Patek Philippe SA is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer and widely considered to be one of the most prestigious watch brands in the world alongside Rolex and Audemars Piguet. Patek Philippe leather straps are in high demand due to the tremendous desire for buying, selling, and owning Patek Philippe watches. Patek Philippe watch owners should pay attention to the strap material, the fit between the strap and the watch face, replacement procedures, and a reliable replacement address in order to keep their watches looking beautiful and long-lasting.
The range of Patek Philippe straps and bands
Though the these luxury watches have the same high quality, their straps and bands come in a variety of styles,
Dressy Patek Philippe watch straps – Calatrava and Complications
Patek Philippe’s elegant wristwatches are usually paired with a classic brown or black leather strap. The stylish and polished Calatrava collection and the high-end, feature-packed Complications collection are Patek Philippe’s principal dressy watch lines.
These straps are commonly made of alligator or crocodile leather (the former being slightly more precious), although they can also be made of calf leather.
Intricate metal bracelets, such as the gold or white gold bracelets also found on some Calatrava models.
Sporty Patek Philippe watch straps – Aquanaut and Nautilus
Patek Philippe chose to add another brand of sports watches to their growing collection of timepieces just over two decades after the Nautilus initially appeared: the Aquanaut.
With its unique design and bold 1970s styling, the Nautilus was the embodiment of a high-luxury sports watch. The Aquanaut, on the other hand, took the Nautilus’ core design language and gave it a modern and sporty twist, resulting in a distinctive and unique watch that looked substantially more youthful and casual than anything else Patek Philippe had ever presented.
As you might expect, a rubber strap is less expensive than most of the other alternatives, which is why it’s more common on the Aquanaut than the more expensive Nautilus, which prefers metal wristbands.
How to change Patek Philippe leather strap at home
Most people only consider changing their watch strap when the one that came with their watch becomes damaged.
However, don’t think you are stuck with the strap your watch came with until you are forced to change it. You can change your watch strap at home with just one special tool. We are sure that it is just a simple task.
Also, it’s not just about aesthetics. Patek Philippe leather straps have different weights and feel. The perfect watch strap for you might still be out there waiting for you.
Without the assistance of a technician, you can change your Patek Philippe leather strap yourself at home with these 6 easy steps:
In order to follow these instructions adequately, the following equipment is necessary:
- Replacement strap
- Spring bar tool
- Microfiber cloth or other soft pad
- Barrier such as a piece of paper or other wide, flat bottomed desktop object (optional, but recommended)
Step 1: Preparing the space
Remove the Patek Philippe leather strap from your wrist and set the watch face-down on a clean microfiber cloth or other soft pad, with the strap pieces lying to the sides of the watch case.
Caution: Any dust or dirt on the cloth or soft pad will scratch the watch. Make sure the soft pad or cloth is clean.
Step 2: Removing the Strap
Removing the strap involves removing the spring bars, which releases the strap pieces from the watch case. The spring bar ends fit into small holes inside a pair of lugs on the watch case. A spring bar tool is a long, thin tool with a forked end which, by engaging and applying pressure to the flanges of the spring bar, compresses the spring bar so that it can be removed and installed.
Caution: Spring bars are spring loaded and may fly off the watch. Furthermore, due to their small size, they are easily misplaced.
- With the strap unbuckled and the pieces lying to the left and right of the watch case, firmly grip the watch case with your non-dominant hand.
- Holding the spring bar tool with your dominant hand like a pencil, position the fork end of the spring bar tool between one side of one of the strap pieces and the lug. Make sure that the fork end has purchase on the flanges of the spring bar end. Gently pry one end of the spring bar out of its lug hole and move it out from between the lugs. The strap piece will now be free from the watch case.
- Pull the spring bar out through the hole in the end of the strap piece.
Step 3: Repeat Step 2 for the remaining strap piece
Rotate the watch 180 degrees so that the other strap piece is in the same orientation as the one before. Repeat step 2.
Step 4: Installing the new strap
Installing the replacement strap involves putting the spring bars into the replacement strap pieces and reinstalling the spring bars between the lugs. Since the spring bars expand when removed, they are wider than the width between the inside of the lugs. This step requires the spring bar to be compressed again in order to fit back between the lugs. The spring bar ends will then need to be placed into the small holes in the lugs to be completely installed. It is advisable to remember and visualize the lug hole’s position on the inside of the lugs because it will not be visible when installing the replacement strap. Generally, the short end of the strap with the buckle is attached to the 12 o’clock (top) side of the watch case, and the long end is attached to the 6 o’clock (bottom) side of the watch case. This positions the buckle in a comfortable spot on the wrist and makes putting on and taking off the watch easier. However, the strap ends can be placed according to user preference.
Caution: This step poses an increased risk of losing a spring bar because the spring bar tool may slip off of the spring bar as it is being compressed, or the spring bar may slip out from between the lugs during placement; both scenarios cause the spring bar to fly off. Make sure your spring bar barrier is in place.
- Insert a spring bar into one of the replacement strap pieces. The spring bars ought to protrude equally from both sides of the strap.
- With the spring bar inserted into the replacement strap piece, loosely insert one protruding end of the spring bar into one of the lug holes and rest the other protruding end of the spring bar on top of the opposite lug.
- Using the spring bar tool, compress the spring bar and lower the end into the inside of the lug, aiming for the lug hole. If the spring bar does not snap into the lug hole, proceed to the next step.
- If the spring bar does snap into the lug hole, skip the next step and go to Step 5. If the spring bar did not snap into the lug hole and did not fly off, it is pressed against the inside of the lug. Put down the spring bar and carefully move the strap around (which moves the spring bar with it) to try to “find” the lug hole. Listen for a click that signals that the spring bar end has snapped into the lug hole.
Step 5: Repeat Step 4 for the remaining strap piece
Rotate the watch 180 degrees so that the other strap piece will be in the same orientation during installation as the last one. Repeat step 4.
Step 6: Final clean
Finally, pick up the watch with the new Patek Philippe leather band and wipe away any smudges on the watch face with a microfiber cloth or other soft cloth.
B.A Handmade – Premier quality Patek Philippe leather strap provider in the US
B.A Handmade specializes in the design, manufacture and supply of quality watch straps. All products are meticulously handcrafted or imported with clear origins. Sophisticated leather materials with neat lines are the advantages of watch straps at B.A Handmade.
You can choose the Patek Philippe leather band HERE or request your own customized Patek Philippe leather strap. Besides, when you buy a leather strap at B.A Handmade, you will get a free needle buckle and strap replacement tools.
