The REAL Bond Strap: The Closest There Is!!

On this episode of The Bond Armory, we take a look at the REAL Bond strap and see just how accurate it is the what Connery wore in Goldfinger. Is it worth the $37 price tag? Plus, find out what watches, Bond, and weapons, all have in common!!

To get your own visit seller: aliasmarlow on Ebay!

Get the Connery Is Forever.. shirt here!

[TheBondExperience]

Always a pleasure to watch and as usual I learned more than a few things!

[jimseal]

Im the seller....ebay has blocked me for several weeks as I could not ship during lock down!!!!
Anyway....back now...
Reason for the price is they are made in the UK....Chinese manufacturers have bombarded me with offers as low as 65 cents to make these for me....you can buy them yourself if you want better quality actually....but mine are made on 1950's machinery in Uk by the company that probably made the original....can't prove it...but im pretty

[richardgreene]

I have worn a Goldfinger style Bond NATO for years. I’m still on the original strap which remains in excellent condition even though I have bought a few backups. For my money, the best and most accurate one I have found is from a company in the UK called WatchGecko. They have all of the various Bond NATO straps, but the US MOD features the cloth keepers as seen in Goldfinger. They generally sell for about $24 US, but I just picked another one up on a Black Friday Sale for $12. You will not be disappointed in this strap!

[kb]

The watch as brass knuckles is a callback to the Fleming novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; he does the same thing with his Rolex in when escaping from Piz Gloria

[theurbangentry]

Excellent video sir. Did you consider going for a smaller size to get that Connery undersized look? Maybe a bit OTT :D May I recommend a brand called "Phoenix" from the UK. IMO the best NATO straps out there, after all, they made the very first mil-spec one in admiralty grey. Occasionally you can find them on eBay too.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video, keep up the good work.
Best regards,
TGV

[robertmiddleton]

I had noticed that his watch was missing when he went to get Vesper out of the submerged lift but I always thought that it was a continuity error. Now I know what really happened to it. Well spotted.

[aliasmarlow]

Factory back in lockdown, can't currently say when we will be it will be soon

[j_holtslander]

Unfortunately the seller referenced no longer sells them. The current (2024) best option is the RAF Bond strap from CNS Watch Bands but it’s not available in 16mm. 18mm is the smallest they sell.

[Johnmhemp]

I have watched this video MANY times over the years...the strap is phenomenal and while I have the 2 piece I would love the single ply....I thought that I was close recently but hoping the seller gets more in so that I can try again. This is the first time that I paid attention to the watch...I bought a 6538 homage recently. Almost got the one that you have here.

[bidhrohi]

The reason NATO straps were designed as a single piece, was so that if one of the spring bars failed, the watch would hold on. I'd like to think if Bond knew of it as an option, he'd have gone for that. Or maybe Bond figured it out and had Q invent it, which the military than began to mass produce. In any case, I'm happy with my blushark bond strap NATO that seems remarkably sturdy, for less than $20 with sales and discounts.

[ricardodiaz]

Watching in 2022. The strap isn’t on his eBay store anymore.

[cblackstar]

Aliasmarlow hasn't had these in stock in ages but I've been dying to buy one :-/

[Lord_Mad_Dog]

i have the one from cheapnatostraps and im loving it so far, screen accurate and theres also the modern one there in a nato strap so you can get both for like $15

[warrenrhinerson]

Fun fact, the part of Casino Royale where Bond uses his watch as brass knuckles is actually taken directly from Fleming’s On her majesty’s secret service. In it Bond does the same thing with his Rolex. I believe it’s only the second time his watch is mentioned

[Chimney]

During years, I have bought from Ebay three of those REAL Bond Straps.
Two were 22mm wide single ply construction (in original RAF Strap* specs)
and third was 22mm wide 2 piece 2 ply construction (more stiff and durable) ...
Real Bond Straps were originally known as *Royal Air Force Straps of 1960s,
over a decade before G1098 Admiralty Gray 'NATO straps' were invented.

My own user experience regarding REAL Bond Straps:
Latest two-piece 'not so original' strap pairs in ideal manner with my modded blue Orient Ray II diver watch.
Merc hands and double domed sapphire modification to Orient Ray II makes it ideal poor man's alternative
for Rolex 'Goldfinger' Submariner, and two piece two ply strap holds well the weight of that watch.
Single ply strap is more ideal for some lightweight quartz or lightweight titanium case watch as puts less
load stress to that relatively thin strap fabric.
Casio DBC-610 Data Bank watch got paired with my relatively worn original 22mm single ply strap,
and that so very 1980s lightweight Casio fits in perfect manner,
reminding about late Sir Roger Moore quartz watch preferences as James Bond...

[matt]

Great video. I've been after a similar strap recently. I've settled on a NATO in similar colours but this is really informative. I did wonder how Goldfinger, made in 1964 featured a watch strap introduced in the 70's! The watch as a knuckle duster idea is also from the novels I'm pretty sure... Not certain which one(s) though. 🤔

[bizzbarberbarryt]

yer crazy price for a strap indeed but in the uk the bond type natos are everywhere and retail around £12 ($ 14) . yer for sure if you want that bond look def go for that identical look depending on the era . great vid stay safe my friend

[johnsimmons]

I rock a G-Shock Vibe Alert myself. Great watch!

[temmink]

Bond wore a borrowed strap of a crew member to fit his diving suit. Its a 16 mm for a 22 mm lug so its too small.

[jonathannagel]

No hidden garrote like “from russia love, ” or Mike from breaking bad! That’s totally what I expected the “reinforcement to be!” Well