Watch Strap Fitting Types

Identifying the Fitting Type of Your Watch Strap

Watch straps are attached to the watch case in a number of ways. In some cases this means that the watch strap can only be replaced with an watch strap supplied by the original manuracturer. This is the situation with watch straps that have sculpted fittings, or are connected with screws rather than with spring bars.

Watch strap fittings can be broken down into five main groups:

1. Straight-ended watch straps, fitted with spring bars.
2. Straight-ended watch straps, fitted with fixed bars.
3. Straight-ended watch straps, fitted with screws.
4. Stepped end watch straps, fitted with spring bars.
5. Sculpted watch straps, fitted with spring bars or screw sets.


 

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1. Straight-ended watch straps, fitted with spring bars.

Many watches use spring bars, which clip into the shoulders of the watch case to connect the watch strap to the watch as shown here:


Where spring bars are used any straight-ended watch strap can be fitted as long as it is of the right width to fit between the shoulders of the watch. We have a side range of straigh-ended watch straps in leather, nylon, resin, rubber, silicone and metal. You can use our Watch Strap Search to find watch straps of the correct fitting width, colour and material.
 

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2. Straight-ended watch straps, fitted with fixed bars.

For watches with fixed bars, that cannot be removed from the watch case, an open-ended watch strap, which will fold over the fixed bar is used. Again the important measurement here is the distance between the shoulders of the watch.


 

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3. Straight-ended watch straps, fitted with screws.

Where a watch strap is attached to the watch case using screws, it will be necessary to purchase the original watch strap from the watch manufacturer, to ensure that the screw holes match the holes in the case. This is the situation with many Skagen watch straps.


 

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4. Stepped end watch straps, fitted with spring bars.

Some watches have a narrower fitting width than the overall width of the watch strap. In this case the watch strap will step out after the fitting as shown below: It is important here to match both the fitting width and the overall shoulder width required so that the strap fits correctly to the watch case. We offer a range of stepped straps from Casio, Timex as well as some that are unbranded.


 

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5. Sculptured watch straps, fitted with spring bars or screw sets.

The last group are those which have shaped or sculpted ends that are specific to the watch as in the images below: These can only be replaced by the original watch strap from the watch manufacturer. This is the case with many Casio watch straps, and other branded watch straps. In order to select the correct watch strap it is important to know the model number of your watch. For Casio watches this is stamped on the back of the watch case. For Timex watches it is more difficult to find. If you have problems identifying your watch model, please use our Contact Us form to let us know and we will help you to identify your watch.