First post here, although I've been a bit of a lurker and post more regularly on TZ/WUS. I was a sucker and had to have the ridiculously-priced Omega NATO straps. I ordered two from the Bellagio boutique recently and finally got time to put them on. The quality is killer (compared to other aftermarket NATO straps) but of course the price is killer as well. I must love Omega-signed hardware! Tempted to get the black with red side stitching one for my DSOTM.... In any case, I figured I'd share a couple of dirty iPhone pics.

 

The quality really is top notch. Here's a picture of the Nato that came with my new Speedy Sandwich.

 

Yes, great quality but outrageous price!!

 

Great looking watches! What is the price range for these straps?

 

Some folks discussed pricing here http://omegaforums.net/threads/dsotm-with-nato-strap.19947/

 

The hardware looks quite top notch, but I don't understand how the nylon could be any nicer than some of the stuff from the really good strap makers who charge 1/10 to 1/5th the price. The only saving grace I see from the other Omega straps is that the deployment buckle and strap material fit and finish are highly superior to alternatives, so paying 2-3x comparable products is somewhat understandable., but a 10x markup for a utilitarian strap?

 

Yikes, 170 bucks! My Nato came with the watch so in a round about way I did pay for it along with the fancy new box. However, I'd never go out of my way to fork out $170 for one of these straps. It's really good quality with nice hardware but not $170 good. Just my $0.02.

 

thanks!

 

I just could never justify spending that sort of money for some slightly better quality nylon and an Omega etching on the hardware. They've really lost their mind with the pricing there.

 

Not entirely. I sold a watch in a Boutique and the guy turned around and bought a complete Omega band set. I think volume is not the goal.

 

I have a whole set of Nato and Zulu sytaps for less than one of these. Nato is supposedly a cheap sporty solution, these are more expensive than alligator bands.

 

Exactly!. It would be one thing if they charged $75 or even $100, but $170 is absurd since handmade leather Natos as well as gorgeous alligator and other exotic material straps are available for that price.

 

I'm sure they run close to $200

 

I won't be buying one, but...

Omega will sell quite a lot of them I reckon. And no doubt at very nice margins.

Can't find a thing wrong with that.

 

Until you see it for real, it's hard to understand the quality. I have lots of good NATOs, vastly superior to the average ebay NATOs and this is still an order of magnitude better and not only because of the hardware.

 

I've seen it, and I have the speedy one, still a Nato

 

No NATO strap can be worth that sort of price unless it's built from a mixture of gold and silk from a long extinct species of silk worm

 

The Nato strap should be like a mechanics overalls. Something you put on to go to work, or war. Something that holds the watch in place in tough environments when leather could get damaged or steel could be cumbersome. But at roughly $200 you will hate damaging it and the process will be reversed, you'll take off the Nato and place a leather strap on.

Don't get me wrong, of love to have them, just can't get my head around the oximoron of it all. I gladly paid that for my leather hand made natos imported from a convent in Sicily ( ok that's not true) but these other Natos do the job under $15

 

While it was the intend of the original NATO, let's not kid ourselves, we put them on because they're comfortable, they look nice and allow us to change the feel of the watch on a daily basis, as it fits our mood. You show four photos of watches which intent a long time ago might have been to be tool watches but that most of us don't use as such.

I do tech diving but I would never take my vintage SM300, Ploprof 600 or Grande in as much as the shower. If you paired the NATO with a $20 citizen that would be something else but realistically we're putting these on $2k+ watches so the argument that its one accessory (the band) should remain a mid-quality item because it originated as a tool watch accessory.

I enjoy many $15 NATOs from NATO Strap Co but I do love my $200 Omega NATO. Now, if someone made a $50 NATO that is as good as the Omega one (minus the branding), I would jump on it

 

Good points!