By Ivy Max
It is a well-known fact that a watch is an essential part of a man’s wardrobe. It is one of those accessories that can take his style quotient to the next level. However, watches and Chopard watch bands are of many different styles. Hence, choosing a particular watchband can either enhance or diminish the look of one’s watch and his overall look.
One must follow a few guidelines while choosing a watch strap so that the strap compliments his high-end watch. So, mentioned below are a few tips to help choose the strap that will suit one’s watch and serve him in the long haul.
Tips to choose the right watch band
- Go along with the nature of the watch
One needs to understand the different worlds that each of the high-end watch brand dwells in. Whichever may be the brand of choice, one must choose a watch band that compliments the design of the watch. It is the same as choosing a shirt that goes along with a pair of trousers. One would never wear a t-shirt with formal trousers, right?
Watches and their straps need to complement each other for them to look right. If one wears an elegant vintage watch, pair it with a classy, high-quality leather strap and not a thick electric blue sporty strap. On the other hand, if one needs to replace the band of a dive watch, then go for stainless steel, braided perlon, or isoprene rubber strap. Each of these strap types goes well with the deep-sea dive theme.
Men who intend on replacing the band for a military or chronograph watch must choose between NATO straps in leather, timeworn leather, or nylon. One must ensure that the strap does not look either too new or washed-out since it will not match the look of the vintage piece. Do not choose a poorly stitched or low-quality leather strap since it will make even an expensive watch look cheap.
- Match with individual style
Most people choose a watch that not only looks good on their wrist but also becomes an extension of their personality. Hence, the watch a person wears must suit his style. Now, Chopard watch bands are an important factor when it comes to the look of a watch. One may like the dial but will not purchase the watch if he does not like the band. So, choose a watch band that not only suits the watch dial but also one’s skin tone and overall personality.
One must try on a few straps on his wrist along with the dial before he goes in for a particular strap.
- Quality of the finish
The significance of the quality of a watch strap cannot be overstated. One needs to have an eye for detail while shopping for a watch band just the way he would scrutinize the condition and detailing on a vintage watch. Do watch out for coarse finishing, irregular stitching patterns, and suspicious artificial color tones.
Other tell-tale signs of a strap finish are the composition and fineness of the leather or other material used in the watchband. One must see to it that the stitch and the dye are looking fine. There must be absolutely no machine work marks on the strap. As for the strap tone, it must be even and preferably matt finish. A strap that ticks all of these boxes will surely enhance the look of the dial.
- The right size
Choosing the right-size watch band plays a key role in the level of comfort as well as the look of the watch. One must measure the width between the lugs of the watch and choose a strap that matches the width, or else the strap will either pop off or won’t fit if the strap width is more than the lugs. On the contrary, there will be an unsightly gap and a sideways shifting motion if the strap width is less than the width of the lugs.
The strap length plays a crucial role especially for people with very small or very big wrists. Choosing a leather strap that is too small for the wrist will call for punching holes into the strap and will ruin the look of the strap.
Choosing a steel bracelet that is too big will give a very sloppy look when worn, and may fall off the wrist without one’s knowledge. A steel bracelet can be adjusted but may cause discomfort if the bracelet clamp ends up just below the wrist. A person will feel like something is poking every time he places his hand on a table. So, try to source a watch band that fits the wrist properly, to begin with.
- Check for hardware
In rare cases, some watch straps are sold without buckles, either on purpose or by coming off as a manufacturing defect. You do not want to end up paying a handsome amount of money to buy a nice strap and find that it does not include the buckle. So check the product description of the item if you are buying a watch strap from an online store.
If someone wants to buy a particular strap and replace the standard buckle with a better one, then he can purchase a new buckle. However, most replacement buckles come in either brushed or stainless steel. If someone has a watch dial that is brushed or stainless steel, he should avoid going in for a replacement buckle. One may choose a buckle with a gold, rose gold or black color if he can find it and it complements the watch dial, as well.
Strap materials can be particularly deceptive in appearance. One might purchase a crocodile strap only to find that it is actually made of calf leather that is stamped or embossed to match the crocodile leather pattern. So, if authenticity is a major criterion for someone, he should only purchase a watch band from a reputed source that sells only genuine material straps.
So, one should choose a watch strap wisely!
