# Zealande rubber straps



## Roxyben (May 19, 2020)

Totally done this the wrong way round as I have already ordered one but has anyone any experience with this brands rubber straps? Have been fancying putting the Seamaster on rubber for a bit, the official omega rubber from what I can tell from the little research I have done seems to be very expensive and quite hard to get hold of. So this led me to explore a few aftermarket examples.

So the strap I have got is purpose built for the Seamaster sitting flush to the side of the case, looks quite similar to the OEM rubber. Read nothing but good reviews online so went for it. Would be nice to hear from anyone in this forum has had any experience though.

https://zealande.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw64eJBhAGEiwABr9o2JAK6W67rEsebiwDtsQa74_QIduobcB4j91s61HxrGr3gO_bmhSUphoCyGsQAvD_BwE


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## Welsh Wizard (Jun 18, 2021)

Do let us know what it is like when you get it. I still think the price is somewhat extortionate, even for these!, and I'm not quite sure about the look. I think certain watches require certain straps and having looked at the strap for the Omega Aqua Terra I still think it looks better with a leather strap


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## Roxyben (May 19, 2020)

Welsh Wizard said:


> Do let us know what it is like when you get it. I still think the price is somewhat extortionate, even for these!, and I'm not quite sure about the look. I think certain watches require certain straps and having looked at the strap for the Omega Aqua Terra I still think it looks better with a leather strap


 Will do of course. Will give it a little write up when it arrives. Due Thursday I do believe. This is going on my Seamaster proffesional not an aqua terra. About the price. Yeah it is a hefty figure for what is essentially a rubber strap but it works out a lot cheaper than the official Omega rubbers and its better than getting some junk off ebay. Which will probably end up being no good. I did do a lot of research as well, watched a couple of videos and read many reviews and deemed that this is going to be great strap.................................I hope!!!

Well only time will tell. Looking forward to taking delivery of it though.


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## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

There is clearly a market for specialised straps like these & you are guaranteed a perfect fit for your Omega or Rolex etc - I guess if you have these types of watches then spending nearly £200 on a rubber strap isn't that big a deal? - I'll stick to straps that are more appropriate, budget wise, to the watches I own & am more than happy with the last rubber (Tropic style) strap I bought from CNS (Sweden) for the price of a pint of beer ...


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## Roxyben (May 19, 2020)

PaulBoy said:


> I guess if you have these types of watches then spending nearly £200 on a rubber strap isn't that big a deal?


 It is a big deal, quite a considered purchase to be honest. Just don't want to skimp out a strap for the Seamaster, don't want to get something and it not look right. There does seem to be a few companies like Zealande catering to the high end watch market. I have wanted a rubber for quite a bit, a fitted one as well and there is not that many options that are cheap. So a Zealande strap it is.


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## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

What I was trying to say was that relative to the cost of the watch, £200 isn't an unreasonable amount to spend on a strap - I wasn't inferring that £200 isn't a big chunk of money? - The Zealande is an excellent alternative to the Omega rubber strap which cost considerably more - I hope that makes sense (but knowing me, probably not!)


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## Roxyben (May 19, 2020)

Yeah totally makes sense! Was meant to be coming Thursday but just had an update that its arriving today! Not bad to say its coming from France. DHL will have done a fantastic job if so.


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## Roxyben (May 19, 2020)

So it arrived late this morning and have had the new rubber on for a couple of hours. Extremely comfortable! Well worth the expense in my opinion. Will write a bit about it as this may be helpful to a lot of people as Zealande do a range of straps for all sorts of brands including Rolex, Omega and Tag. So I have bought a black rubber strap for my Omega Seamaster Professional so that's what you will see in this little write up. But yeah they cover quite a few other brands.

So to start with, I ordered this Sunday afternoon and this arrived late morning today courtesy of DHL. Very impressive. I think this may be the first thing I have ordered from abroad since the pandemic as I have chose not to because of all the hassle. But Zealande rubber from France, no issues whatsoever! Exceptional service. I will add the postage was free. But bare in mind this is not a cheap strap. The actual cost of the strap was 150 euros which converted to GBP works out at about £135.

So next on to the packaging, its easy to forget when opening up the contents of this box that this is essentially just a strap we are talking about here. A rubber strap! I'm not going to complain but the packaging was more than adequate, made the strap feel a little special. Its quite easy to see that a lot of thought has gone into the packaging and presentation. It came within a box within a box so there was no chance that this was ever going to arrive damaged. The outer box is a lovely glossy card box with a magnetic closer to keep it shut which is a nice touch.



On opening the magnetic flap underneath you will find a warranty card which has been filled in which again is above and beyond what I would expect in a strap. Inside the contents are the strap in a lovely high quality plasticy pouch and also a decent sized polishing cloth? I think that's what it is anyway. Its branded with the Zealande logo and is pretty big. Thats what I will be using it for as the ceramic bezel on the Seamaster picks up fingerprints quite easily. Also including amongst all this was a hand written letter to myself which again is above and beyond and just a really nice personal touch. Zealande have thought of everything concerning this product, they really have.



So onto the actual business end, the strap! Its hard to forget about that with all the eye candy and attention to detail presented in the packaging. So I went to get my Seamaster which is still on the bracelet. Now this is a job in itself getting this thing off. 10 minutes later I have liberated it from the bracelet and I am ready to fit the rubber. So the rubber feels really nice to the touch, really supple and looks amazing. I have had a few rubber straps of varying quality and this is up there with the best, if not the best I have felt. (And to be honest so it should be!) It has a brushed clasp with a screwdriver fixing bar and a bit of ridged detailing along the main length of the rubber. Has two keepers one which is fixed next to the clasp and another which is free to wander the length of the strap. This also has 8 holes of adjustment. The whole strap looks really pretty sporty to me. Fitting it took a while as it fits very tight to the body of the watch. After fitting one half of the strap I went to do the second and the spring bar flew off. No lie......1 hour later I found it. I didn't see which way it popped off so I was on my hands and knees looking for this thing, have covered the whole living room about 10 times at least till I found the thing hiding behind the television. I was starting to get a bit angry looking for it but was just happy to find it as I wanted the rubber fitted so I could wear it and see what its like! So heres a few picture with the rubber fitted off the wrist.



So first impressions on the wrist is that I am extremely happy. Sometimes the bracelet on the Seamaster as much as I love it had put me off wearing it a bit as I just couldn't quite get the right fit. But this rubber just sits amazingly. I am set at on the fourth hole of adjustment so pretty much right in the middle of its 8 holes. I have a 6 3/4 sized wrist so not a huge wrist. I think for people with quite large wrists that you may struggle a bit with this strap as it is not the longest strap in the world. I'm in the middle and I don't have a great amount of tail to tuck into the keepers but Its pretty much perfect the amount of tail to tuck in. .Fits great with little movement and it doesn't make the watch feel top heavy at all. Something I was wary of getting this rubber. It just clamps nicely to the wrist and doesn't move much. Its cliché to say but it does really change the feel of this watch. It feels like I do have a new watch. I can just see me wearing this watch a lot more than what I did in the past which is great. Looks wise I guess its just a plain rubber strap essentially but it has enough bits of detailing to keep it interesting and looking really smart, and what trumps all that anyway is the pure comfort of this strap, which is key to me really. It fits so flush to the case which is impressive, one thing I was worried about is that it may sit too flush to the bezel hindering the movement of it. The bezel spins just fine and there is no drag from the rubber at all which is a relief.



Here I have used the plastic case the rubber came in to put in the bracelet which is very handy.



So to summarise I am very happy with this strap. Its gonna give my Seamaster a new lease of life I reckon. Yes it is quite an expensive strap but you really do get what you pay for and I can vouch that no corners have been cut at all from the packaging, the service down to the actual rubber. If there's anything I have missed or you have any questions regarding the strap feel free to ask me, will do my best. Will probably follow this up in a few months after its had a bit of wear I reckon.

Thanks Ben


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## Bow (Jan 23, 2021)

If I may share a tip which is no doubt well known on here but here goes nothing….…..I bought a cheap UV torch for charging up lume and it is the best thing in the world for finding stuff! Spring bars literally glow when the beam passes them.


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## Roxyben (May 19, 2020)

Bow said:


> If I may share a tip which is no doubt well known on here but here goes nothing….…..I bought a cheap UV torch for charging up lume and it is the best thing in the world for finding stuff! Spring bars literally glow when the beam passes them.


 Could have done with it earlier! Not something thats well known to me. Wouldn't have been too bothered if it was a bog standard springbar but because it was an omega one I wanted that one back in the watch. Hence the hour search! Even had the wife looking towards the end. :biggrin: May have to invest in one in case it happens again!


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## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

Hi Ben ... As I mentioned on today's WRUW thread, the strap & watch look great together - Great review too & a big thanks to @Bow for the UV torch tip - Crawling around the room looking for a "springbar gone rogue" is one of my specialist subjects too!


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## Roxyben (May 19, 2020)

PaulBoy said:


> Hi Ben ... As I mentioned on today's WRUW thread, the strap & watch look great together - Great review too & a big thanks to @Bow for the UV torch tip - Crawling around the room looking for a "springbar gone rogue" is one of my specialist subjects too!


 Yeah thanks Paulboy! I do think it suits, just hope it gets me wearing it a bit more! Very happy overall.


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## Raymond Spanks (May 4, 2020)

Great write up Ben. Think that looks great on the new strap. Feel the white dial SMP looks much better on a rubber strap or nato than the bracelet. Think you've found the perfect strap for it. Cheers


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Bow said:


> I bought a cheap UV torch for charging up lume and it is the best thing in the world for finding stuff!


 I was thinking I should buy one and then I remembered I was given this at an IT security conference. Does secret writing too. :laugh:


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