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Why would anyone put a dive watch on a leather/synthetic hybrid strap? Why would anyone put a dive watch on a leather/synthetic hybrid strap?

Why would anyone put a dive watch on a leather/synthetic hybrid strap?

Fergus Nash

The debate has raged on for years over putting dive watches on leather straps. It’s a fairly straight-forward argument for and against, with compelling reasonings on both sides. It’s true that having a leather strap goes against the subaquatic purposes that a dive watch is built for, but it’s also true that people rarely even take their divers into the pool let alone the ocean. I personally think that leather can look great on divers, whether it’s a shiny patent croc on a Planet Ocean or a rough brown cowhide on a Seiko Turtle, but the one thing I cannot excuse is a leather/synthetic hybrid strap.

Blancpain’s Bathyscaphe NATO uses leather pin holes. Photo – aBlogtoWatch

I am absolutely a strap fanatic. There are times when if I have to wear the same watch two days in a row, then I feel utterly compelled to change the strap over. If I ever buy a watch online, I usually have at least two more alternative straps that arrive before the watch does. Each strap has two factors, the first being the looks, and the second being the function. Leather is generally comfortable and wears in over time like a pair of great boots. It’s fantastic in cold weather and can be styled in hundreds of casual or formal ways. Rubber is instantly comfortable, waterproof and sporty, but can sometimes cheapen a watch’s appearance. Sailcloth or canvas straps generally find a happy medium, giving a similar rugged vibe to aged leather but with added water resistance.

This Cordura strap by ZuluDiver uses waterproof Lorica instead of leather. Good!

Hybrid strap technology isn’t new, and some of it is great. Rubber-backed Cordura for instance is an awesome concept, with a flashy nylon weave to compliment a high-tech watch and rubber to improve the feel on-wrist. Some rubber straps are moulded to look like alligator scales or even bracelet links, like the Doxa SUB 200. You can even get tweed straps that have a leather backing, which keeps the fabric from getting sweaty or floppy. The key for these combinations is that the looks and the functions work hand-in-hand.

Leather backing works for tweed staps

So, what happens when you put leather on the underside of a synthetic fabric or rubber? The first thing that goes out the window is your waterproof properties. Leather can of course get wet on occasion, but a good soaking of either chlorinated or salt water will easily bring fading, stains, cracks and ultimately disintegration years before the leather’s natural perishing. Not only that, but the appearance of the surface material now feels dishonest by almost encouraging you to bring it swimming – especially if the watch advertises a healthy water resistance. There’s also a cognitive dissonance between the feel of leather and the look of synthetics, as in summer your wrist may feel unpleasantly clammy despite the flashy nylon top.

Seiko’s SRPG13 tempts you with 200m water resistance, but beware the leather backing.

So please, let leather be leather and synthetic be synthetic. The sum of the parts is definitely less than the whole in this case, and the solution should be to keep your swimmable straps entirely separate.