I just bought a Seamaster diver 300M and am interested in an Omega Nato strap. I am not sure if they require different spring bars. I chatted with Omega on line and they said the Natos don't ship with different spring bars nor could they tell me if the bracelet spring bars would work. They DID try to sell me another watch, so I terminated the chat.

Do I need special spring bars and how do I get them. Seems that there are many Omega spring bar options.

 

The 3 I have came with spring bars but they were no different to the ones I already had to the naked eye. I use mine with my bracelet spring bars so I don’t think you would have an issue.

I’m sure I’m wrong and will be corrected, but I’ve never had an issue.

 

if u want to use a nato strap same or larger by 1 mm, the u have to get the curved one so it will give a nice look and minimize the friction between the lugs. i did the same with my PO 007 skyfall. i used 007 nato from spectrum one ( which is 22mm) and the 007 PO is 21, and looks stunning..
hope this can help.
tnx

 

They do need different bars than the bracelet, and they all used to come with a set. It’s a shame they stopped doing this.

the reason why you need different bars is because the bracelet uses a 19mm spring bar instead of 20mm. If you’ve ever accidentally used a 20mm bar for the bracelet then tried to remove it with the tight fit of the SEL, you’ll understand why.

the NATO strap should take a 20mm spring bar for that watch, just like if it was on a leather strap. And you might need curved spring bars to allow the strap to fit — I know on the last gen the spring bars fit so close to the case I couldn’t get an Omega NATO on with straight bars. And you definitely need curved bars if you are using one of the leather straps. Otherwise, you are going to scrape the leather and leave a permanent mark.

 

Mine did not come with spring bars, used the ones that held the bracelet (PloProf 600).

 

Thanks for the responses. Very soon after I ordered the strap I read about different spring bars. I cancelled the order but they shipped it anyway! My saving grace is that the AD is run by a nice young chap who lives near me. In fact, he delivered the watch to me. The AD is downtown and my disability makes going there impossible. I am 100% confident the AD will get it sorted and source whatever spring bars I need if they are not shipped with the watch. If a different bar is required you'd think they'd supply them.

 

Hi - hopefully I'm able to help out the community with some details of Omega NATO straps I recently purchased for my Speedmaster Racing Co-Axial Master Chronometer directly from the Omega online store.

The straps come in beautiful packaging from the Secaucus, NJ Swatch Group Center as seen in photos. There are two sets of new spring bars included with each strap, though I ended up using the same bars from the Omega leather straps I had on my timepiece previously. There were no fit issues threading the NATO through those bars.

The straps themselves are soft, high quality nylon and the added touch of Omega badging on the metal pieces helps differentiate these from 3rd party manufacturers. The only downside I see is that the glossy finish on the metal pieces will scratch rather easily, but that is to be expected.

Let me know if I can help answer any questions!

 

Nice pairing of NATO and your timepiece! It took me a while to move to a NATO strap as well but the wearability and comfort is there, especially during the warmer months.

 

Thanks 007. I hope i will be able to get it sorted. I will advise what I receive and how it works out.

 

Oh wow, mine did not come like that, I bought it from an AD and all I got was the nylon bag with the strap.
Did they "steal" my case?

 

I purchased mine directly from the Omega website, so I should correct my post to say that it came from the Swatch Group center in Secaucus, NJ. Interesting that they don't provide the same level of packaging from a boutique.

 

I ordered mine from the website. It just departed the scenic paradise known as Newark NJ, near where I grew up, to the extent that I did.

 

Can anyone who bought his Omega NATO at an AD confirm if he got it in the same case as OP?

 

My understanding is this is only provided when ordering online.

 

i agree

 

My Nato came in the red box when I ordered online, spring bars were present, I also received an Omega tool in the box which was unexpected as they are usually charged as an extra and I didn't order one.

Just about to order another Nato, I think that they are great, gives your watch a new look, the straps are very comfortable and as others have mentioned great in warm weather, its only 30 degrees C here in the south east corner of the UK, the coolest day since last Friday and I am so glad that my watch is on a Nato.

 

Pkg now in Indianapolis. Guess it didn't like Newark too well. Tomorrow I'll find out what I get. To those who got spring bars were they curved? 007's appear straight.

 

Yep. I ordered one from an AD before they were available online, and it came with nothing but the strap. I’m pretty sure the red case and spring bars only come when purchased online.

It also used to come with an Omega-branded spring bar tool. Guess they stopped doing that?

 

I only received curved bars for leather straps — but from experience, curved bars work better on all NATOs.

If you don’t want to buy official Omega spring bars, you can order some from Amazon. Just look for the Swiss-made, 1.8 mm ones.

 

AD confirmed that the Nato spring bars are different than the bracelet ones. They can take care of that for me if I don't get spring bars with the strap. The AD is excellent and I have confidence in them. Will find out what I get tomorrow.