The James Bond 007 Strap (Mafia Strap)

The trend of NATO Watch straps
The NATO straps were an essential part of the British military uniform during the Cold War. The grey coloured, nylon straps became extremely popular amongst the common population towards the end of the war.

007 and the ‘Bond NATO’

The debate about whether Sean Connery’s watch strap in the early Bond movies was a NATO, and its colour. After numerous threads and years of speculation, the argument seems to have finally been resolved with the release of high definition blue ray videos of Goldfinger and Thunderball.

Bond’s 1960s strap was not a NATO

For decades, it was generally believed that Bond’s big-crown Rolex Submariner 6538 was on a NATO band with black and grey regimental stripes. The black with two grey stripes subsequently became known as the ‘Bond NATO’ among watch enthusiasts and 007 fans. Despite the films being made about 9 years before the publication of DEF STAN 66-15 (so the strap couldn’t have been a NATO). As we can see the strap consist of only 1 metal buckle,1 cloth and a strap which closely resembles a RAF style strap hence it was definitely not a Nato strap.

Analysis of close-ups in Goldfinger

If you zoom in on the watch and strap during the close-up shots in Goldfinger, you’ll notice something pretty interesting. Even before the film restoration, it’s already clear Bond’s strap is slimmer than 20 mm. Most estimates put it at about 16 mm, and you can actually see the spring bars because it’s so narrow. The likely reason? They probably didn’t have a proper wide cloth strap that fit the Submariner’s 20 mm lugs, so a 16 mm nylon strap (which was super common in the early 1960s) was an easy, quick grab.

And here’s the fun part: with the restored footage, we can now see the strap is actually in the famous Vintage Bond colourway.

Fast-forward to Spectre with Daniel Craig, and things get a modern upgrade. Bond’s watch is now an Omega, and it’s paired with a newer NATO-style strap. Since it’s striped, it’s pretty clear the design is inspired by the original NATO spec rather than being a true issued military strap.

The Original Connery strap

So I used those details as a blueprint, not a moodboard.

1.The fit: I chased that slimmer, close-up-accurate look, the one that feels a touch narrower than expected, the kind of choice you make when you’re working with what’s available.

2.The character: not overly polished, not overly precious. The strap should feel like it belongs in the field, not in a display case.

3.The color: the Vintage Bond tones, matched to the best evidence we have, so it reads the way it does on screen.

4.The accessory: the buckle from the first picture looks slightly curved, with a hoop to secure the excess fabric.

In the end, that’s what I set out to make: a Vintage Bond strap that feels like it could’ve been bought in a hurry, worn without fuss, and filmed forever. A strap built from the close-ups, sharpened by restoration, and finished with intent, the ideal version of the one that started it all.