When we look down at a wristwatch today, it's easy to forget that this everyday object was once a tool of survival. Behind every strap and buckle lies a story not just of design and engineering, but of the men and makers who shaped them through necessity, innovation, and courage.
The modern watch strap wasn't invented in a boardroom. It was born in the mud and chaos of the First World War, refined by watchmakers and soldiers who solved problems not for fashion, but for life and death.
[Image: WWI soldiers in trenches checking wristwatches during an operation]
The soldiers who started it all
Before 1914, the idea of a man wearing a wristwatch was almost laughable. Pocket watches were the mark of masculinity and refinement. Wristwatches existed, but they were considered feminine accessories, jewellery for women, not tools for men.
But war changed everything.
On the Western Front, timing was survival. Coordinating artillery fire, synchronising raids, and navigating under cover of darkness all depended on precision. By 1916, the introduction of the "creeping barrage" made precise timing literally a matter of life and death. Artillery fire moved forward in stages just ahead of advancing infantry. Soldiers couldn't afford to fumble with pocket watches whilst crawling through mud, gripping a rifle, or following close behind their own artillery shells.
So, they adapted. Many began soldering wire lugs onto their pocket watches and securing them to makeshift leather straps, sometimes fashioned from cut-down belts or boot leather. Some soldiers received wristwatches as gifts from family back home. Corporal George Coppard, who fought continuously through 1916 and 1917 including the Battle of the Somme, received a wristwatch from an aunt and uncle in October 1915. This prized possession made coordinating machine gun fire significantly easier.
These early DIY creations were crude, but effective. They marked the first step in transforming the pocket watch into the trench watch, and the strap into a vital piece of equipment.
They didn't set out to change fashion, only to survive the night.
The watchmakers who listened
Across Europe and America, watchmakers took notice. By 1916 and 1917, brands like Omega, Longines, Rolex, Elgin, and Waltham were producing dedicated military wristwatches. The US Army established formal wristwatch standards as early as October 1916, before America even entered the war. Each manufacturer had learned from the soldiers' improvisations and refined them into reliable instruments.
Key innovations included:
Fixed wire lugs that replaced makeshift soldering, creating proper attachment points for straps. These lugs were soldered or brazed directly to the pocket watch case, transforming it into something purpose-built for the wrist.
Luminous dials using radium paint for visibility in darkness. This innovation was considered so essential that by 1916, military procurement guides listed "luminous wristwatch with unbreakable glass" as the first item of officer's kit, ahead of even revolvers and field glasses.
Unbreakable crystals made from celluloid (patented for watch use in 1915, available by 1916) to withstand the rigours of trench warfare. Traditional glass crystals shattered too easily when soldiers entered or exited trenches.
Oversized crowns for operation with gloves, relocated from the 12 o'clock position (where they sat on pocket watches) to 3 o'clock for easier wrist operation.
Robust leather straps stitched for strength and comfort, designed to withstand moisture, mud, and constant wear.
Watchmakers also standardised production for military contracts, ensuring straps and cases were interchangeable. This step would shape modern design standards for decades. By 1917, the British War Department began officially issuing wristwatches to combatants, making them standard military kit rather than personal purchases.
These craftsmen were not just producing watches; they were engineering resilience. Their work transformed a field adaptation into an international standard.
The makers behind the straps
Whilst watch brands became famous, the makers of the straps themselves often remained anonymous. Saddlers, cobblers, and leatherworkers across Britain, France, and the United States supplied the armed forces with simple yet durable wristbands.
[Image: vintage leather working tools and materials used in military strap production]
In Britain, the Army Ordnance Corps contracted local workshops to produce leather cuffs and straps using vegetable-tanned hide. The material was thick, sweat-resistant, and field-tested. Each strap was hand-stitched, with simple brass buckles and fixed keepers. The leather had to be robust enough to survive the constant moisture of the trenches, yet supple enough to remain comfortable during long periods of wear.
Some soldiers even had personalised straps made by regimental artisans, blending utility with individuality. This was an early form of military customisation. These anonymous craftsmen built the foundation for what would later become the luxury leather strap industry.
The skills these leatherworkers employed (selecting the right hides, stitching for maximum strength, finishing edges to prevent fraying) were the same techniques used for centuries in saddlery and bootmaking. They simply adapted them to a new, smaller canvas: the watch strap.
Evolution through service
The innovations of WWI didn't end in 1918. By the Second World War, these ideas had matured into standard military specifications. Fabric straps began appearing alongside leather, offering better moisture resistance for tropical campaigns and naval operations.
The British Ministry of Defence continued refining watch strap specifications throughout the 20th century, eventually leading to the creation of the G10 strap in 1973. This design was issued under Defence Standard 66-15 and requisitioned using form G-1098 (hence the "G10" nickname). It was a direct descendant of those early trench straps, featuring a one-piece nylon construction that passed beneath the watch case, ensuring the watch remained on the wrist even if a spring bar failed.
Yet the spirit of innovation was still rooted in the same idea that drove those WWI soldiers: make it strong, make it simple, make it reliable.
Even modern materials like ballistic nylon, rubber, and hybrid synthetics owe their existence to the demands of soldiers who needed dependable gear. Every new strap design (from one-piece pass-throughs to quick-release systems) traces its lineage back to those early innovators in the mud and workshops of 1916 and 1917.
A legacy woven into every 1917 strap
At 1917 Straps, we pay tribute to those unsung heroes: the soldiers who improvised and the watchmakers who refined their ideas into lasting designs.
Our collections are built on their lessons:
The Quartermaster leather range continues the legacy of those early hand-stitched straps, using vegetable-tanned leather and traditional construction methods that would be recognisable to a WWI military supplier.
The Wayfarer nylon line reflects the durability and practicality of military webbing, evolved from the fabric straps that proved their worth in harsh conditions.
The Pathfinder hybrid collection reimagines field-tested resilience for a modern audience, combining materials in ways those early innovators would have embraced had the technology existed.
We don't just make straps; we continue a conversation that began over a century ago between maker and soldier, between necessity and craftsmanship.
More than history
Every time you fasten a 1917 strap, you connect with those who defined what a watch strap should be: simple, strong, and purposeful.
From the soldier who soldered wire to his pocket watch in a muddy trench, to the leatherworker who hand-stitched straps in a workshop behind the lines, to the watchmaker who recognised that this improvisation deserved proper engineering, each played their part in creating something that endures.
They never sought recognition, yet their ideas live on millions of wrists worldwide.
Their legacy is not confined to museums or archives. It lives on, quietly, in the loop of a buckle and the thread of a stitch.
Here's to the watchmakers and soldiers who didn't just mark time. They defined it.