A.F.0210. WATCH STRAP  Remanufacture as a faithful reproduction.

The classic A.F.0120. strap is almost impossible to find, either on its own, or on a watch that you do not particularly want.  This project started when internet traffic demonstrated a demand for the A.F.0210. strap, and we decided to create a truly faithful reproduction to fill this gap.   As others before us have found, the materials are no longer available, not even by scavanging old military equipment. 

Not only is there a pent up demand from military watch owners to wear their WWII watches on a faithful reproduction of the original A.F.0210. watch strap, there is also a desire for a true hommage reproduction for wider strap widths, 20mm and 22mm to fit more recent military watches.

After examining and measuring several original straps, and creating protocol drawings, researching and experimenting with different materials, and finally working with various suppliers and manufacturers, we are now ready to offer a faithful reproduction of the original A.F.0210. watch strap as a crowdfunded campaign.

The desire is not to pretend the faithful reproduction is an original A.F.0210. strap, it is to provide more collectors with an opportunity to wear the classic strap which will complement any military watch.    Each faithful reproduction will be embossed on the buckle and stamped to distinguish them from the few remaining origanal straps, and to prevent a false resale market developing.

The great news for military watch enthusiasts is that this strap will now be available as a faithful reproduction. Remanufacturing partners have been selected, prototypes produced, and if we hit our crowdfunding target, faithful reproductions can be yours.

Inspired by the influence which the A.F.0210. strap had on the development of the NATO strap, a fresh view of the A.F.0210. strap has been taken in remanufacturing this faithful reproduction.

The classic A.F.0210. military strap, and some wider hommage versions will compliment any military watch.  There is something special about a vintage watch on a period strap that is hard to explain.     To have a Grana W.W.W. on an  A.F.0210. strap would be a unique experience.

What was the A.F.0210. strap?

A few A.F.0210. straps survive, and they differ slightly, as could be expected for a hand sewn strap made in difficult times in a cottage industry.   The length, the buckles, the sewing pattern, and strap colour all vary slightly.   Some (probably later) buckles and loops are selenium dioxide treated to make black.       The NOS strap, top below,  is 235mm long, and a darker khaki than the strap, bottom below, which is 250mm long.

Based on all available internet images, and measuring several actual straps, including a NOS strap purchased for quality control purposes, and pulling one apart to allow a 3-D scanner to be used on the buckle, the design protocols for the A.F.0210. faithful reproduction have been recreated.

The design drawings for British military watch straps issued in 1951 and 1973  have also been used in deriving the A.F.0210. design protocol.

Key elements of the design are :

A 44-48 warp thread loose weave  khaki cotton webbing, 17mm wide and about 0.75mm thick.

A one piece folded strap, about 250mm long, with stitching all round at 2mm from the edge.

A shouldered brass buckle, with a depression to retain the buckle tongue.

A sharpened buckle tongue which allows the strap to be fitted to the wrist in any position.

No eyelet holes punched in the strap.

Brass loops positioned 10mm and 36mm back from the buckle, retained by the folded strap.

Stamped inside, A.F.0210. with a pheon.

A.F.0210. protocol drawing.

The origin of the A.F.0210. strap is not clear, but its period of service has been long.  It was 17mm wide, and fitted the fixed bars of the WWII British Army watches, particularly the ATP and WWW series of watches.   It is thought to have been put into service towards the end of WWII, and the DEF-3 strap was specified later in 1951.   But the strap was not discontinued, and remained in service alongside the DEF-3 strap, and the NATO strap, until taken out of service in February 1980.   The photo below shows us unwrapping a NOS  A.F.0210. strap in a sealed packet marked NSN W10-6645-99-910-1003.

A service life of some 35 years makes this a classic strap, and the influence which it had on the design of the NATO strap can be seen in the similarity in design of the NATO strap below.

The nylon NATO strap was specified by the military from at least 1973 onwards, under under NSN 6645-99-124-2986.     It is 280mm long, compared with the A.F.0210. strap which was only 250mm long, with the design change acknowledging  that wrists were becoming larger.

Prototype development.

Previous attempts at reproducting the  A.F.0210. strap have hit hurdles, primarily as the webbing is no longer in production, and the original shouldered buckles are not available.   These attempts, using readily available materials has meant some compromises in the reproduction.    We have decided to crowdfund this project to eliminate these compromises, and make a truly faithful reproduction.   The reproduction will be so authentic that the straps will be embossed and stamped to ensure they are not mistaken, or onsold, as originals.

To produce this strap, we have had no option but to remanufacture the strap and buckle.

The webbing has proved impossible to source off the shelf, so the decision to remanufacture the webbing has been taken.

After several unsuccessful weaving attempts, we have settled on prototype 44 warp thread 17mm wide, 0.75mm thick webbing.      A 10m long strip was test woven.   The micrometer indicates 16.66mm width.   Thousands of metres are ready to be produced once we have the funds to say go!       We also know we can easily widen this webbing to 20mm and 22mm using the same weaving pattern.

A comparison between the woven test strip in the middle, and two original A.F.0210. straps is shown below.

The webbing colour of the surviving straps varies, so we have chosen Pantone 16-0726TPG, the "green" version of the international convention number for Khaki to be the colour for the faithful reproduction.

The shouldered buckles and loops also need to be remanufactured.  Producing the mould for buckle production will be very expensive.  However, we have used 3-D printing technology to proof the buckle production, and to print buckles for prototype production.

The original buckles vary, but two have been scanned and based on this data, and photographs, the buckle has been modelled in 3-D.    Pre-production samples have been made in white ABS resin, using a 3-D printer, and painted black.    As a proof of concept for possible wider hommage straps,  the the 3-D model has been widened, and 20mm and 22mm buckles have been designed, and test printed. 

The final buckle production will also be dependent on crowd funding success.  The 3-D computer files will then be used to produce a mould for the buckles and the keepers, and the buckles and keepers will be made in brass.

The 20mm and 22mm wide buckles are proof of concept protoypes for future crowdfunding for hommage A.F.0210 straps.

We have added A.F.02l0.™ embossing to the underside of the buckle in the computer model, and this will identify the faithful reproduction buckles.

Below is an x-ray snapshot of the 3-D drawing used for the 3-D printing of the pre-production buckles, together with the A.F.02l0.™ embossing.

Below are the black ABS prototype buckles for 17mm, 20mm and 22mm wide straps, shown on a 10mm grid, with the embossed A.F.02l0.™ shown on the reverse side of the 17mm buckle.

Prototype 17mm buckles have been made in ABS, painted black, and fitted with tongues to enable prototype straps to be sewn.

10 prototypes have been made from the 10m test strip of webbing in accordance with the protocol drawing, but in different lengths from 250mm to 270mm long.   One outcome has been confirmation that the NOS strap length of about 250mm will probably be too small for some wrists.

The samples have been stamped A.F.02l0.™ to indicate that the strap is a faithful reproduction.   All production straps will be stamped A.F.02l0.™, without the pheon often found on original straps.

What Next?

The aim moving forward will be to make this faithful A.F.02l0.™ remanufacture available to any military watch enthusiast.

A key outcome of the successful crowdfunding will be to allow the development of refinements to the original A.F.0210. design to suit demand.

The original strap was 17mm wide and about 250mm long, and a truly authentic reproduction would have these dimensions.

However, wrists are now bigger some 70 years later, and an average sized wrist is about 215mm (8.5”) which needs a strap about 270mm long for a watch to sit properly.       

The strap position in relation to the loops for a 215mm wrist size and a 270mm long A.F.02l0.® strap is shown below.    A key feature of the A.F.0210. strap is that the sharp tongue and loose weave allows the strap to fit any sized wrist.

Refinements.

The first refinement of the A.F.0210. strap design would be to provide a choice in minimum strap length :  250mm,  270mm and 290mm minimum lengths are proposed.

Another outcome of successful crowdfunding would be that wider shouldered buckles and strap widths would be prototyped to suit 20mm and 22mm lug width military watches, using the 3-D ABS resin prototypes above for confirmation.      These would result in hommage A.F.0210 straps, rather than authentic reproductions, and would require new webbing and wider buckles to be manufactured.

If this faithful reproduction crowdfunding project is successful, a new crowdfunding project would be opened for these wider A.F.0210. hommage strap subscriptions.

Goal 1 is to secure funding for remanufacture of faithful reproductions of the AF0210 strap,  in 3 strap lengths.

If Goal 1 is successful, Goal 2 is to extend the design to a 20mm wide hommage version.   The design has been done, and ABS resin prototype buckles made, so with support we could easily commence proof manufacture, and final production.

If  Goal 2 is successful, Goal 3 will be to extend the design to a 22mm wide hommage version.

A possible future goal would be to develop an A.F.0210. webbing NATO version of the strap, utilising a webbing keeper, as shown below, but very rarely seen available for purchase.        An 1953 Omega CK2777 on a NATO strap of unknown origin, using A.F.0210. webbing, is shown below.  Also shown is an IWC WWW watch, with NATO dial, on an  A.F.0210. strap.(Image courtesy of MWR forum user : T.O.W.S. UK.)

Timeline.

The timeline for this campaign is :

late June               :   Commence 60 days crowdfunding.

                              :    Seek feedback on 20mm and 22mm hommage A.F.0210. straps.

September         :    Assuming funding target is reached, commence mould production for the buckles and production runs of                                        webbing and buckles.

                             :    Open crowdfunding site for 20mm hommage A.F.0210. straps.

                             :    Open separate crowd funding site for 22mm hommage A.F.0210. straps.

October             :    Sew remanufactured faithful A.F.02l0.™ straps to required sizes for supporters.

November        :    Ship remanufactured faithful A.F.02l0.™ straps to supporters.

                           :    Proceed with the crowdfunding decision on hommage A.F.0210. straps.

More Details?

If you have any questions please contact us at:

[email protected]

If the campaign reaches the funding target, the pledges will be processed.   We will then use the funds to make the moulds, commence the remanufacture, sew the straps, and will begin fulfilling reward commitments.

If this campaign does not reach the target amount within the time limit, none of the pledges will be processed and all the pledges will be returned.     

We ready for production,  have the technical drawings,  the final prototype, and we have the suppliers ready to start production. The only thing missing is the initial order fee.  We need to order several thousand metres of webbing, and a mould and hundreds of buckles, and that is where you come in.  By becoming a supporter for this project, you help us pay for the first production run, and in exchange you will receive a classic watch strap at a highly discounted price!

When will I receive my product? What if I receive it past the listed date?

We will honor our timelines as best as we can.    The manufacturing facilities can produce the moulds using the available 3-D drawings, and can commence buckle manufacture once we say go, and the webbing manufacturer has the equipment settings available based on our preproduction testing.

We are confident of our partners and we foresee no issues in delivering the product to you.  If we are delayed, and are not able to ship to you at an agreeable date, we will refund your money.

How much is international shipping? Am I responsible for taxes and duties in my country?

Shipping for watch straps is unfortunately disproportionally expensive to the bulk of the strap.   Shipping rates within UK will be about  STG 6.   But shipping to USA, Canada, Europe and most of Asia will be more expensive, about STG 15.  There may be some countries we are not able to ship to, and we will review every order and let you know if we are not able to ship to your location.  If that is the case we will work with you to resolve the problem.

Keep in mind that you are responsible for paying your own country’s taxes and duties, if any, when the rewards arrive.

If we are not able to find a solution then we will refund your money to you.  If you would like to confirm before you place an order please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you have made it this far you clearly like what we are planning to do. 

We realize creating and delivering a product is a complicated process and often comes with unexpected hiccups, and we have been preparing to eliminate these.

We have a well-established relationship working with a reliable manufacturers, and they have undertaken to extend their scope of involvement to the manufacture of wider hommage straps which, in our opinion is more probable, than possible. 

If somewhere along the way we find that there is a setback in production, or that we cannot make the timeline, we will be as transparent as possible to keep all of our backers informed.

Our real challenge will be to meet demand, not for this campaign, as we are geared up for it, but for future campaigns.

If this faithful reproduction crowdfunding campaign is successful,  new crowdfunding campaigns will be opened for 20mm and 22mm wide A.F.0210. hommage strap subscriptions.

Our challenge will then be to extend the design, and open these campaigns in turn.

Firstly, to extend the design to a 20mm wide hommage version, and if this campaign is successful, to then extend the design to a 22mm wide hommage version.

Our contact adress is repeated below :

[email protected]