Hello, My name is Gareth, and after a long held obsession with the Omega Aqua Terra I've recently taken the plunge and bought one with the blue face with a 41.5 mm case. It came on a bracelet, but I'm keen to try it on genuine Omega leather/ aligator straps in order to achieve different looks. I prefer deployants to tang and buckle, so my questions are, where might I find a reliable source of genuine Omega deployants and straps? The lug width on my Aqua Terra is, I think 20mm so is there any relationship between that measurement and the size of deployant that I should get? Thank you in advance for your help and advice. I would post some photographs, but I'm a complete Luddite and haven't the first idea how to do it, so please don't ask me.
The correct deployant depends up the width of the strap at the tang or buckle end. The lugs may be 20mm but straps may taper down to 18mm or 16mm. So, Omega offers two deployants, 18mm or 16mm. The Omega deployant is expensive but is well worth it to many folks. Straps will last longer and the deployants makes taking the watch on and off much easier. Makes it very comfortable on the wrist as well. Any Omega dealer will have (access to) OEM straps and deployants. Or They come up for sale on the forum from time to time. Finding genuine ones (either straps or deployants) on eBay is risky because there are a lot of replicas. There are unbranded aftermarket deployants of decent quality. Omega makes straps that are specifically designed for use with the deployant. They are different than those that are made for a tang buckle. However you can adapt other brands of straps to use with a deployant . But you have to watch the relative length of each half of the strap especially the 12 o'clock side to position the deployant properly on your wrist. And the buckle end will fit a little differently. And finally straps that are heavily padded might not fit into the deployant.
I own a couple of OEM Omega deployant clasps and a Blancpain deployant that is virtually identical to the Omega clasps except for the logo. The problem that I have with these clasps is that it is very difficult to find straps when you want to change up the look of your watch by changing out the strap, or when the original strap is near the end of its life. Might I suggest that before you invest an ocean of money in an Omega OEM strap and deployant clasp, you investigate an aftermarket strap and clasp. While OEM Omega straps are very well made, there are some aftermarket companies like Camille Fournet and ABP that make straps that are every bit as nice (and maybe a bit better) for less money. Aftermarket clasps by such companies as Axel Jost, Hadley Roma, and Bear Uhrband are also well made and comfortable to wear. The advantage of these aftermarket clasps is that they are designed to be worn with conventional straps. There's a good chance that you can get 2 Camille Fournet straps and a pair of Hadley Roma push-button deployant clasps for the price of a single Omega strap and clasp. It's just a thought.
You basically have 2 options: to invest in Omega OEM strap for AT (20:18mm) and in OEM deployant through AD, or to go aftermarket. The first option: Omega alligator strap for AT is very high quality but keep in mind that you should change it every 2 years wearing the watch regularly. Omega deployant is for lifetime. The aftermarket problem is that straps of comparable quality from above mentioned CF or ABP cost the same if not more than OEM. And I still haven't seen any aftermarket deployant which is the the same quality as of Omega. My solution: Hirsch Viscount that is the only waterproof alligator strap. It comes with a tang buckle. You can buy Hirsch deployant for cheap but while quality is good they are pretty fat, to the extent it obstructs working with keyboard. I personally don't like deployants. They look cool but dig into my wrist. Have fun. Other Hirsch Viscount Camille Fournet (calfskin)
Doesn't work correctly. B&S straps are too thick at the pin end, and too short at the clasp sprinbar end. Best bet is getting one custom made using similar leather, stitching and finishing.
Thank you, much appreciated as had been considering this combo. Would straps from TwoStitch also suffer form the same problem?
Most likely, although can't be for sure the exact locations and extent of incompatibility having never handled two stitch straps in the flesh. As I said before unless the straps specifically state that their designed to work with Omega clasps you better get it custom made, or ask the custom maker if they know how to make one work with the OEM Omega clasp. Search here , on WuS, and google, do your homework, read up and maybe even purchase one or two just for measurement, as while the Omega clasp is IMHO the best and most comfortable on the market it requires straps with tight tolerances to work correctly.
I faced a similar quandry and ending up going up with OEM clasp and having a custom strap made by Peter Watch Acc <[email protected]> in Thailand. He has a good sense of the thickness and flexibility charactersitics necessary to fit the OEM clasp and I got to specify details like length, leather type, color & lining. Good luck.
I swapped the metal bracelet on my Co-Axial 44.25 Speedmaster for the black leather strap that came with it, and I love it. Especially the deployment clasp. Today I decided to try out the other straps the seller threw in for free - two brown leather, a black nylon, and a navy blue with yellow stripe. Turns out I am not a fan of brown leather. I also ordered a black/gray NATO strap (James Bond model) and tried that on. Love the colors, but the NATOs add a lot of bulk at the lugs and that's just not for me. I ordered a cheap one from Amazon before getting the real one from Omega, and I'm SO glad I did. Wasting $12 vs wasting $300 is much easier to stomach. Anywho, it looks like I'll be going back to the standard black leather with deployment clasp. The plain black nylon two-piece is nice and I'm trying that right now. I think I'm ordering the leather with white stitching as seen in the Snoopy (white dial) and maybe the standard nylon strap on the DSotM.