A chicken-wristed man’s search for a watch strap with the perfect fit
Henry ZwartzThere’s a scene in the Alfred Hitchcock film, Rear Window, where the main character L.B. Jefferies (a gruff photojournalist played by James “Jimmy” Stewart) looks down at his watch to note the time – as he investigates what he suspects is the murder of his neighbour by her husband.
It’s a small Tissot field watch with black Arabic numerals and a silver or white face, perhaps 34 or 36mm, and it looks great on his wrist. The end of the band is lost on the underside of his wrist, creating a really neat look.
That neat look of a band tucked under your wrist (no annoying end jutting up halfway on the other side, adding to a sense of clumsy heft) is one that I have often sought with my own watch journey. But if, like me, you have small wrists – it’s an elusive quest fraught with disappointment. Especially so if you’re after that clean look for a sports strap.
If you know, you know.
Only recently, and through much trial, error and research, have I come across a few options that cover dress, daily wear and sport options across a range of lug widths. In the Time+Tide community spirit, I’d like to share some of that hard-earned knowledge with you.
Hirsch is an Austrian brand that has been making watch bands for many, many years, and traces its origins to 1765. This also means they have a large variety of options to choose from, even for those of us with tiny wrists.
For years I have worn my IWC MK XV – a gift from my father – on a NATO strap. While this is a good look for these sorts of watches, it didn’t always feel “right”. I was after a leather option, but I simply couldn’t find the right leather band that accommodated that tidy look that comes to those with bigger wrists that seem to just eat up bands.
That was, until I tried the Duke strap by Hirsch. Thankfully it comes in a shorter size at 19mm – a common enough lug width for vintage watches, but not particularly common for modern ones. Hence the relative dearth of modern options in that width. Finally!
Matthew Pemberthy, who works at one of largest authorised Hirsch retailers hirschstraps.com and who supplied a few straps for this review, explained: “The Duke is constructed using a method that was developed and patented by Hirsch’s own Hans Hirsch called the Rembordé method. This technique is now considered the standard for much of the world’s watch strap manufacturing. The way in which it works is by fusing the top leather and lining leather seamlessly using heat and pressure.”
Sticking with Hirsch, I’ve found probably the most versatile strap to date for us chicken-wristed folk.
Using natural rubber, the Hirsch Pure resembles a dark leather watch band from afar. But get in closer and you can see it’s a sports band with a robust buckle and thickness to it. Discovering a band that was both waterproof and came in a “medium” length was a big deal.
I now wear it as my go-to, do-anything strap on my daily – a Tudor Black Bay 58 in blue (yes, I’m one of those heathens who likes the look of a black strap on a blue watch).
From Austria, we move to nearby Germany. Bavaria, to be specific. Fluco is a family-run brand founded by Anton Fleischmann in 1952, located in the wonderfully named Furth im Wald, in the Bavarian forests near the Czech border.
I spoke with Anton’s grandson, Ulrich, who now runs the business and provided a couple of straps for this review. He also doesn’t mince words – and said the business is focused on sustainability in its manufacturing and acquisition of leather.
He said to me that it was “anything but easy to go your own way as a small family business,” but that the family did so in order to retain full control over their products.
“Many well-known fashion chains and manufacturers advertise with the same slogans as we do. In contrast to us, they often produce under terrible conditions in low-wage countries, where they ruthlessly exploit people and nature,” Ulrich said.
“Fluco tries to defend itself against this and manufactures all goods as one-offs with great attention to detail here in Germany… For this we only use selected leather of the highest quality from well-known tanneries that use the greatest possible ecological standards. For this purpose, we manufacture our straps under strict German laws and requirements, and under the even stricter ethnic principles that we have imposed.”
The straps Ulrich provided are called “Nizza” – a suede/ leather strap that, I have to say, is the most comfortable leather strap I have ever used. The line of straps also comes in short options at 18mm and 20mm, so I was able to fit it nicely to a vintage Tudor Oysterdate. And, huzzah, it achieves that magical “clean” look of the strap end disappearing beneath your wrist.
The last option that comes to mind for us small-wristed folk is, of course, the metal bracelet. I recently bought an Ollech and Wajs tool watch – the 350CI – after reviewing it. This was because I connected with the design language, and that it had been built with motorbike riders in mind (I am an avid rider of vintage bikes).
Lucky me, the brand also produces a decent metal bracelet for this watch. Problem was, and this is a common story for all of us with small wrists, it arrived with enough links to accomodate a whale fin.
Thankfully, after a trip to a local watch repairer, a multitude of links were removed and it now fits snugly on my wrist. Metal bracelets are probably the easiest option for those of us chasing the Zen quest of a neat strap look – and so I think the O&W was a great option.
If you have a good strap tip for those of us with small wrists, I’d welcome your tips and knowledge. Connect with me on instagram and I look forward to sharing your advice with our community!