REVIEW: Suigeneric straps

Felix Scholz

This review has been a long time in the making. Months ago, we received a package of hand-made goods; waxed cotton fabric straps from NYC based Suigeneric. Excitement. Baby’s getting a new pair of shoes. So you can imagine our frustration when we discovered that these straps didn’t fit on any of the watches in the collective Time+Tide watch roll. Not one. Luckily, as I was packing for Baselworld I re-discovered the straps – and found them a perfect fit for my Nomos Club.

And so, after a long delay followed by an intense few weeks of wearing, I’m happy to be able to present my Suigeneric strap review.

First, we have to address the obvious. These straps don’t fit all watches. And no, I’m not talking about the lug-to-lug fit. The ones we were sent come in at 20mm across and we must have tried them on half a dozen watches, from Submariners to pilots, and they either didn’t fit at all, or they didn’t fit well. That’s because these straps are a lot thicker than your average nylon NATO. On many watches we tried there simply was not enough room between the case and the springbars for the strap, and on the few that could accommodate the double layers of waxed cotton the fit was forced and uncomfortable, especially when the second, tail end of the strap is threaded on.

UPDATE: Suigeneric have just informed me that since we’ve received these straps they have made the straps thinner (25% thinner at 1.5mm) and increased length a little, to 10.5 inches, for a better fit.

This is really the only major flaw with the straps, and admittedly it’s a biggie. But otherwise these things are great. The straps are very fashion friendly (dare we say hipster?), and offer a great alternative to the vertical striped NATO designs that have been doing the rounds for decades. All the hardware is sewn in, and the waxed finish is noticeable, but not to the extent of a Driza-Bone. The cotton will maybe wear a little quicker than nylon would, but it will also age in a more graceful, less fraying fashion. These straps are also a little shorter than the usual NATO, meaning you don’t have to do that fold/tuck thing with the end. However all this quality comes at a cost, with the straps running at $35 US. But the price is fair given the quality.

Suigeneric also offer plenty of designs (I just counted over 35 designs available on their store). The biggest risk with all this choice is finding a strap/watch combo that doesn’t look hideous – because there’s definitely potential for that.

As discussed the major flaw to these straps is that they don’t easily fit all watches, and I can imagine customers being pretty frustrated after getting all excited, buying a bunch of new straps, only to open their package and find it just doesn’t work on their watch. So do your due diligence before buying. But in the end I’m glad they fit on my Nomos – they’re a great (and classy) alternative to the traditional nylon.