Splitting Hairs? Metal vs. Non-Metal Watchbands

The classic Rolex may not be the perfect gift for your manly beau

A Snip on the Wrist

A fine watch is one of the best gifts a person can receive – it’s the perfect merger of aesthetics and function, and all [around] the palm of your hand. These are things men particularly appreciate I think, or at least, are drawn to like bugs to brights. Designers like Rolex and Omega have bet both hands on this, making well-crafted and classy watches with a signature flashy-but-reserved style. But if this is his first big-boy watch, that shiny, silver-linked band may not be the one your man is looking for, even if he doesn’t know it.

The thing about all those smart metal bands out there is that what they give in look, they more than lack in feel. For your average, slightly-above-average swarthy hairy handsome man, that ice on the wrist can not only be cold to the touch, it can also constantly pinch and pull the hairs on the wrist whenever they wiggle it or flip their arm up to check the time. This can be annoying and even a little painful. Here, we’ll take a look at a few replica designer watches from perfectwatches.com with non-metal bands that bring all the right tock without all the tick bites.

Making the Band: Panerai and MontBlanc

Now for the record, I don’t mean to criticize Rolex, Omega, or any other esteemed watch-house for their tried and true vision for the perfect band. And there are surely some distinct qualities to the classic metal band, namely the big frizzy hair and the wild electric axes. But seriously: they have a nice weight, they are sure not to break, and they dazzle. And these designer names of course have their own unique non-metal bands, followed diligently by the replica-houses, but they seem like more of an after-thought. With Panerai and MontBlanc and their replicas however, the watches seem perfectly in their element with beautiful leather and synthetic straps.



Panerai’s unencumbered watch faces are matched with sleek and soft leather straps. The gold-plated casing of the Luminor Marina are perfectly complemented by a black-stitching-on-black strap. The silver plating and sheer hands go beautifully with similarly designed auburn strap on the Radiomir. The stylish numeric font, with those sixes and nines, looks almost literally like the icing on the cake.



For more sophistication, a MontBlanc watch could be the perfect gift. The understated 440-grade stainless steel case and crowns draw attention to the mottled leather straps, as does the sharp white stitching. MontBlanc also offers a wide variety of watch faces and numerical designs. The roman numerals and the miniature time counts are maybe a little too refined – but they look amazing, especially with the dark scaled band framing them! This band’s also great because it evokes the look of links in its own very different way. A replica MontBlanc’s been on my wish-list lately, especially with their new-found love of the theater arts (see previous post). But watch out – MontBlanc also makes some high-tech-looking rubber straps that are likely to cause the same friction and pain as metal links.

Bind his Wrists Right

Some men just don’t realize what they’re missing in a watchband – they think they have to deal with the little nips and snips from the metal links to have a nice watch. Others who have yet to wear a real piece (until you came along) immediately think class and price mean shiny band, but don’t know what’s coming to the little hairs on their wristy-wrist-wrist. Now that you know of the pitfalls, and the not-so-shiny bright alternatives, why not give those fuzzy wrists a good strapping?

I'm Still Wearing Wiley's Rolex

Wiley…doesn't have a Rolex Watch anymore

Funny how lyrics about a watch attracted me to a song and a genre that I otherwise would have pretty much ignored. What does that say about me? Am I a watch nerd? Is there anything wrong with that? Am I obsessed with Rolex watches?

Do you remember British pop rapper Wiley's song "Wearing My Rolex"? If you don't you must have been in a cave somewhere in Indonesia. (If you actually were living in a cave in Indonesia, I apologize).



This song was gigantic. For a while it seemed to be coming out of the open window of every car going by on every street in the world. Do you want to know what I did when I realized I was singing it to myself in my sleep? I got up one morning, went online and bought myself a new Rolex Day Date Watch (replica).

Ever since, my personal joke to myself, and anyone who asks about my watch, is that I'm wearing Wiley's Rolex. It's been a year and it keeps getting more hilarious. Just yesterday a woman asked me about my watch and I immediately started singing the song.

Don't remember the words? Well, here's a taste of the chorus from the biggest (but certainly not the only) song about a Rolex watch ever:

What would we do
Usually drink, usually dance, usually babble
All I want to do is tell you I love you
That's when I start promising the world to
a brand new girl I don't even know yet
Next thing she's wearing my Rolex.

Now, I'm not one to put a lot of emphasis on…or suggest the importance of, a silly pop song, but I still have to say I can relate to "promising the world to a girl I don't even know yet". Funny how that happens, ah, over and over! What's different about me and Wiley though is that I wouldn't let anyone wear my Rolex watch…I don't think. Would you?

If there's one situation those rules get broken though it's when you think you're in love with some girl you don't even know…then the next thing you know…maybe I'm the one wearing Wiley's Rolex, but some beautiful girl is out there wearing mine.