Luxury watches are the most diverse and customisable wrist accessory you can adorn yourself with! Watches come in a near limitless range of styles, shapes, and sizes, and have a huge plethora of varying features for different usages. Some watches will tell you your altitude, while others will allow you to dive to great depths remaining waterproof; and, of course, some watches are simply there to provide a gorgeous fashion statement. But for many watches, the first major decision you’ll need to make it whether to opt for a metal link bracelet or a traditional leather strap. Let’s have a quick look over the pros and cons of leather and metal watch straps:

Leather Watch Straps

Pro: Comfort

Leather straps come with one huge benefit: comfort. Leather is a much more comfortable material to have against your skin than hard steel, and over time it will soften further and better mould to the shape of your wrist! Leather straps are undoubtedly the more comfortable choice.

Pro: Perfect Fit

An additional benefit to the leather strap being soft and comfortable is that you can achieve a perfect fit! With metal straps, the ability to adjust the fit is restricted by the size of the links. With a leather strap you can punch a hole exactly where is needed to fit perfectly on your wrist.

Con: Less Durable

Leather is far less durable than metal and, over time, a leather strap will wear down and may begin to fray at the edges, while the holes may also stretch and grow over time.

Metal Watch Straps

Pro: Very Strong and Durable

Unlike leather, metal straps have the benefit of being incredibly strong. A steel watch strap will last you a lifetime with proper care, whereas leather will always wear over time.

Pro: Better Aesthetics

The aesthetical value of leather and metal straps are, of course, down to personal preference! However, metal watch straps have the benefit of matching your watch’s dial, while leather straps can only match the colour. Metal straps will also maintain their perfect aesthetics for longer because of their durability.

Con: More Expensive to Replace

Metal straps will definitely last longer, but eventually may need replacing as pins become loose or the metal coating wears down. Replacement leather straps are exceedingly cheap to purchase but replacement metal bracelets for watches will definitely set you back more!