History Of The Nato Watch Straps

The NATO strap for watches is a fascinating piece of the story to at least. They're not just a recent trend.

The straps for watches, which are extremely durable, were originally designed to be used by soldiers. The first model referred to as"the" Leather NATO strap (In Norwegian “lr nato-rem”) was created just after World War I. The first design was extensively used by allies' military forces during World War II, though they were not officially named NATO straps in the past.

lr nato-rem

Image Source: Google

The current NATO name for straps comes from the wartime alliance formed by the 29 North American and European countries just after the conclusion of World War II. The alliance established a standard NATO numeral system that was used for military gear, including watch straps that were issued to standard issue.

While the NATO strap for watches that is widely available nowadays comes in a vast variety of fashionable colors, sizes, and styles the original military specification strap was available only in one color (admiralty gray). It was made of chrome-plated brass with a buckle with a specific measurement of width (28 cm) as well as width (2 millimeters) in thickness (1.2 millimeters). 

A pre-military NATO timepiece strap can be seen permanently displayed in the Australian War Memorial in the "sinking of the Centaur" section.

Through the years, NATO watch strap designs that were based on different regimental military colors were developed. The designs of these regimentals often featured stripes of colors, leading to the creation of the popular selection of stripes that are popular on NATO watch straps of today.

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