NATO STRAP Arezzo NATOSCAN 20mm dark brown leather

Dark brown, and what it will become

This is the colourway where vegetable tanning shows best. New, it is already deep; in two years it will have darkened at the pressure points and held its shade elsewhere. That unintentional gradient is what we call a patina.

The leather patinas, it does not just age

That is the whole point of vegetable tanning. The tannins come from bark, not a chemical bath — the process is long, expensive, and it is what lets the leather darken over time instead of splitting. Hypoallergenic inner lining: nothing touches your skin that was not chosen for it.

Why a leather NATO strap is hard to make

Nylon is just over a millimetre. Leather, lined, should be double that — and would no longer pass under the case. Our artisans hold under 2mm with two thicknesses of leather, one a hypoallergenic lining. No lug-to-case clearance causes difficulty.

Made in Arezzo, exclusively for us

Arezzo, in Tuscany, has worked leather since the Middle Ages. Our NATOSCAN straps are handmade there, exclusively for La Boîte à Montres: you will not find them anywhere else. That is the difference between a product picked from a catalogue and a product designed with a workshop.

NATO fitting, leather looks

The strap slides under the case and wraps around the wrist, exactly like a nylon NATO. No tools, no spring bars to remove. The watch rests on the strap and is held by both spring bars: if one fails, the other holds it. Stainless steel buckle and keepers.

Fitting on video — removing a Rolex bracelet

The video shows a nylon NATO strap, but the movement is exactly the same: the strap passes under the case, the spring bars stay put, no tools are needed. Leather fits precisely this way.

Not for diving

Better written here than left for you to discover. This strap is not waterproof and never will be: it is leather. If your watch goes in the water, you need a nylon NATO strap alongside. Many of our customers own both and switch by season.

Fits 20mm lug width

IWC Mark XVIII, Doxa Sub 300, Marathon GSAR, Marathon TSAR, Oris Divers Sixty-Five 40. Measure the gap between your lugs, not the case diameter.

The range has variations: see the gold brown NATOSCAN and the black NATOSCAN. Everything is here: Arezzo leather straps 20mm.

Need a hand? Learn how to install a NATO strap without tools. An old strap to remove? See how to remove a watch strap.