what’s it like to spend money on a cheap watch strap only to be let down by their lousy standards, poor designs and flimsy hardware. They are only interested in getting the sale and not have your best interest at heart.

I wanted my company to be different.

After spending years in research and development, 11 different prototypes and numerous failures to create this piece of art.

I’m going to be passing you all my hard work for just $45 for this watch strap because I want to give my customers luxurious quality at an affordable price.

I promise that you will absolutely enjoy the comfort, quality and feel and fit of the Vintage Military Watch Strap.

With the excellent fail safe designs in place to protect your watch, you can save yourself from a hefty repair bill if there was a springbar malfunction. I had to waste $827 to replace my sapphire glass and repair my watch from that uneventful event. All this could have been avoided with the VTG Mil Strap for just $45.

If there is any issue with the hardware of the Vintage Military Watch Strap, go to the bottom of this page and click on the contact customer chat support and we will guide you on how return the strap back and we will replace it free of charge with no questions asked.

I am that confident that it will work for you as we have thousands of customers who love our strap and wish they had gotten this strap sooner on their wrist than the lousy stock strap that comes with the watch.