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Ed White 321 - leather strap or leave on bracelet?

VizslaFriend
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I find the bracelet of my Ed White 321 the most comfortable bracelet I have ever tried (even better than the new 3861 bracelet). It looks fantastic, it is solid yet light, and it wraps around my wrist like no other. In summer, I wear it in the extended position, and in the fall, I change it back to the other clasp hole, and thus, I don’t even miss the micro-adjust feature.

The bracelet is actually so comfortable that I didn’t have the urge to change it to leather, even though I change the straps of my other watches all the time. I even have some 19 mm straps lying around, but I never experimented with them on the Ed White.

However, Omega created two wonderful leather straps for the newest Railmaster. These are classic style, unpadded, and come with a deployant that I prefer over pin buckles. Here are two mockups of how these straps would look with the Ed White:

SCR-20250823-kzsd.webp

Questions to Ed White owners:
  • Have you changed the bracelet on your watch to leather? If so, how do you like it?
  • What is your favorite leather strap for the Ed White? Alligator, calf, suede, nubuck, or other?
  • How do you like the above combos? Do you prefer black or brown?
  • Practical question: considering that I love to wear my Ed White on its bracelet, and combining it with your own experience, how fast do you think I would switch it back to a bracelet? 🙂
 
Evitzee
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Have had mine on its original bracelet since March 2022, and I normally put my Speedmasters on leather/textile straps, but feel no desire to change the EW. The brown one above looks interesting. Try one and see what happens, maybe you'll like it, or not. If I were ever going to change it would need to be with an Omega deployant.
 
ErichKeane
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Evitzee Evitzee
Have had mine on its original bracelet since March 2022, and I normally put my Speedmasters on leather/textile straps, but feel no desire to change the EW. The brown one above looks interesting. Try one and see what happens, maybe you'll like it, or not. If I were ever going to change it would need to be with an Omega deployant.
Haven't had the Ed White nearly as long as you, but every word you said (other than that) is exactly my feelings here(though another exception: Now 3/5 speedies are on bracelet, so what do I know?). That brown leather looks fantastic, and I'd love to wear one on deployant.... BUT so far have loved the EW bracelet.
 
VizslaFriend
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Evitzee Evitzee
Have had mine on its original bracelet since March 2022, and I normally put my Speedmasters on leather/textile straps, but feel no desire to change the EW. The brown one above looks interesting. Try one and see what happens, maybe you'll like it, or not. If I were ever going to change it would need to be with an Omega deployant.
Thanks! I like how you put it: “no desire to change”
 
VizslaFriend
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ErichKeane ErichKeane
Haven't had the Ed White nearly as long as you, but every word you said (other than that) is exactly my feelings here(though another exception: Now 3/5 speedies are on bracelet, so what do I know?). That brown leather looks fantastic, and I'd love to wear one on deployant.... BUT so far have loved the EW bracelet.
My white Speedmaster and my EW were so far permanently on bracelet, my CK2998 pulsometer on black cordura with deployany, but my 3861 hesalite changes its dress frequently - from rubber to leather to NATO to another rubber or leather… I guess I am not alone 😎
 
VizslaFriend
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YY77 YY77
How about something in between;

PXL_20240513_163202839.RAW-01.COVER.webp


Here it's on my trilogy;
20250516_150931~2.webp
I like how your strap matches the color of the lume, and it looks great with the trilogy!
However, I feel the EW needs something cleaner / simpler…
 
ErichKeane
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VizslaFriend VizslaFriend
My white Speedmaster and my EW were so far permanently on bracelet, my CK2998 pulsometer on black cordura with deployany, but my 3861 hesalite changes its dress frequently - from rubber to leather to NATO to another rubber or leather… I guess I am not alone 😎
I've got white and Tokyo-Yellow and Ed White on Bracelet, my 1861 hesalite speedy on black suede-deployant, and my 2-tone Sedna Gold on alligator.

Each fits a certain 'vibe' kinda perfectly, so they still manage to get wrist time: I swap watches rather than bracelets/straps 😁
 
VizslaFriend
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ErichKeane ErichKeane
I've got white and Tokyo-Yellow and Ed White on Bracelet, my 1861 hesalite speedy on black suede-deployant, and my 2-tone Sedna Gold on alligator.

Each fits a certain 'vibe' kinda perfectly, so they still manage to get wrist time: I swap watches rather than bracelets/straps 😁
Excellent perspective - thanks! 🤠

To add, I often change my watches during the day, for example when the rubber strap of my SMP starts to bug me then I change to another watch. Or, when I have difficulty to see the hands of my CK2998 in the afternoon. These never happen with my EW, it is just such a pleasure to wear all day 😎
 
Indices
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Apologies for the photo dump, as with most Speedies the Ed White looks great on a huge variety of straps, from Rubber Tropics to Natos. Most 20mm straps will easily fit.

My favourite is a “Taurillon Brown Speedy Leather Watch Strap” from Bulang and Sons, for some reason I don’t have a photo of it, but the colour and quality of the leather is A1.

IMG_7840.webp IMG_9453.webp IMG_6945.webp IMG_9534.webp IMG_6002.webp IMG_4791.webp IMG_1832.webp IMG_1793.webp IMG_1809.webp IMG_1717.webp IMG_1698.webp IMG_1568.webp IMG_1813.webp
 
Eve
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Dan S Dan S
The OP straps are ugly and cheap looking, IMO.
Those are the OEM Omega straps as far as i see. Also very expensive 😉
 
Dan S
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Eve Eve
Those are the OEM Omega straps as far as i see. Also very expensive 😉
Yes. Ugly, cheap-looking OEM Omega straps.
 
Evitzee
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There are so many strap options now, either pre-made or bespoke, that put the bland Omega OEM straps to shame, at far less cost. Some like to keep their watch all OEM, including the strap. It makes no sense to me, but to each their own.
 
VizslaFriend
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Evitzee Evitzee
There are so many strap options now, either pre-made or bespoke, that put the bland Omega OEM straps to shame, at far less cost. Some like to keep their watch all OEM, including the strap. It makes no sense to me, but to each their ow
Indices Indices
Apologies for the photo dump, as with most Speedies the Ed White looks great on a huge variety of straps, from Rubber Tropics to Natos. Most 20mm straps will easily fit.

My favourite is a “Taurillon Brown Speedy Leather Watch Strap” from Bulang and Sons, for some reason I don’t have a photo of it, but the colour and quality of the leather is A1.

IMG_7840.webp IMG_9453.webp IMG_6945.webp IMG_9534.webp IMG_6002.webp IMG_4791.webp IMG_1832.webp IMG_1793.webp IMG_1809.webp IMG_1717.webp IMG_1698.webp IMG_1568.webp IMG_1813.webp
Wow, fantastic combinations! Many thanks for sharing as an inspiration! 😎
 
VizslaFriend
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Dan S Dan S
Yes. Ugly, cheap-looking OEM Omega straps.
I will take a look in person. The brown one looks nice to me, and some of the OEM straps I have seen are high quality straps.
True, I didn’t like the brown strap that came with my Seamaster 300 bronze gold, but an Omega alligator strap I bought is excellent and high quality, and it uses the OEM deployant which I really like.
Also, the cordura straps made by Omega are really nice, much better than the custom ones made by Jean Rousseau (and cheaper).

Regarding price, I find the pricing of the Omega OEM leather straps OK. As a comparison, I bought two straps from Bulang over the years, and with shipping and Swiss import customs/tax, each was around 200 CHF, which is not much cheaper than the Omega OEM straps. Also, it is very difficult to find good quality aftermarket straps using the OEM deployant, which is a bonus point for the OEM straps IMO 🙃
 
VizslaFriend
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Indices Indices
Apologies for the photo dump, as with most Speedies the Ed White looks great on a huge variety of straps, from Rubber Tropics to Natos. Most 20mm straps will easily fit.

My favourite is a “Taurillon Brown Speedy Leather Watch Strap” from Bulang and Sons, for some reason I don’t have a photo of it, but the colour and quality of the leather is A1.

IMG_7840.webp IMG_9453.webp IMG_6945.webp IMG_9534.webp IMG_6002.webp IMG_4791.webp IMG_1832.webp IMG_1793.webp IMG_1809.webp IMG_1717.webp IMG_1698.webp IMG_1568.webp IMG_1813.webp
Hi @Indices, after trying all these straps, would you consider any of them as comfortable as the EW bracelet? I guess this was my main question 🙂
 
Indices
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VizslaFriend VizslaFriend
Hi @Indices, after trying all these straps, would you consider any of them as comfortable as the EW bracelet? I guess this was my main question 🙂
On a nice quality strap the watch wears much the same; the bracelet is light weight and I have found an amazing fit with it, have not had to adjust it since I sized it a few years ago.

I like to change up the strap more from an enjoyment of matching my suit or attire- or just to mix it up.

Most watches I struggle with comfort settings due to having a wrist that swells a reasonable deal, the small length of the links mean finding a fit that suits your wrist is easy.

I tend to also wear natos or straps when I’m heading out hiking, camping etc. moreso that I don’t scratch up the bracelet too much.
 
T
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Not helpful since the lug to lug size is different but the 3861 on the black nylon from omega is so comfortable.
 
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