Ask any collector with more than a couple of watches what the fastest way is to make a piece feel new again. The answer, every single time, is the same: change the strap. Swap the OEM rubber for a nice tropic. Swap the bracelet for a suede. Swap the crocodile for an alligator with a different padding. Same watch, completely different watch. Fifty to two hundred euro, half an hour of your time.
The aftermarket strap world used to be dominated by a handful of French old-guard leather workshops (Camille Fournet, Jean Rousseau, ABP) that were expensive, slow and quietly excellent. In the last five to eight years three new-school makers have taken over the enthusiast conversation. All three are worth knowing about. Here's what each is good for.
1. Delugs (Singapore) - the enthusiast default
Delugs is the strap maker enthusiasts recommend first when someone new asks. Singapore-based, over 200,000 straps shipped, 4.8/5 across 8,600+ reviews, physical boutiques in Singapore and Hong Kong. What they actually do well:
- Handcrafted leather straps in an 18-step production process. Alligator, alligator-embossed calf, Barenia-style, novonappa, saffiano - roughly €92-200 for most references.
- CTS rubber straps. Their proprietary rubber with a hollow interior structure. The Rolex/Omega/AP fit versions are the reason a lot of people first hear the name Delugs.
- Curved-end fitments for Nautilus, Aquanaut, Royal Oak. This is where Delugs earns the "enthusiast default" title. Very few makers offer decent-quality curved-end options at this price point, and the fit on genuine cases is genuinely good.
- Sailcloth straps: fabric look, rubber core, leather backing. The all-weather do-anything option.
The Delugs reputation is built on quality-per-dollar and turnaround time. They ship from three warehouses (Singapore, UK, USA) so international delivery is quick. Lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, 30-day returns. The one honest criticism you see in enthusiast forums is that the buckles and spring bars can feel a step below the leather itself. Easily solved by swapping to a nicer aftermarket buckle if you care.
Best use case: your first serious aftermarket strap for a Nautilus, Aquanaut, Royal Oak, Rolex Datejust, or Omega. Also the correct answer for a MoonSwatch that needs to feel like a real watch instead of a €250 plastic one.
2. Molequin (France) - the connoisseur pick
Molequin is French, small, and quiet in a way the enthusiast press has slowly caught on to. Made-to-order calfskin, alligator (square and round scale), Saffiano, nubuck, suede, Horween shell cordovan, and two-tone leather variants. Base price is €125. Full-custom straps (colour combos, thread, edge finishing) add €25.
What Molequin does differently:
- Custom made-to-order is the default, not the upgrade. 10-15 working days production time. Every strap is built for a specific customer, lug width, taper preference.
- Padded and slim options for the same reference, so you can dial in the wrist presence.
- Water-resistant leather options that are actually water-resistant, not just marketed that way.
- Small workshop, French supply chain. All leather sourced in France, all stitching done by hand.
In head-to-head enthusiast discussions the recurring line is that Molequin's finishing is a step above Delugs on the same reference. The edge paint is cleaner, the cuts are more precise, the leather feels denser. The tradeoff: no rubber, no curved-end options, and you wait ten days for a strap that a Delugs equivalent would ship in 48 hours. If you care about that, Molequin is worth it. If you don't, Delugs is honestly fine.
Best use case: your dress-watch strap (Cartier Tank, Lange Saxonia, JLC Reverso, Patek Calatrava). The considered second-strap for a serious watch that deserves the extra ten days and the extra thirty euro. Also the correct answer for anyone doing gifting because the box and packaging are more considered than most makers at any price.
3. Wristbuddys (USA) - the rubber-and-collab specialist
Wristbuddys is US-based, six years old, north of 250,000 straps shipped, and squarely focused on premium rubber straps for specific luxury watches. The reason they matter:
- Vertech rubber: their proprietary compound. Softer break-in than most FKM alternatives, holds shape well, doesn't attract lint.
- Brand-specific fitment. Their Rolex straps are cut for a Rolex case, their Omega straps for an Omega case, their MoonSwatch straps for a MoonSwatch case. Not a universal strap with a downloadable spec sheet.
- Big on the Swatch collab space. MoonSwatch straps first, then Omega x Swatch specific, Blancpain x Swatch, and now the Swatch x AP Royal Pop. If you own any Swatch luxury-collab watch, Wristbuddys probably makes a strap for it.
- Leather also good. Not their flagship, but the €100-119 leather line is competitive with the Delugs entry tier.
Wristbuddys are also very active on social with the collab collections, which means they get to new drops fast (they were among the first to launch a Royal Pop-fit strap in May 2026). The Feed a Buddy component (a percentage of sales goes to their food-aid partner) is a real social mission element, not a marketing gimmick.
Best use case: anything rubber for a Rolex, Omega, or MoonSwatch. Any Swatch luxury collab. Anyone who wants a US-based strap maker with fast domestic shipping.
Which one, when
The three brands rarely overlap. Split roughly like this:
- Nautilus, Aquanaut, Royal Oak with curved-end leather: Delugs. Nobody at this price point has better curved-end fit.
- Cartier Tank, JLC Reverso, Lange Saxonia, Patek Calatrava dress-watch strap: Molequin. Ten days extra, thirty euro extra, worth it every time.
- MoonSwatch, Royal Pop, Omega x Swatch, Blancpain x Swatch: Wristbuddys. Purpose-built fit and fast shipping.
- Rolex Datejust, Omega Seamaster, Tudor Black Bay rubber summer strap: Delugs CTS or Wristbuddys Vertech. Both excellent. Delugs edges it on curved-end fitment; Wristbuddys edges it on colour range.
- Alligator for a serious watch: Molequin. Full stop.
The pattern to notice: rubber and curved-end fitment are Delugs' and Wristbuddys' territory, with Delugs slightly cheaper globally and Wristbuddys slightly better on collab-specific projects. Traditional leather is Molequin's territory for anyone who cares about the finishing. There's no single correct maker. There is a correct maker for a specific use case, and for that use case, the answer is usually obvious.
What none of them do well (yet)
Three gaps in the market that none of these three cover convincingly, and where you still need the old-guard French houses or a specialist:
- Bespoke integrated bracelets. Nobody at aftermarket prices makes a proper Nautilus or Royal Oak bracelet retrofit. If you want that, you're going to Rubber B for rubber or a bracelet specialist (Uncle Straps, Everest) for links.
- Vintage-specific tapered leather. For a 60s-70s vintage watch with unusual lug width and heavy taper, the old-guard makers still do this better. Camille Fournet handles anything historic.
- Exotic leathers beyond alligator. Ostrich, shark, stingray at high end - none of the three big new-school makers have deep catalogs here. Jean Rousseau still owns this space.
For most enthusiasts, though, Delugs plus one Molequin plus a Wristbuddys rubber will cover 95% of what you actually want. Total spend: roughly €300-400. That's less than the first month of most Patek AD relationships, and it will do more for how your existing watches feel on the wrist than almost anything else you can buy.
Enjoy the swaps. And if you're not already a strap-swap person, this is the summer to start.
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