How to make a chainmail watch bracelet

Buffy Acacia

It’s finally happening. After decades of faux-minimalism and Ikea-fied lazy design across every product imaginable, maximalism is finally coming back around. More specifically, a resurgence of medieval and gothic design elements have rapidly become fashionable again as a reaction to dumbed-down corporate blandness stripping the personality from life. Just think of Barry Keoghan, Zendaya, Chappell Roan, and Lil Nas X all donning suits of armour in magazines and on red carpets within the last few years. I’m still a fan of simplicity when it’s executed well and with artistic intent, but I can’t pretend that my heart doesn’t belong to lands of complexity and fantasy. So naturally, my response is to teach you how to make a chainmail watch strap.

A brief explanation of chainmail, then and now

For nearly 1,500 years, chainmail was used on battlefields across Europe and Asia before crossbows and other developing weapons started to reliably puncture it. Each culture had its own unique take on it, incorporating different weaves, ring-closing techniques, and decorative flourishes. That said, it’s still in use today in some body armours, cut-resistant gloves, and even shark-resistant wetsuits. It’s essentially a mesh made from metal rings, allowing shock and weight to be dispersed a larger surface area. In many ways, it’s similar to any other kind of woven fabric, and you will find that any experience with knitting or crochet will actually be quite helpful in the construction of chainmail.

In essence, there isn’t much difference between the watch bracelet we’ll be making and the armour of the Middle Ages. Perhaps the biggest change is that we won’t be bothering to rivet the chain links together, if only because it takes so much time, and we (hopefully) won’t need it to deflect a blow from a halberd. Most armours from the 14th century and onwards used flat links because it increased the surface area and used fewer rings overall, but there are plenty of examples that used traditional round links like the ones we’ll be using.

The tools you’ll need

Chainmail, while time-consuming, is surprisingly easy and very accessible. The only absolutely essential tools are two pairs of jewellery pliers. Personally, I prefer using a bent nose pair in my non-dominant hand and a chain nose pair in my dominant hand. I find that it gives me a good mix between ergonomics and control, and any craft such as this does require mindfulness about exertion to avoid repetitive stress injuries or even carpal tunnel syndrome. Spring-loaded pliers are generally helpful, but it all comes down to personal preference – and some old-school jewellers hate them. If you can go to a hobby store and find a pair of pliers that feel good in the hand, that’s the best way to go about it. It’s also worth noting that pliers with flat jaws will be better at not marking the metal you’re working with, but they can be slippery.

After pliers, the other accessories are optional but can make your life easier. I like working on a cutting mat, and any non-slip surface will help stop your links from getting jumbled up as you’re trying to align them. If I’m working with my legs up on the couch with a TV show in the background, then a little self-levelling tray goes a long way. If you need to stop in the middle of a project or take a break for any reason, stitch markers meant for knitting or crocheting are exceptionally handy, but even a little twist tie will do. Sometimes, when you’re lining links up or figuring out where a new ring is supposed to go, using an awl or similarly sharp-but-thin implement can help the new ring’s path make sense in your head before attempting it. The last thing I rely on is an assortment of plastic containers for me to keep my jump rings, separating the open and closed ones, as well as my works in progress. Start washing and keeping your takeaway boxes, because you can never have enough.

Selecting your jump rings

A jump ring is simply a ring of metal that’s split so that it can be opened or closed. They’re made from round wire that’s spun around a mandrel and then cut in a straight line, turning a single coil into tens, hundreds, or thousands of rings, depending on how long the coil is. While this may seem simple, there are two variables that can make buying jump rings confusing for a newcomer: the thickness or gauge of the wire, and the internal diameter of the ring. These don’t just play a role in how large the finished product will be, but also in how well the weave will work.

For example, if the wire is too thick and the internal diameter is too small, you may not be able to pass enough rings through each other in order to make the weave. In other cases, the rings may fit, but the weave will either be so stiff that it can’t flow, or too loose so that it doesn’t hold its shape. This relationship between the gauge and the internal diameter is called the aspect ratio. For example, a 16AWG (1.2mm) wire with an internal diameter of 6mm gives you an aspect ratio of 5. Many suppliers of jump rings will actually sell packs of assorted sizes, which can be very handy for prototyping and figuring out which sizes work best for certain projects. 0.2mm may not sound like a lot, but when you’re lining up ring after ring after ring, the effects are massive. I would urge patience before you go ahead and order 3,000 jump rings in a size that ends up being pretty useless – as I have learned from experience…

Aside from size, the jump ring material is an important choice. Stainless steel would be the most obvious choice for something like a watch bracelet. It’s strong, resistant to corrosion, and it will match the tone of the vast majority of steel watch cases. Aluminium is also a popular option, as it is lightweight, easy to work with, cheaper than steel, and available in many different anodised colours. Then, if you really want to splash out there are precious metals. Gold and sterling silver jump rings can be bought, but they aren’t as strong and will likely need to be individually soldered to prevent them from opening. If you’re especially dedicated, you can just buy metal wire and make your own rig for coiling and cutting the jump rings. Many hobbyists will buy spools of galvanised fencing wire for this purpose, but for small-scale projects like a watch strap, you won’t be saving that much money over buying ready-made jump rings. Bronze rings can also be bought if you own a bronze watch, and honestly, any metal that’s available as wire can be found in jump ring form.

Selecting your weave

For basic mail that was given to soldiers on the battlefield, there are only a handful of weaves and variations that chainmail was found in. However, for the decorative armours that the wealthy and powerful could commission, many more hours were poured into complicated, beautiful weaves. Now, with several hundred years of more experimentation and the wonder of the Internet to catalogue every tutorial, there are thousands of chainmail weaves you could choose from. Some will work better than others as a watch bracelet, however, as they all have varying thicknesses, movement dynamics, and intended purposes. For example, a Byzantine weave is popular for beginners because it looks intricate and beautiful, but it’s surprisingly easy to learn. It wouldn’t make for a great watch bracelet though, because it’s a rounded chain that works better as a bracelet or necklace.

Sticking to the spirit of chainmail as historical armour, I would recommend starting with a weave called European 4-in-1. It’s pretty much the stereotypical weave for all chainmail garments, and it will give you that satisfying ‘armour’ look rather than anything overly decorative. It’s versatile in tightness with possible aspect ratios close to 3, or up to 6 before it starts getting loose enough to be annoying. However, for a watch strap, I would recommend trying to keep your weaves on the tight side. Chainmail acts like a stretch fabric but without any ability to retract itself, so the less room within the links, the better. It’s called European 4-in-1 because every ring in a completed section has 4 rings passing through it, and although it is the weave most people learn first, it can take several hours of practice before you stop making mistakes. A constant theme of chainmail is that it’s deceptively simple in theory, but requires a lot of patience.

Selecting your hardware

You will need a way to open and close the bracelet once it’s completed, and there are plenty of ways to go about it. Personal preference will play a big part in this, and you’ll be weighing up cost, convenience, and comfort. The cheapest option would probably be to use two generic lobster claw clasps on either end of your bracelet, but that would be incredibly fiddling and annoying to close every time. Toggle clasps are a bit chunkier and easier to use, but they don’t always feel as secure. I wouldn’t trust the strength of a magnetic clasp (and there’s also something to be said about magnets and mechanical watches here), and box clasps can also be a bit too fiddly. There are specific watch band clasps you can buy, and those that work on Milanese mesh straps would be ideal, but it can be tough to ensure that they’ll work with the thickness of your final product. In my personal opinion, a slide-along tube clasp would be the best and easiest choice, albeit not the most secure one. Side-release buckles like those on backpacks are very secure, but also quite ugly. It’s also important to check that your wire gauge will fit within the holes of the clasp where the jump rings are supposed to go.

Planning your watch strap, and what I’m using

Now that you have decided on your strap material and weave, it’s time to get a little bit technical. Measure the lug width of your watch to decide how wide your strap needs to be, and measure your wrist circumference. Remember to accommodate your clasp of choice when deciding on the final length of your watch strap, but you can always add a little bit more or take a bit away when finessing the final product. Similarly, because chainmail isn’t a rigid material, it can compress and expand between the lug width. For that reason, a 1mm tolerance in width should be acceptable in the vast majority of circumstances. Using small jump rings will give the final bracelet a smoother, more refined texture, while larger ones will be easier to manipulate and weave together faster.

I’ve been a little impatient with this project and used leftovers from other chainmail projects, but I still believe the final result is great. My jump rings are 16AWG (1.2mm) with an ID of 4mm, leading to an AR of 3.33. For European 4-in-1, that will lead to a visually compact weave that’s still flexible enough to be comfortable. They’re made of bright aluminium which means they’re not anodised and can sometimes leave a greyish oxide behind, but it’s nothing that bothers me or damages the metal. My only true compromise is that I’m using a lobster clasp meant for smaller bracelets or necklaces, but my next delivery of findings isn’t due for a couple of weeks and I can easily replace it later on. I’ve made it for my great grandfather’s 1958 Omega Seamaster with an 18mm lug width, and the relative softness of the aluminium will also ensure that the vintage steel watch doesn’t get scratched up any further than it already has.

Time to start! Plus, a couple more tips

From this point, there’s nothing left to do but get the pliers out. There isn’t any point in me writing a tutorial for the European 4-in-1 weave when so many fantastic ones exist, so I would recommend checking out this example by Peter Curson on YouTube. A good way to ensure a smooth workflow is to begin by opening a bunch of rings, and then closing about twice that amount. Remember to have patience, and be a stickler for detail when closing your jump rings. An uneven edge here or there may not be noticeable in the grand scheme of the weave, but it could scratch your skin or become a weak link over time.

You’re likely working with small jump rings, and they can get frustrating, but the larger the weave gets, the easier it becomes to add new links thanks to the previous links’ stability. It’s also helpful to think about the direction of your weave, as it will determine whether or not the chainmail “hangs open” or “hangs closed.” Historical chainmail hangs closed with the alternating rows of chains going horizontally, as it reduces the open spaces between the rings and it better resists damage. Hanging open alternates vertically, and while it’s not necessarily historically correct, it can be more aesthetically pleasing and symmetrical in a jewellery sense. Once it’s done, you’ll have a unique and handmade accessory for your favourite watch that ties it back to an ancient art form.