OEM is an acronym which stands for ‘original equipment manufacturer’. It is used in many industries and is often a sign of enhanced quality, and in the case of the watch market a much higher price.

If I want a leather watch strap from Omega for my Seamaster I would need to pay, gulp, £370. If I actually want a buckle on the strap I need to add a further £260 for a stainless steel clasp. Not gold, silver or platinum- stainless steel. So, £630 for a leather strap… I don’t believe it is possible for a leather strap from Omega to be worth that much money even if a branded buckle adds to the sense of completeness.

For a new Seamaster you would be paying £6,000 upwards so the OEM strap represents approximately 10% of the cost of the watch which you could say, if you were really pushing it, is reasonable when you consider that the strap is a fundamental part of the look and daily use of a watch, but what happens if you take that percentage down to 0.63%?

The Carolina Gator Print Leather Watch Strap from WatchGecko retails for £38 in the UK and is available in a variety of colours; black, grey, red, blue, green, dark brown and brown. None of the colours are obvious, but they are subtle in a way that will complement a watch while not dominating the overall look.

I decided to try the grey version because I thought it would compliment my year 2000 Seamaster which has a faded bezel, and fortunately it works extremely well as a combination of subtle grey and faded blue.

The packaging is delightfully ‘barely there’ which adds to the sense that you are not paying for boxes etc that will simply sit on a shelf and with quick-release spring bars included you simply need to take the strap and install it in seconds, after you have spent too much time (very) carefully removing the strap or bracelet that is already on your watch.

It is made from calf leather and has a pleasing taper from 20mm at the lug down to 16mm at the buckle (22/18mm for the larger size) which for those of use who always want a taper is a decent set of dimensions. For those of us who really want a taper and love a Seamaster, the standard bracelet is sadly not the best choice.

I noticed immediately how striking the strap is in the hand- it kind of feels dainty in terms of size and weight, but with a sense of quality at every turn. It is a complimentary look that should never dominate any watch it is attached to and yet a mere glance offers something a little different to most other straps. The sense of quality is obvious and even though my Seamaster is getting on in years and does not have the obvious luxury aesthetic of the newer models, it suits the watch perfectly. Mine is still a £2,000 watch and a £38 strap should in theory not work, but it really does.

The strap is soft enough to be comfortable from the first wear and there should be some softening up over time which will only add to the comfort.

The buckle is slightly bigger than usual, but is still minimal if that makes sense. With strap holes that are close together you should have few issues with the sizing and the two keepers finish off what is a highly practical solution that just happens to look very impressive from all angles.

The stitching almost looks gold at times, but appears to be a patina colour which adds a touch of personality to the design and overall I cannot think of how the strap could be improved visually. It is not original in anyway, but I guess it doesn’t need to be.

I may have struck lucky with this colour combination on my particular watch, but I am genuinely struggling to find fault here which annoys me. The paranoia of writing a review with no negatives has remained strong for me over many years, but that’s the way it is. I paid for this strap myself from Amazon and I think it will be on my wrist for a long time to come. Well done WatchGecko!

Details here.

Categories: Articles, Watch Reviews, Watches