You probably haven't noticed (because why would you), but I am not a fan of aftermarket straps. I know a lot of people are, they see a new release and they can't wait to buy it and switch it out onto ten different straps... (all of which look absolutely terrible to me - especially those suede looking things with the sideways stitches near the lugs, 🤮), but that ain't me.
No, I tend to think the manufacturers know best and even on the rare occasions when they don't I still think it's best to stick with other straps from the same product/model range, hence I bought the black rubber strap for my Aquaracer WAY208C from TAG Heuer and of course it fits and fills the lugs perfectly.
So with all that said, why on Earth am I talking to you about an aftermarket strap I bought from 'Wrist Envy'? Well, it's a long story... and that story tarts way back in 2019, when I spied this CV2A80 Carrera Calibre 16 in TAG Heuer's Bicester Outlet store.
I instantly fell in love with the watch and it was a great price (or it seemed so at the time, it now seems like these titanium models are worth less than the steel versions... I can only conclude it's oversupply?) and I bought it, with a contribution from my wife, for my 50th birthday.
It would be interesting to check back and see how many times I have worn it over the last five years, I bet it would be less than 30 (which would give it about a £90 per wear cost...) and unfortunately a lot of that is down to me being precious about the super-scratchable titanium, but also the delicate looking and not terribly comfortable strap!
Correction, it's not the strap that's uncomfortable of course, it's the clasp. Which is utterly dreadful. Two reasons, first of all it's sharp on the edges and secondly the part that folds is curved too much so that instead of curving around my wrist as it's designed to, it curves into my wrist, which is bloody uncomfortable!
So, after five years I got to thinking I need to do something; either I need to find a solution or I need to get rid and use the money to buy something that I will actually want to wear.
So obviously the first thing I did was look at similar Carreras to see if there was a strap available with a pin and buckle fastening, but of course there wasn't. They all have clasps, and since the clasp was the problem I didn't feel like spending £200-300 on the off-chance that somehow they wouldn't suck as well.
So I was left with aftermarket straps as my only solution, which hardly filled me with joy. But, I reasoned, my main issue with aftermarket straps was that they change the look of the watch from what it 'should' be to something else (that's inferior). That was exactly what I wanted to avoid, so I didn't want a leather strap, or a strap with holes in it. I needed something that looked as close as humanly possible to the strap that the watch originally came on... which was tricky because the original strap is some kind of textured leather/rubber hybrid with a vaguely 'carbon fibre' aesthetic (to match the dial).
Clearly I was never going to find anything that looked like that, but I eventually managed to find a sailcloth strap with red stitching that was as close as I was going to get. The only thing was it was still £80 and I really didn't want to pay that because I had a strong inkling that I would feel nauseous as soon as I fitted it. So I looked around for something cheaper, reasoning that I could always upgrade to a better strap later once I had assured myself that I could get over this 'aftermarket' strap thing.
So I eventually settled on this 22mm strap from 'Wrist Envy' that cost me £16.50. Considering I had about a 15% confidence level in ever actually using this strap that seemed perfectly reasonable to me and so I ordered it and figured it was worth trying that before I listed the watch on eBay.
Of course, with a price like that expectations were justifiably low and to be honest when the strap arrived I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, yes it's a bit thin, a bit shiny, a bit cheap looking, but it IS cheap. Incredibly cheap. Probably about 5% of what the TAG Heuer strap/clasp costs... and when you look at it like that it's actually not bad at all.
Firstly it does fulfil my number one criteria in that it doesn't dramatically change the overall look of the watch. No, it doesn't quite have that same carbon fibre/chequered flag look, but at a glance it looks okay, and definitely looks better than most of the ones I have seen that have had alligator straps retro fitted.
The buckle is too shiny, but I like that it's black rather than polished steel and I'm sure over time it will dull down. The same goes for the strap, I think it will probably look a little better when it's worn in, it's not so stiff and shiny, and when the red stitching gets just a little bit grubby.
I don't really understand why the second strap retainer is a little bigger than the first, I guess it's because the strap is tapered, but it isn't tapered that much and I would have to have a very small wrist for it to be necessary.
Comfort wise, it's a yes from me. It felt much better immediately and I've already worn the Carrera two days in a row which I don't think I ever have since I had it - because usually my wrist needs a break from the irritation! It's crazy that I spent nearly £3000 buying this watch and I've hardly worn the bloody thing, so now I guess is its time to shine.
My plan now is to wear it for a bit and make sure that I want to keep it (selling is still an option at the present time) but if I decide to keep it then I will probably look for a better aftermarket strap that is a bit thicker and a bit more 'premium' but still with a pin and buckle fastening (perhaps even with a titanium buckle). I'm sure there must be other options out there as sailcloth is quite a common material now.
But don't go thinking I've changed my mind about 'aftermarket' straps, because I haven't. In this instance it's proven a necessity and I can just about tolerate it, but I won't be buying any aftermarket straps for my other watches. I can see why it would appeal to vintage watch enthusiasts, since older watches tend to have crappy/broken bracelets or came on generic looking leather straps in the first place, but for modern watches I really think it's best to stick with 'factory' settings!
No comments:
Post a Comment