WHY REPLACE A WATCH BAND

After owning a watch for an extended period of time your watch’ bracelet can be worn down over time. Whether it's due to lots of scratches, ding and dents in it or maybe it’s become stretched out and you’ve now reached a point where you need to replace your watch bracelet. Metal, rubber and leather bracelets can all be worn down over time, some quicker than others so it's important to know how to replace them beforehand.

Source : Time & TIde

When it comes to metal bracelets, they are the most durable kind you can get. Stainless steel is a very strong bond of Atoms for metal making it hard to scratch and break. However, Precious metal is another thing altogether, gold is not inherently a very strong nor durable metal. Hence it is commonly used in jewellery as opposed to practical tools. Of course, when you see a precious metal Rolex or Omega you don’t need to worry that the bracelet will stretch out and it could easily be broken. But gold does scratch easier and their bracelets can stretch out, the classic example of this happening often on vintage Rolex Day-Dates. Due to the hollow links used back then by Rolex, the Gold tends to be stretched out over the many years of the watch being worn.

If this happens you will most likely want to have the bracelet either replaced or fixed. The first thing to do is take it into a Rolex AD and have them give you a quote for the cost of a bracelet replacement. Once you’re happy with the price you can purchase the new bracelet and Roelx will have it fitted on your watch from you. This process can take up to a couple of months depending on the age and model of the watch but you can be certain that your Rolex bracelet will be as good as new. It’s the same processes from all watch brands like Omega, TagHeuer, Tudor and many more brands as well.

Source : Time & TIde

Leather watchband

As we’ve just seen, metal bracelets aren’t really going to need replacing but rather more of a polishing from time to time. However, leather bands are a whole different story as they are made from natural or synthetic materials that can be worn down within 1 to 5 years depending on how well they’re treated. With calfskin, corridle or other types of natural leather being derived from natural materials, sweat and water can speed up the wear and tear process. Whether you own a Patek Philippe dress watch, a Rolex Celini or a Tissot PRX all on a leather strap and at very different price points it doesn't matter.

Source : Monochrome

Leather at first is quite stiff when you first put the watch on but over time it softens up and slowly relaxes the fibres in the leather. However, if you wear your leather watch strap outside in the Sun, the UV light will slowly wear the leather down and more often than not in hot weather you sweat too. Sweating and exposure to the outside world is only a natural thing to occur if you want to wear your watch all the time but be aware that this will reduce the lifespan of the leather strap. Exposure to water is another element you definitely want to avoid if you want to try and preserve your leather strap.

Nato watchband

Source : SJX

This is why you commonly see leather straps on dress watches designed to be worn on a few occasions since leather doesn’t tend to be a very durable everyday kind of material. But if you just love the feel, look and style of leather, go and wear your watch as much as you can on the leather strap. Just know that you may need to visit your AD at some point to order a new leather strap or have a look online. There are many excellent leather strap options to be found online if you are looking to replace your current one, just make sure the lug width matches the strap width so it fits your watch!

Similar to leather, Nato straps tend to wear down with heavy usage, the finely woven synthetic or natural materials used to make up a Nato strap are still thin at the end of the day. But if you have ever bought a Nato strap, you can easily end up buying a few because they are quite cheap compared to rubber, metal or leather. If your watch came on a Nato strap and you can see the strap is beginning to fray to the point where you can no longer just melt the loose ends down yourself, head back to your AD. Your AD will likely have many different styles of Nato in store that can fit a variety of different watches and if they don’t have the one you desire, you can easily find the perfect Nato strap online.

Source : SJX

Finally, last but certainly not least, rubber straps can last many years of wear and tear provided it’s a high quality one. They are relatively scratch resistant and you can always order another one for your watch from the AD. If you want a different style or look, companies like ZEALANDE are here to look after you. With years of experience making high quality Swiss-made rubber straps, our straps were designed to be worn everyday no matter what you're doing . With a large range of watch models to fit and colours to choose from you can take your time from the comfort of your home online selecting the bereft rubber strap for you! 

— James Talbot