Straps are a fairly popular way of securing watches to wrists, in fact, it is the earliest. Real quality bracelets have only appeared in the past 25 or so years with CNC machining becoming very prevalent. This article will aim to compare different strap materials, with their advantages and disadvantages. The materials presented below (from left to right) are: Medium priced calf leather, blue round scaled alligator, shiny crocodile, tobacco ostrich, black ostrich, black lizard, polished black stingray, black natural rubber (high quality), and olive green Nylon NATO (mid quality). Four more materials: High quality cow leather, square scale alligator, high quality (Maratac) NATO, and horse shell Cordovan are also presented. All exotics are genuine and not embossed cow leather.
That pretty much covers all the strap materials on the market today with the exception of the uncommon shark, and variations of the materials presented such as unpolished stingray, kangaroo, and horse front/rear quarters.
A note about durability: I list two price ranges for each material since the same material can usually be had for very cheap or very expensive. Quality of construction and materials is a much better indication of durability than material.
Cow/Calf leather
Texture: Flat and medium shine to matte. Can also be textured to mimic exotic leathers.
Price: $10-$30 low/medium quality, $50-$150 higher quality full/top grain.
Best for: Most occasions.
Durability: High if top or full grain, medium for other
Cheap corrected grain leather (Leatherworks)
Higher quality top grain leather (notice the tiny follicles) (Not Panerai OEM)
Calf leather is probably the most common leather for most watches, period. This is because of its low cost, high durability, and flexibility of being able to be textured and treated in a variety of ways. My personal recommendation is to spend a bit more and buy a top grain or full grain strap, which can usually be distinguished by the small follicle holes on the surface (although this can also be imitated). Full grain leather has no sanding/buffing treatment and will look good with some polish even when scuffed.
Alligator straps
Texture: Soft and flat
Price: $200-$500 large square scales, $40-$120 smaller scales.
Best for: Daily wear, formal occasions
Durability: Medium
Square scaled alligator (from Glashutte Original)
Round scaled alligator (Hirsch)
By far the most popular strap material for luxury watches is square scaled alligator. It's a generally costly material with most brands charging around 400 dollars for a strap. The quality of the leather can vary greatly, high quality alligator has a soft but firm feel while cheaper alligator straps tend to feel thinner and wear out more easily. It is semi-formal and works well with pretty much any metal case material. Over time, the alligator will lose its shine from wear, resulting in a matte appearance.
Crocodile
Texture: Generally gloss, can also be matte.
Price: $60-$100 lower quality, $150-$300 higher quality.
Best for: Formal occasions (gloss), casual (matte)
Durability: Low
Crocodile strap (debeer)
Along with lizard, the classic leather for dress watches. Crocodile generally appears flatter than alligator and has small wrinkles in between the scales. Generally suitable for formal occasions glossy crocodile tends to lose its shine if worn very frequently. Generally speaking, alligator is more desirable due to its more 3D appearance but high quality salt water crocodile or nile crocodile can also be very desirable.
Ostrich
Texture: rough and highly textured, often with quill bumps
Price: $30-$250 (depending on the brand and quality)
Best for: Casual
Durability: High
Black high quality ostrich (Jaeger-LeCoultre)
Tan ostrich (Debeer)
Although highly interesting, ostrich leather is always very wrinkled. Full quill is more desirable than flat ostrich, although both are similarly durable. Due to its aged appearance, its best suited to more casual occasions.
Texture: Glossy
Price: $30-$150
Best for: Formal
Durability: Low
Black semi-gloss lizard (From Beijing Watch Factory)
High gloss lizard is the most classic formal watch strap material. Highly textured and somewhat fragile, it's most suited to formal occasions. The high gloss finish will wear down somewhat quickly.
Stingray (Also known as shagreen or galuchat)
Texture: Very hard cartilage
Price: $100-$250 depending on polished or not, and pearls vs no pearls
Best for: Most occasions
Durability: High
Polished Black stingray without pearls
Stingray comes in two different textures and two different appearances. Polished stingray (shown above) has the top layer of the small hard bumps polished off leaving a cross sectional series of pebbles while unpolished stingray has sharp bumps on the surface. Pearls are a small patch of white in the middle of the strap that gives it a distinct appearance for which it's charged extra. Stingray is one of the few materials that can not be edge stitched due to its extreme hardness. It's my personal favorite material for straps and is highly durable, water resistant, and suitable for all occasions.
Rubber
Texture: Matte
Price: $10-$350
Best for: Sport/casual
Durability: High
Rubber strap (from MIH watch)
Virtually unknown outside of the sub 200 dollar watch market until Hublot popularized it, rubber has become an increasingly popular material for sports watches. Personally I find it quite uncomfortable and irritating, but that hasn't prevented its rise in popularity. It is only suitable for casual or sports watches and never for formal occasions.
NATO (Nylon)
Texture: Woven
Price: $10-$300 (lower end for cheaper nato straps, high end for JLC's Condura strap)
Best for: Sport and casual, I don't care about what James Bond wore
Durability: High
Lower quality NATO (from Sea Gull)
High quality NATO (By Maratac)
Designed to keep your watch attached to your wrist even if a springbar fails, the NATO strap has been popular since James Bond wore one in the movie Dr. No. It's a neat material but I find it somewhat irritating due to the hard woven texture. It can work well with any watch but is only really suited to casual occasions, yes, I'm looking at you Bond...
Shell cordovan
Texture: Semi gloss
Price: $100-$250
Best for: Most occasions, perhaps not formal.
Durability: High*
*While very durable and non-creasing, shell scuffs easily.
Shell Cordovan from a shoe (Crockett and Jones for Ralph Lauren, probably tanned by Horween Leather Company)
*Note the waves instead of creases.
Made from the flat muscles of a horse's rumps, shell cordovan is only made by a few tanneries around the world. The most famous of which is Horween in Chicago. This material is extremely tough and has the unique property of not truly creasing. Used by NOMOS for most of its watches, it's an increasingly popular material. However, it should be noted that the leather scuffs rather easily and needs to be polished regularly to maintain a clean appearance unless you're going to vintage looking route, of course.
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