Hi folks, I've been wearing my new Diver 300m with a nato most of the summer and just swapped back on the bracelet for the rest of the year. I was surprised to see scratches and scuffs along the top and bottom of the caseback down the middle where the nato strap sits. Had a summer of beach time, camping and other water activities. I assume it is probably from some grit/sand getting caught up in the fabric. I'm using a premium "seat belt" feeling strap too.
Anyway so much for being worried about scratching up the bracelet.. I think the caseback scratches are more annoying. Oh well I'm over it now but was wondering if any of you have noticed this with natos.
Here are some wrist shots from this summer.

 

I have indeed. I haven't run a nato on my seamaster yet, but all the watches that I have worn with natos for any solid length of time developed those same exact scratches you experienced.

 

That may be one of the reason I don’t wear my watches on nato straps. Once I convince myself that such marks add character or at least become tolerable to me, I’ll open up to nato world to explore that territory.

 

I like the nato because it gave that care free sensation of not worrying that you are going to scratch up your bracelet. Lesson learned I suppose. They were also very comfortable and made the watch a lot lighter.

Anyone know if during a full service if Omega deals with scratches on the caseback or is it only on the bracelet? For now though I am enjoying the character I've added to the watch.

 

I own five or six NATOs and wear them on my Speedmaster all the time; don't have any caseback scratches from them. They're all genuine Omega though; I don't know if others made from cheaper materials are more abrasive. Pics would be useful here.

 

Pop on a caseback protector, solved.

https://www.amazon.com/Line-Watch-Caseback-Protection-Stickers/dp/B015BR3HVA

 

Great to see a diver getting all scratched up

Caseback scratches easy fix, just buy a new one at the next service to keep spare.

 

Any photos of the scratches?

 

Always keep the caseback sticker on if you are going to use a Nato.

 

Is it the NATO that scratches the watch or the specks that are collected after going to the beach or something? Because i have the NATO but havent used it on my current SMP yet.

 

Nato straps don’t scratch casebacks by itself but if you get dirt or sand between the strap and the watch then it’s another case. As said protection stickers is a good idea.

 

NATOs do scratch as you can see it on many dress watches also.

It’s the folded corners along the edge of the strap that scratch like in the picture below


But looking at a current case back you shouldn’t have that much worry.

Maybe @cjoedaniel can put some pic,s up..

 

I thought only Perlon straps were scratching the caseback... Good to know even if it is not really huge

 

I'm using an ultra premium blue shark nato that feels softer than the omega ones. I'm guessing it's not the cloth but rather grit or sand from my adventures. Working on getting a good pic as the scratches are more apparent in certain lighting.

 

Shure you can find signs of wearing nato on a watch for a long time but I don’t call that scratches. I had this old Seiko diver a couple of years ago. I can imagine all dirt imbedded i the strap once used

 

This is totally to be expected. However, as long as it hasn't totally obliterated an official engraving that proves the provenance of your vintage military-issued watch, I'd say it's nothing to worry about.

 

I’m no expert but that looks very much like sand/salt that’s been caught up in the strap fabric. If you wear NATOs a lot it’s a good idea to keep them clean even in everyday use; put the strap in a sock and run it on a gentle 30° cycle.

 

Nylon isn't hard enough to scratch steel... This is completely avoidable by simply washing your NATO straps every couple days. The strap is collecting all of your dead skin cells, sweat, salt water, sand, dirt and other debris. Sweat/salt in particular can be very hard on steel. All of those things combined rubbing against the caseback of you watch is the issue.

Here's a photo of my Speedmaster and some of our well-worn straps. This Speedy has lived on various NATOs for years as I prefer them to the bracelet. You can see there are no scratches from the straps, I just swap straps every couple days and wash the one that I've been wearing.

The only real wear on the caseback is from wearing the watch on a bracelet - my wrist/sweat has rubbed off some of the paint or the bracelet has rubbed against the caseback when setting the watch down.

Just wash your straps regularly and enjoy them.

 

I picked up some "red line" stickers ages ago because of the wear from NATOs on a few of my watches. The stickers solved the problem and were fine with the NATO, but I hated the feel of them against my skin, so ultimately went with love scratches over nasty plastic. Too much of a band-aid in the end, and I like to wear the watches I wear.

 

Thanks for all of the feedback. Who would have thought you had to frequently wash natos. I do take showers with them on. I'll rethink things next summer and decide if I stick with the bracelet and just put up with sand in the adjustable clasp.
Good to know there is a supportive and informative forum here!