This watch brand has created a completely new type of strap using lasers

You want an hour? A strap that is as comfortable as cloth, as light as rubber, as strong as a metal band, and feels like Milanese mesh?

Any watch lover looking to tick all the above boxes would normally expect to have a spring bar removal tool to try all of the above individually, but a new strap has been developed by an independent Malaysian brand. Ming It now seems to offer the best of both worlds.

Photo: Courtesy of Ming

The one belt that rules them all has been given a name PolymeshIt is made by 3D printing from grade 5 titanium, and consists of 1,693 interconnected parts (including the buckle) held together without any pins or screws. The only additional parts that require assembly are the quick-release spring bars at each end that attach it to the watch – the hinge pin clasp is also machined in the same process.

The belt, which consists of rows of 15 equilateral triangles, interlocked together and held together by larger end pieces, “has more geometric movement in the radial axis than the lateral axis,” says Ming, resulting in a flexible end result that hangs like fabric while maintaining the strength of titanium.

The company took seven years to develop, working with partners Sisma SpA in Italy and ProMotion SA in Switzerland. Notable challenges included the risk of components fusing together, and the fact that titanium powder — the raw material from which the belt is laser sintered — is highly explosive, Ming says. Each belt takes several hours to produce and requires hundreds of layers of additive manufacturing in an inert gas environment.

The company is not the first to use 3D printing techniques for finished products in the watch industry (as opposed to prototypes), but it is the only one to use it for straps or bracelets. Emerging British Abyar It debuted a 3D printed watch case, as did the Dutch brand Holthenrixwhich created versions of the Ornament 1 in 18-karat gold as well as stainless steel.

Case of tapes

As much as straps have been an area of ​​innovation in the watch world, attention has recently turned to brands developing proprietary mechanisms for interchangeable straps, with varying degrees of success and popularity. Sustainability programs that focus on leather alternatives such as reclaimed leather Apple peel or Mushroom based Materials or textiles woven from them Ocean plastic. Some of these countries have proven difficult to industrialize, and almost all have faced accusations of greenwashing.

The 2015 Rolex Oysterflex strap features a synthetic rubber that is virtually indistinguishable from rubber with thin nickel titanium alloy blades embedded within it for strength.

Photo: Stojan & Vomar / Rolex