How to change a watch strap
Quick release with your thumb, a spring bar tool for classic straps, or a one-piece strap threaded under the bars: three ways to swap a strap in a minute without a scratch.
4 min read
Before you start
Changing a watch strap takes a minute once you know which of the three systems you are dealing with. Lay the watch face down on a soft cloth so the crystal cannot be scratched, and work under good light. Every strap we sell comes with its spring bars, so you only need the strap itself and, for the classic method, a small tool. The one thing that must be right is the width: check it on the lug width guide before you begin, a 20 mm strap goes on a 20 mm watch and nothing else.
Method 1: quick release, no tool
Most straps on straps01 use quick-release spring bars. Turn the strap over: near each end you will see a tiny lever sitting in a slot. That lever is attached to one tip of the spring bar.
- Hold the watch case with one hand.
- With the thumb of the other hand, slide the lever towards the centre of the strap. The bar tip retracts and the strap end drops out of the lug.
- Repeat on the other end, then take the new strap.
- Seat one tip of the new bar in its lug hole, pull the lever, slide the other tip into the opposite hole and let go. Give the strap a gentle tug: it must not move.
Method 2: the spring bar tool
Older straps and many bracelets use plain spring bars without a lever. You then need a spring bar tool, a small rod with a forked tip at one end and a pin at the other. We sell it with a bag of spare bars in spring bars and tools.
- Slide the forked tip between the strap and the lug until it rests on the shoulder of the spring bar.
- Push the bar towards the middle of the strap while lifting the strap end slightly. The tip pops out of its hole.
- Keep a finger over the bar as it comes free: it is under tension and likes to fly across the room.
- Fit the new strap with the bars supplied: one tip in a hole, compress the other tip with the fork, lower it in front of its hole and release. Tug to check.
If your watch has drilled lugs, small holes on the outside of the lugs, use the pin end instead: push it through the hole and the bar retracts from the outside, with no risk of scratching the lug.
Fitting the new strap
Whichever method removed the old strap, fitting the new one is the same. The spring bar is already inside the end of the new strap, its two tips sticking out on each side.
- Seat one tip in the hole of the left lug, holding the strap at a slight angle.
- Compress the other tip, with the quick-release lever or the fork of the tool, and lower the strap end between the lugs until the tip clicks into the right hole.
- Pull firmly on the strap: nothing should move.
- Check the orientation: buckle half at twelve o'clock, holes half at six o'clock.
Method 3: one-piece straps
A NATO or any one-piece strap does not replace the spring bars: it passes under them. Leave both bars fitted between the lugs.
- Thread the free end of the strap under the first spring bar, from the top of the case.
- Pull it across the caseback and under the second spring bar.
- Feed the end through the keepers and the buckle. Adjust so that the case sits centred on your wrist.
Because the strap runs under the case, the watch sits a little higher on the wrist than with a two-piece strap. It is also the safest system: if one bar fails, the watch stays attached by the other.
Three details that save a scratch
- Work on a cloth, face down, so the tool never touches the crystal.
- Choose the bar diameter to match the lug hole: 1.5 mm is the usual size, 1.8 mm on many diving watches. A bar that is too thin can pull out.
- Curved-end bracelets and straps are made for one case shape. Straight-end straps fit any watch of the right width.
Once the strap is on, give each end a firm tug. If nothing moves, you are done: the same watch, a different day. Pick the next one in 20 mm, 22 mm or every width.
Questions
Do I need a tool to change a watch strap?
Not if the strap has quick-release spring bars, which is the case for most straps on straps01. You slide a small lever with your thumb. Plain spring bars need a spring bar tool, sold with spare bars in our accessories.
What size spring bars should I use?
The length matches your lug width, for example 20 mm bars for a 20 mm watch. The diameter matches the lug holes: 1.5 mm is standard, 1.8 mm on many diving watches. Every strap we sell comes with its bars.
Can I put a NATO strap on any watch?
Yes, as long as the width matches. A one-piece strap threads under the existing spring bars, so it fits every watch with lugs, including those without drilled lugs.
Which way round does a two-piece strap go?
The buckle half goes on the twelve o'clock side of the case and the half with the holes on the six o'clock side, so the buckle sits on the outside of your wrist.
