Anyone ever see a plain 19mm buckle?

rkny18 · May 17, 2023

I have the Omega 20mm NATO in coated black on my Speedmaster, and I love it.

I plan to get a 19mm one for my IWC Mark XV, and I’ve been searching high and low for either a plain or signed IWC buckle in 19mm to swap out for the Omega buckle, but no luck.

Seems like the straps are made by Jean Rousseau, so my plan is to try to get them to sell me one of their plain buckles, but I wanted to check with you guys in case there’s an alternative I’ve overlooked.

Surely I can’t be the only person who has wanted to wear an Omega NATO on a different watch and doesn’t want an Omega stamped buckle…

Syrte · May 17, 2023

As someone who was a bit of a strap maniac, I have to say I’m afraid what you’re looking for does not exist- unless indeed Jean Rousseau has what you want.

I’ve never seen an odd sized NATO being sold off the shelf, and even less an odd sized buckle. Standard buckles have even sizes;
I’ve always seen odd sized straps come with slightly narrower buckles, eg 19mm strap/ 18mm buckle, or 13mm strap/ 12mm buckle. (For ladies).

I have a British military watch with a 19mm lug width, and I have always worn it with a 20mm NATO, leather works well, I found very nice wild boar leather NATOs on Ebay, also like the paratrooper strap from CheapNatostraps.

The key is to find a material which will be pliable enough to fit in a slightly narrower lug.

If you really want to splurge on a (very) expensive and super classy NATO strap, here’s a good source (no tie to the seller):
https://www.abpconcept.paris/collec...cuir-leather-alligator-crocodile-sauvage-wild

Doc Olives · May 17, 2023

Not sure if they’ll have exactly what you want, but https://www.buckleguy.com/ has a healthy selection of .75 inch plain, unsigned buckles, which is almost exactly 19mm. I’ve bought 2-3 to use with vintage watches where I didn’t want “Hodinkee” or “Veblenist” or something on the buckle. Good look in the hunt.

Syrte · May 17, 2023

Doc Olives
Not sure if they’ll have exactly what you want, but https://www.buckleguy.com/ has a healthy selection of .75 inch plain, unsigned buckles, which is almost exactly 19mm. I’ve bought 2-3 to use with vintage watches where I didn’t want “Hodinkee” or “Veblenist” or something on the buckle. Good look in the hunt.

Those are very cool - thanks for posting (learn everyday👍)

BLOW UP · May 17, 2023

Just to throw another potential option out there, although it might seem a bit sacrilegious😉 if I remember correctly the Omega logo is fairly shallow on the NATO buckle, so as long as there's enough depth (I'm fairly sure there would be) it would be straightforward to file down flat to the lowest point of the logo without compromising the structural integrity.

Anyone ever see a plain 19mm buckle?

rkny18

Syrte

Doc Olives

Syrte

BLOW UP

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