Leather Straps on a Diver
I am curious on this one. I personally don't get putting a leather strap on a Diver...to me they are supposed to get wet, even if a vast majority only see a desk. However, I also know I am a moron and could be completely wrong on this...what say my fellow watch nerds?
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I'm not a diver, but I do swim a lot on holidays, so to it has to be rubber or metal ,even desk divers might spill coffee or water on it.to me leather straps are for evening time and black tie events
I am also a moron, but in my mind if I'm not getting my diver wet then leather would be fine.
Unless you're LARPing as a diver, or plan to get the watch wet, there is no reason you can't wear a dive watch on a leather strap.
I believe that watches are purpose built tools; part of the gear you wear for your day. If you’re doing business, wear a dress watch; swimming? Wear a diver. Traveling? GMT.
Putting a leather strap on a purpose built diver is heresy.
Now I don’t take this too seriously, but it is part of MY watch collecting philosophy, and it’s fun for ME.
I'm not sure I've ever been actual diving with a leather strap (I don't think they've ever been long enough), but I certainly swim with them.
Sure they take a little while to dry, but so do fabric straps.
FWIW, it's your watch. Do what makes you happy/ comfortable.
Personally, watches are just really fun for me and I will never take my diver diving or (sadly) my Speedy to space.
The closest any of my watches get to the water is the pool/ beach (wading and drinking/ not diving) or the backyard hose so I swap out straps on all my watches (including divers) with leather, rubber, steel, or NATO depending on my mood.
Of course, if I'm going swimming or to the beach, I'll ditch the leather unless it is one of my HYBRID leather/ rubber waterproof straps (best of both worlds).
But if it bothers anyone to put leather on a dive watch (or for that matter to wear a dive watch to the office or Opera/ formal event), I get it and it's all good. We all have our personal tastes and preferences and some of us actually use these tools as tools (instead of as fidget spinners and objects of joy).
I voted for the strap, even if a stock bracelet is always wiser on the side.
It also depends: do you actually dive with your watch (forget the leather in that case), or is it a "desk diver"?
At the end, nobody has to tell you what to do. It is your wrist, and your money.
There are some watches which IMO simply looks better on a leather strap, even if if they are styled as diver's watches. One such watch is my own SPB147.
Modern watches are designed with strap changes in mind, so why would anyone be offended by any combination?
Normaly there is no water on my desk so I don‘t see why I shouldn’t wear a diver on a leather strap too. Bracelet only limits individuality in my opinion.
This is a bit like asking if you can put normal street tires on your Lambo, instead of 200-mph track tires. The question is, do you need the latter?
Leather is fine. 99% of dive watches never go diving anyhow - they're "dive style" watches that won't be damaged if the owner should happen to fall into a pool, a.k.a. "desk divers."
If you dont plan to swim with it on it doesn't matter. If you do plan to swim with it, and you keep it on the leather, it will ruin the leather.
This.^
Anyone that tries to impose watch rules on other people's wrists needs to take deep breath.
(I do change out of the leather straps to get wet though)
Normally I'd agree with OP but I have a couple of hirsch rubber backed leather straps good for 300m ... so yeah leather on Diver is cool.
Also, wear what you like
If you don't wear leather on a diver you are missing out. They look damn cool.
How about canvas too! 👍
If you don't wear leather on a diver you are missing out. They look damn cool.
How about canvas too! 👍
Hey now, don’t be slipping those GMTs in and trying to pass them off as divers!
I would bet 99% of all diving watches never get wet but as long as you are ok with popping a rubber on (the watch that is) then for all the times you are wearing it you might as well put on a comfortable strap 👍😁
I literally never considered owning a diver that didn’t go in the pool!
Leather is actually more useful in the winter, at -20 °C a bracelet gets cold. Ive used a diver a lot to time how long it takes a car engine to warm up, so putting it on leather is often the only option.
NATO?
I literally never considered owning a diver that didn’t go in the pool!
In Aberdeen there are no backyard pools (far too cold). I work in the pro diving industry, mostly satiation diving, pro divers wear G-shocks, they don’t tend to wear mechanical watches with bezels as they get screwed up with crap. Also they get bashed up to much so too high a risk, so if they break £100 gets you a new one. Some take their watches into the chambers but they get taken off and hung up when they go diving, during decompression they unscrew the crown to make sure they equalise.
In Aberdeen there are no backyard pools (far too cold). I work in the pro diving industry, mostly satiation diving, pro divers wear G-shocks, they don’t tend to wear mechanical watches with bezels as they get screwed up with crap. Also they get bashed up to much so too high a risk, so if they break £100 gets you a new one. Some take their watches into the chambers but they get taken off and hung up when they go diving, during decompression they unscrew the crown to make sure they equalise.
That‘s seriously cool! G-Shock is definitely the best value tool watch.
Leather looks good on just about anything
The only thing more stupid than putting a leather strap on a dive watch is owning a dive watch that you don't have intensions of getting wet. News Flash: Diving Watches are fuckin ugly tools with utilitarian features to make reading the time in low light silt distorted environments possible. There is no beauty to a dive watch. Prove me wrong.
Unless you're LARPing as a diver, or plan to get the watch wet, there is no reason you can't wear a dive watch on a leather strap.
🤣I def LARP as a diver wearing my diver watch washing dishes.
The only thing more stupid than putting a leather strap on a dive watch is owning a dive watch that you don't have intensions of getting wet. News Flash: Diving Watches are fuckin ugly tools with utilitarian features to make reading the time in low light silt distorted environments possible. There is no beauty to a dive watch. Prove me wrong.
If you are looking for sympathizers to lead a revolt & make me wear a diver on an "appropriate" strap or bracelet, you'll find a few.
Most people wear the watch not because it's a diver, but because they like it. They wear a leather strap on it because they like it. If they want to shorten the life of the leather strap by diving or swimming or getting pushed into a pool by a joker, why do others care?
Most of my divers are vintage so no way will they see water, plus a nice leather strap looks great.
Dive watches are robust tools that have historically been used out of the water just as much as in it. Take for example the mountaineer Uemura and his 6105, or many of the other Seiko-sponsored climbing teams. In cold environments like that, leather can be a good choice.
Or say you want to wear your favorite diver to the office. Leather is a good choice there, and it can serve as a reminder of your aquatic pursuits. Or as a reminder of any sort of adventure.
Just because leather is a bad choice for your use case doesn't make it bad for everyone.
It only gets truly offensive with a crocodile bundstrap 😆
Hi All, I put together a flow chart to help this decisions. I hope this helps
I’m experimenting with straps on my SMP300, and I’m liking this combination. I’m sure some purists will be horrified.