Orientation of Buckle on Strap - 12 or 6 o'clock?
There are a number of articles in online forums discussing this topic however I am interested in the watchcrunchers take on this. What is your preferred buckle orientation of the buckle on your watch strap? 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock. From what I can tell the main benefit of having the buckle at 6 o'clock is that the tag end of the strap becomes orientated below the watch dial rather than above it. For some this is preferred aesthetically. Interestingly this is seen more frequently with deployment clasp watch straps as the deployment clasp tends to negate the issue of fastening a standard buckle upside down.
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I always choose the way the OEM intended it to be used. For Seiko and Grand Seiko, strap tail pointing at the 6. For most Swiss brands, pointing towards the 12.
I generally figure this out by rotating my wrist and seeing if the brand logo on the deployant is right side up.
30 years of liking watches, and buckle at 6 had never occurred to me.
I was today years old...
With the buckle at 12, the tail doesn't get caught or rub on your shirt or your pants while wearing it.
Feels so wrong to be at 6.
With the buckle at 12, the tail doesn't get caught or rub on your shirt or your pants while wearing it.
Feels so wrong to be at 6.
Its funny, this literally never happens to my watch straps. I totally get it in theory but it's not been part of my experience.
6 for sure here!! Having it at 12 feels like finger counting in German.....looks odd!!
I have all of mine at 6. At work I often have the watch strap part of my wrist resting on something and I find the extra lump of the buckle or keeper annoying.
Bracelets > Straps
I recently changed it to 6, for two reasons:
The first is that it makes my watches fit better on my wrist, they don’t move as much. And the second is that I think it looks cool haha my straps are somewhat expensive for my budget and with the buckle at 6 you get to show it in a more clear manner (the tag and buckle are hiding between your wrist and body).
I only use the 6 oriented buckle for leather straps, I tried it with my garmin and it made it fit a bit weird (rubber straps are usually thicker) and it doesn’t make sense to show off a rubber strap.
In the spirit of open mindedness, I switched my strap to have the buckle at 6. It's not as weird as I thought, and I totally see the perspective that it's nice to not have the thickness under your wrist when setting your arm down, but I'm changing it back.