Watch strap
{{short description|Bracelet that straps a watch to the wrist}}
File:Butterfly-Faltschließe.jpg
File:Four analog wristwatches with watch straps from stainless steel - image 1.jpg
A watch strap, watch band, watch bracelet or watch belt is a bracelet that straps a wrist watch onto the wrist.{{Cite web|url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/british/watchstrap|title = Watchstrap}} Watch straps may be made of leather, plastic, polyurethane, silicone, rubber, FKM, cloth, or metal, sometimes in combination. It can be regarded as a fashion item, serving both a utilitarian and decorative function. Some metal watch straps may be plated with, or even in rare cases made of, precious metals.
Types
Watch straps may close with a buckle or a folding clasp.{{Cite book |last=Army |first=United States Department of the |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qAgYAAAAYAAJ |title=Craft Techniques in Occupational Therapy |date=1971 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}} Expanding watch straps are designed to expand elastically, often by the use of metal springs in a segmented design, and may be slipped on like a bracelet. Attachment points for the strap to the watch are largely standardized, with a spring bar (a spring-loaded double-ended pin) used to anchor the watch strap to holes in a bracket that is integral to the watch case, allowing worn watch straps to be replaced or swapped with new straps for fashion purposes.
Velcro watch straps (SEB 12100030 CF 55052-5 S/N 120) supplied by Omega Watch Co. and American Velcro Inc were first used for Project Mercury NASA space missions.https://www.seb12100030.com/blogs/authentic-nasa-watchbands/who-made-the-original-watchbands-for-nasa
Metal watch straps are typically stainless steel.
The most common metal watch strap styles are the folded link, pushpin, and screw-in styles.
[https://theoandharris.com/stainless-steel-bracelet-construction-the-folded-link-push-pin-and-screw-in-bracelet-systems/ "Stainless Steel Bracelet Construction: The Folded Link, Push-Pin, and Screw-In Bracelet Systems"].
A Bund strap are two leather watch straps with a separate piece of leather to sit on the wrist that serves the purpose of protecting the wearer's wrist from discomfort and pain caused by the extreme conditions in fighter and bomber aircraft cockpits. So, it acts as a protective layer between the skin and the metal watch.
Both metal watch cases and watch straps incorporating metal parts can sometimes cause contact dermatitis in susceptible individuals.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/contact-dermatitis/basics/symptoms/con-20032048|title=Contact dermatitis - Symptoms and causes|website=Mayo Clinic}} Special anti-allergy watch straps, like a NATO style watch strap, which shield the skin from exposure to metal parts, are available for people with this type of dermatitis.
Specialist expanding watch straps exist for use with diving watches. The use of wet, or in some cases, dry suits require the strap to expand in order to accommodate the added material, which increases the circumference of the wrist. Many watch straps intended for diving watches have rippled or vented sections near the attachment points on the watch case to facilitate the required flexibility to strap the watch around the bare wrist or around wet or dry suits.
NATO straps
NATO watch straps, also known as "NATO Straps" or "G10 straps",{{Cite book |last1=Turner |first1=Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldt4EAAAQBAJ&dq=NATO+Straps+g10&pg=PA480 |title=A General History of Horology |last2=Nye |first2=James |last3=Betts |first3=Jonathan |date=2022-07-28 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-260936-6 |pages=480 |language=en}} were developed by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for wartime usage (DefStan 66-47 Issue 2 states the colour of the 20 mm wide nylon ribbon shall be to BS 4800 card number 3, reference 18B25, colour "Admiralty Grey").[http://www.h-spot.net/watches/mod/watchstraps_2001.pdf Defence Standard 66-47, Issue 2, "Strap, Wrist Watch] It is a one-piece strap fed through the spring bars of the watch case, then slid into the appropriate notch and folded back to secure the excess strap and prevent it from sticking out of the main watch strap portion.{{Cite web|url=https://fortune.com/2017/07/31/omega-nato-watch-strap/|title=Your Watch Needs a NATO Strap|website=Fortune|language=en|access-date=2019-11-17}}[https://watchesbysjx.com/2013/10/explaining-the-history-of-the-nato-strap.html How Did NATO Straps Get Their Name?]
File:Royal Observer Corps necktie.jpg tie with matching NATO strap on Sector clock themed wrist watch.]] As the style gained popularity following its introduction in 1973, military personnel began to customize their watch straps, incorporating the colours of their regimental ties and/or stable belts, creating the colourful striped patterns NATO straps are known for.[https://www.gearpatrol.com/watches/a85507/nato-strap-history/ The Fascinating and Humble History of the NATO Watch Strap]
The Zulu watch strap is a NATO watch strap adaptation using a thicker weave of fabric and more substantial metal hardware employing rounded loops and an oval-shaped buckle and both are typically made of nylon.
Perlon strapshttps://www.esprit-nato.com/en/130-braided-perlon-watch-straps, Marine Nationale strapshttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/fashion/watches-parachute-web-straps.htmlhttps://erikasoriginals.com/, Zulu straps, and NATO straps go completely around the wrist, including behind the case.
Other wrist strap styles allow the back of the watch case to directly contact the skin.[https://notostrapstore.com/blogs/news/the-best-nato-strap-for-watches-in-2024-a-comprehensive-guide/ "A Comprehensive Guide to NATO Watch Straps"]
= NATO strap trademark controversy =
{{Essay-like|date=December 2024|section}}
Although what is generically referred to as the NATO Strap or NATO G10 Strap entered the market in the early 1970s, and both terms had already been ubiquitous in the watch world for many decades, a US company (International Watchman Inc) managed to trademark the word NATO in 2011 (TM 3907646) and NATO-G10 (TM 4093914) in January 2012 under product class IC 14: Watches, Watch Straps.{{Cite web|url=https://trademarks.justia.com/850/54/nato-85054829.html|title = NATO - Trademark Details}}
Consequently, many watch industry participants have expressed surprise that US Patent and Trademark Office permitted these registrations, including the applicant's requisite S. 60 TM Act "declaration of bona fide intention" that the terms were novel, despite NATO and NATO G10 having already been long established as terms for this style of watch strap, and asked how it could have been in good faith that International Watchman Inc claimed to have created such historic terms.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) explains that these historic watch strap terms came into being over half a century ago.{{Cite web |date=29 October 2024 |title=The NATO strap: more than a fashion statement |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_149972.htm |access-date=29 October 2024 |website=NATO}}
International Watchman Inc has not been successful in its recent attempts to register NATO for other product classes, on the ground that Applicant's mark "consists of, or includes matter, which may falsely suggest a connection with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ("NATO") for offending Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a), on the ground that Applicant's mark "consists of, or includes matter, which may falsely suggest a connection with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ("NATO")". "We therefore find that the record shows that Applicant's NATO mark points uniquely and unmistakably to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization".{{Cite web|url= https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=87302907&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch.html|title = US Trademark Office refuses NATO trademark to International Watchman Inc. "the PTO earlier mistakenly registered a similar or identical mark suffering the same defect."}}
International Watchman Inc has proceeded to enforce the NATO trademarks, in respect of watch straps through countless legal actions which aim to freeze the assets of those who have long manufactured, distributed and sold NATO watch straps, by injunction, only releasing them when International Watchman Inc has extracted a license fee and forced "long-established businesses to comply by changing their product classifications or business names."{{Cite web |last=Benedictus |first=Luke |date=January 25, 2023 |title=Do you wear a genuine NATO strap? Probably not, according to this trademark – and some retailers aren't happy |url=https://timeandtidewatches.com/trademark-wrangle-over-nato-straps/ |access-date=April 3, 2024 |website=Time & Tide}}
International Watchman Inc overtly offers licenses to use the acronym of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ("Trademark for lease") in the "Highly Acclaimed Trademark NATO", citing "More Than 80,000 Google Searches and growing".{{Cite web|url=https://www.internationalwatchman.com/leasing.html|title = International Watchman Inc offering licenses to use the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's acronym}} Observers{{Who?|date=December 2024}} have noted that, in character with other "trademark trolls", the website itself appears a front for this activity, offering no products for sale.
International Watchman Inc's legal actions, in 2022{{Cite web|url=https://www.sriplaw.com/international-watchman-inc-v-the-individual-partnerships-and-unincorporated-associations-identified-on-schedule-a-flsd-case-no-122-24034-cma/.html|title = International Watchman Inc's 2022 Injunctive Action against 342 manufacturers of NATO Watch Straps}} and 2024,{{Cite web|url=https://www.sriplaw.com/international-watchman-inc-tm-co-fl-counterfeit-case-no-1-24-cv-22046/.html|title = International Watchman Inc's 2024 Injunctive Action against 618 manufacturers of NATO Watch Straps}} named 960 defendants in aggregate, from whom it was demanding up to $1,000,000 in settlement.
Aftermarket watch straps are popular among collectors looking to customize their timepieces.{{cite web |title=Guide to Aftermarket Watch Straps |url=https://www.helvetus.com/ |website=Helvetus |access-date=26 February 2025}}
Watch strap types
File:Viscount Alligator blau.jpg|A leather watch strap.
File:Laco Paderborn B-Muster Beobachtungsuhr Fliegeruhr Pilotenuhr.jpg|A leather strap dating to World War II.
File:Extreme bracelet.jpg|A specialist expanding rubber watch strap for diving watches.
File:Polyurethane watch strap on a diving watch.jpg|Polyurethane expanding watch strap on a diving watch.
File:Wrist_Watch_WWI.jpg|A cloth watch strap dating to World War I.
File:Household Cavalry Regiment on Ex Iron Scout 3 on Salisbury Plain. MOD 45161832.jpg|Dark admiralty grey coloured NATO strap worn by a British soldier.
File:Citizen EcoDrive RC noBg.jpg|NATO-style webbing watch strap.
File:4-ring NATO style watchstrap.JPG|NATO-style webbing (5-ring ZULU) watch strap.
File:Citizen_Promaster_Eco-Drive_BN0000-04H_Diver's_300_m_on_a_Watchadoo_bracelet_3.JPG|A watch with a segmented stainless steel watch bracelet.
File:Firestain example-watch.jpg|A silver-plated metal watch bracelet, showing signs of wear.
File:Roamer Premier 1961.jpg|A watch with a gold-plated ROWI Fixoflex expandable/retractable elastic watch bracelet.
File:Stainless steel shark mesh bracelet.jpg|A watch with a stainless steel mesh bracelet.
File:Steeldive SD8205-6.jpg|A watch with a stainless steel Milanese (braided mesh variant) bracelet.
File:Escapement Time Pilot Flieger Chronograph.jpg|A watch with a stainless steel Milanese (braided mesh variant) bracelet.
Cadisen_C8173_automatic_wristwatch_2.jpg|A watch with a fine stainless steel Milanese (dense and tight braided mesh variant) bracelet.[https://notostrapstore.com/blogs/news/mesh-strap-watches What is Milanese watch band? A brief history of Mesh watch band]
File:Clasp 1.jpg|Stainless steel bracelet with closed deployant clasp featuring 6 micro adjustment holes.
File:Clasp 2.jpg|Stainless steel bracelet with opened deployant clasp.
File:Diver’s watch stainless steel bracelet extension deployment clasp.JPG|Stainless steel bracelet with deployant clasp and diver's extension.
File:Rolex Glidelock.jpeg| Rolex "Glidelock" micro adjustment deployant clasp for diving watches
File:Tissot RockWatch R151 dark green, buckle.jpg|A buckle fastening for a leather watch strap.
Clasps
A folding clasp or deployant clasp or deployant buckle is a device used to close a watch strap. (Butterfly clasps have a symmetrical appearance).
File:Diver’s watch stainless steel bracelet extension deployment clasp.JPG|Stainless steel bracelet deployant clasp with divers extension
File:Butterfly-Faltschließe.jpg|Leather watch strap with a butterfly clasp closure.
See also
{{Portal|Companies}}