Tudor’s dedication to innovation reflects their dedication to tradition. Knowing how essential it is for brand to boast a product that is authentic and special, Tudor ventured into making specific fabric straps that became world famous.
Tudor fabric straps are made in a traditional way, but with modern design. Thanks to the use of high quality natural raw materials, such as thin yarn, fabric straps are lightweight and pleasant to wear.
Tudor made its first watches for the needs of the US Navy SEALS and later for the French navy. During the 1950's and 1960's, the French navy used to purchase Tudor watches without the straps because the watches were worn with knitted straps made by the army for its own purposes. Nylon braided straps were more suitable because the metal ones were impractical for the needs of the army.
At first, the army used only grey bracelets. Later they embarked upon producing straps with simple patterns. These were popular among NATO troops.
Straps for Tudor watches are made by Julien Faure company, which produces straps for industrial purposes. This company still produces fabrics in traditional, an old-fashioned way. The straps are still braided using large mechanical wooden looms that used to belong to the grandfather of the company owner, who believes that modern machines cannot produce fabrics of such a high quality.
In 2009, Tudor entered negotiations with Julien Faure, asking to weave an exclusive fabric strap for the Tudor brand. In 2010, Tudor started selling timepieces with a spare fabric strap. Then Tudor decided to play with strap styles and patterns. This little detail was deeply appreciated by collectors.
The weaving system for Tudor straps is unusually slow. The slings are made of thin yarn in several layers. This process ensures high quality and durability of the fabric. The old wooden looms can weave only 6 meters of ribbon per day.
Taking into consideration that only three bracelets are produced from one meter of ribbon, it is understandable how high the quality requirements for this product are. Therefore is often said that Tudor is no longer a baby brother of big Rolex.
The fabric strap has become a classic in the watchmaking landscape, subtle detail that makes the difference, but its interpretation as created by Tudor remains unsurpassed in terms of technical quality and aesthetics.
