Strap on a Pelagos

I always like leather straps on my watches. So when I got my Pelagos, I wondered if it was possible to have a leather strap mounted on to the watch. Yes, you can use the normal way and just mount a leather strap, but that could leave a large gap between the top of the strap and the case. I wanted to use the end links just like when you mount the original rubber strap. 

So it was off to my favourite haunt and see if those guys could help me. We ended with a first prototype. I have been testing the prototype and will be going back to them to have a second one made. 

The leather strap is a simple black calf leather strap. That is the basis of our experiment. 

Looks like any normal leather strap. The strap is 22mm along the length of the strap. I opted for a longer strap because I like some tail. It comes with two floating keepers. The buckle side is 85mm long and the hole side is 155mm. 

It is not an ammo strap. It has all the ammo marking but non of the toughness of ammo.

The two floating keepers. They are 11mm wide and is well made. Tough rough stitching. 

The hole end. Well made strap. 

The buckle is vintage buckle from real ammo pouch. 

Top part of the strap. 

Sealed edges. The strap has a standard thickness across the length of the strap, which is 4mm.

OK the important aspect of the strap. How is it mounted to the watch and end link and are there any issues with the design. 

The strap started like as a standard strap. We then trim of the edges to make a tongue to insert into the end link. The tongue is 12mm wide. The concern is if it is wide enough for it not to break. The thickness of the strap (loop) is 1 mm thick. I have been using the watch and strap over a week now and everything seems OK. 

We are looking at another design for the strap, i.e. we will not start with a standard strap but one design specifically for the watch. More on this later....

How the strap sits as viewed from the back. Yes, the case back is badly scratched. I do not baby my watches and the Pelagos is a tool watch.

The other side. 

Issues? Well, since we started with a standard strap and cut to size (a couple of times), the edges have started to 'open'. Maybe it is the choice of 'open' stitching as opposed to a 'box' stitch. We will try out different combination and experiment further. 

The edges or tip opening up....

We will continue until we get this right. Who knows, maybe one day we can offer it to the general public.