Rolex Admiralty Strap

[bigkahuna]

I’ve been very curious about this strap lately and have been reading a lot about it. It seems like it’s only available through RSC in UK. Now, I know there is probably not much difference between the Admiralty strap and all the rest of the Nato’s and Zulu’s out there but the mere fact that it can be officially purchased via Rolex intrigues me so I’m hoping someone here who happens to own one can share his experience and perhaps some photos? Thanks!

[hanz079]

Hmmm... interesting.
I have never heard of them until now and after doing some google search, seems to look like a normal nato strap.
Did not find any pictures showing if the hardware is signed or sterile.
So, I am keen to find out as well...

[TheHobbit]

Last I heard it was 40 quid. Wanted to get one when I was there last but never got around to doing it.

[hanz079]

Seems to only come in one color which is grey.

[bigkahuna]

Last I heard it was 40 quid. Wanted to get one when I was there last but never got around to doing it.

Do you know if it's available in any RSC in UK or only selected RSC as I'm thinking of having my friend there help me get one? It is rather pricey though, four to five time more than the normal natos 

[takashi78]

Pics of it on the watch?

[takashi78]

After some short research, what so special bout this strap?

[bigkahuna]

After some short research, what so special bout this strap?

Actually, there’s really  nothing special about it besides the fact that it’s the only nato type strap officially available through Rolex Service Center therefore I think you can in a way consider this the official Nato strap for Rolex as it was initially designed for the British Military of Defence. Anyway, here is a pic that I found from a theoldwatshop.com:

[takashi78]

Thanks for the info.
Learn something new today.

[jason_loh]

Just found out today from this post! Nato is in?  Thanks.

[bigkahuna]

Hi everyone, I finally received my Rolex Admiralty Strap yesterday and thought I’d share some pics with all of you here! My brother in-law in England was kind enough to help me with the sourcing of this strap. He apparently approached a few Rolex centres but most of them do not know what he was on about until one of the dealers decided to make some calls to verify its existence. And lucky for me, it does exist and is available for order so I placed the order through him. It took about 5 weeks for it to be delivered to the centre he ordered from and now it’s finally here with me! It cost me a whopping £50 for this strap! That is a lot of money considering other nato straps cost only about 1/5th of the price. With that said, I have to say the quality of this Admiralty Strap is pretty darn good compared to my other natos. This one doesn’t look like it’ll fray as easily as the other ones I had before and it’s thinner making the installation process of the strap a lot easier as it slides very easily in place without having to remove the springbars (I’m sure some of you here with Nato straps experience know what I mean as you’ll normally have to remove the springbar before you can put the strap on). The Admiralty Strap definitely looks and feels like it was designed for use on a Sub. The grey colour is perfect….in fact it look much better than the black nato which I was using before this. Now my modern interpretation of a MilSub is finally completed and in my opinion, perfect and 100% Rolex 









and of course this won't be complete without a wrist shot....

[takashi78]

I didnt have to remove any springbar to put my no name nato strap on.

[bigkahuna]

I didnt have to remove any springbar to put my no name nato strap on.

That's great for you. Think I've just been ending up with straps that are thicker...most of them anyway 

[takashi78]

Unlucky i guess.

Looks like only Rolex UK can order this model strap?

Or we can just get the part number and order locally?

[bigkahuna]

Unlucky i guess.

Looks like only Rolex UK can order this model strap?

Or we can just get the part number and order locally?

As far as I know, you can only get it via Rolex UK unfortunately as this was originally made for the British Ministry Of Defence. I've tried calling our local Rolex centres as well as service centers before I started sourcing in the UK and non of them here had a clue as to what I was talking about so I highly doubt they'll be able to help even with the part number.

[STT1987]

50 quid is way too much for a NATO strap no matter how well made you think it is. If you match the color right, you won't even notice the difference personally if you use a generic NATO strap from your favorite supplier.

I see strap insanity has shown up at Rolex...
    

PS:
It's really a nice NATO strap though on that Rolex. It looks much better than James Bond's....

Oh abang James, your strap is several sizes too small for your Sub!
(image from Thunderball)

[bigkahuna]

50 quid is way too much for a NATO strap no matter how well made you think it is. If you match the color right, you won't even notice the difference personally if you use a generic NATO strap from your favorite supplier.

I see strap insanity has shown up at Rolex...
    

You're right, it certainly is expensive and you definitely can get something similar online for much lesser. Like I said, its basically shiok sendiri and has a lot to do with self satisfaction to know that what I have is not easily available and that it's from Rolex itself.

With regards to the strap insanity thing, Rolex never actually promoted nor encouraged anyone to change its straps or bracelets so it’s not so much a Rolex thing but rather a personal preference. I've always liked the look and history of the vintage MilSub but because of its rarity and price, thinking of ever owning a vintage MilSub is a rather far fetch idea at least for now so this is the closest alternative I can come up with