Artem watch straps
So you’ve bought yourself a fancy watch and it’s time to give it new shoes. Type ‘high quality watch strap’ into google and lose yourself for hours.
I’ve written before about how the brain works here amongst some of us in the watch community. For some reason it’s ok to drop thousands of dollars on watch but when it comes to a strap, every cent gets scrutinized and it’s apparently quite ok to attach a $10 Ali Express strap to your expensive time piece. I think this equation is not quite right and I’ve mentioned this previously in my Bas & Lokes review. |
A little while ago I came across another Australian company that make luxury straps, this time from sailcloth. I’ve never been a huge fan of this material, it can be a little hard and inflexible and every strap I’ve had from this material seems to fray around the usual stress points.
Artem straps in Adelaide, Australia claims to have solved these problems and would like some of your hard earned money. There are some lofty claims on the site, so let’s have a closer look at a couple of these straps. |
Sailcloth watch straps
I’ve had the 22mm attached to my Helm Vanuatu for a while and that’s not a watch that I baby, I strap this on whilst hiking/gym/walking the dog etc. It’s really tough and I love not having to worry about it on my wrist. So, the Artem strap has been subjected to the same treatment.
First impression, these are extremely well made and worth every dollar. All stress points, including the option of a quick release spring bar seems sturdy enough to last for years. |
Initially, the straps did feel a little stiff but a quick few bends and wearing them in for approximately two days and they felt perfect to me. I think it’s worth remembering here that there’s not one strap, ever, where I haven’t had to do this.
The inside material is soft and comfortable and absorbs the inevitable creases from bending around your wrist. The outside shows no sign at all of bending, creases or even light use. All straps are supplied with quality spring bars which again you can’t underestimate since a dodgy spring bar could mean disaster if one fails and your watch takes a costly dive towards concrete. I also really like the tang buckle supplied, it’s signed with the Artem logo and designed to take up minimum space. If you want something a little different, you can also order this tang buckle in PVD black. There is also a deployant clasp buckle that looks excellent. I didn’t get a chance to try those two but based on what I’ve seen so far, I’d have no hesitation in recommending either. |
Ok so it’s all well and good for me to go on about how great these straps are in person, but you don’t even know if I’m being paid for this or not, so how can you actually verify any of these claims before you go an order a couple?
Good news dear reader, I have a tool that absolutely does not lie, my trusty macro lens. A macro lens will find every single flaw. It’s brought various watches to their knees with every minute flaw being exposed. Said flaws often not visible to the naked eye. |
The way these straps have been made is clearly excellent. I’ll let you peruse the images below to make your own mind up.
Right, so we’ve established that you absolutely get what you pay for here, are there any other advantages when it comes to ordering a great strap for your watch? I have one more, and I find it just as important as good quality. Sizes.
I have a 19cm wrist. It’s on the upper end of medium or even large depending on your perspective. This means that standard straps are usually on their last hole and it feels out of proportion. When ordering your Artem strap, you have the option of specifying:
One last point about customization, you can order these straps in black, grey, white & red stitching. So whilst the strap itself can be had in ‘any colour so long as it is black’ there is some room here for matching the details of your favourite time piece. FYI, black looks awesome. |
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Conclusion
To me, there’s no question that you get what you pay for here at USD85. I don’t mind paying a premium for accessories so long as you can clearly see where your money is going and that is the case here.
If you also happen to be based in the southern hemisphere, like me, bonus points for not having to wait weeks for delivery. We are lucky as a community to have a small but passionate company like Artem straps give us even more choice and quality when it comes to customizing our time pieces. So let’s support them. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next but in the meantime, if you’re after a water resistant, comfortable, sail cloth watch strap, here’s your new destination: Artem watch straps |