How to measure lug width and wrist size for a strap

A strap that's a hair too wide jams between the lugs. One that's too narrow rattles around and looks wrong. Both mistakes start with a measurement taken too quickly. Before you cut any leather, you need two numbers: the lug width and your wrist size.

What the lugs are

The lugs are the horns that stick out from the watch case. A strap attaches there, and the spring bars run between the lugs, either through the strap or with the band slid between them¹. A spring bar is a spring-loaded double-ended pin that sits in small holes in the lugs².

Lug width is the distance between the two lugs³. The end of your strap has to match that gap.

Measuring the lug width

Don't guess. Nixon says the lug width isn't something to eyeball and estimate¹. Follow this order.

• Check the old strap first. Many straps have the width displayed on the underside¹.
• If there's no old strap, use a ruler or a calliper, which is a measuring tool with two jaws.
• Put the zero end at the inside edge of one lug⁴.
• Stretch across to the inside edge of the other lug, in a straight line³.
• Read the number in millimetres.

If your reading ends in a half millimetre, treat it as a warning. Nixon says that when you get a .5mm somewhere, you've probably made an error¹. Measure again.

Lug-to-lug distance

There's a second number that's worth writing down. Measure from the spring bar hole on one lug to the matching hole on the opposite lug, and you get the lug-to-lug span⁴. The source says this helps you work out how the watch will sit on your wrist.

Measuring your wrist

You don't need a tailor's tape. A strip of paper or a piece of string and a ruler will do the job⁴.

• Wrap the strip round your wrist just below the wrist bone, where you'd normally wear a watch⁴.
• Keep it snug, not tight.
• Mark where the ends overlap.
• Lay the strip flat and measure the length against a ruler⁴.

Write the answer in millimetres and inches, so you can compare it with any chart you find later.

Turning the wrist number into a strap length

Cutting to the bare wrist number leaves no slack. WatchGecko suggests a strap about 2cm larger than your wrist for comfort⁴. Treat that as a starting point, not a rule.

Here is the check that matters most. Your wrist should fall between the strap's shortest and longest settings, and you shouldn't be relying on the first or last hole, for better durability and comfort⁴. So plan the holes to land in the middle of the range.

One real example

A maker's tutorial shows how the numbers fit together. Their strap is fitted for a 22mm lug width, and it tapers down to 20mm at the buckle⁵. That's one watch and one wrist, so don't copy it. Use your own lug width at one end and decide how much narrower the buckle end should be.

Next, pick the leather and then draw the pattern.