# Real Vintage Bond Strap



## Potter63 (Feb 8, 2018)

Hi!

Does anyone now where to find an accurate Bond strap? I only see cheap/incorrect straps around, and I was looking for something more screen accurate.

Corvus is out of business and a seller that had them on Ebay has being without for a year now...

Can anyone help me to find a faithful reproduction of the old green/dark blue bond strap?


----------



## broonzbane (Mar 25, 2013)

The Corvus Bond was made by Phoenix, who has the government contract for the British Ministry of Defense. I still have my old Corvus, but stopped wearing it within weeks of purchasing it because the adjustment holes started to blowout terribly. It’s a gorgeous strap, but the quality is awful IMHO.

After Corvus folded up their tent, Phoenix started making the Bond under their own branding, but it’s generally held that the quality is still just as suspect today as it was then. Caveat emptor.

I have since acquired an Erika’s Originals MN ‘Connery’ which comes closer to faithfully replicating the color scheme, weave and flat matte ‘sheen’ (for lack of a better term) than any other NATO alternative I’ve tried. But at 5x the price…

Just my opinion…hope this helps!


----------



## Potter63 (Feb 8, 2018)

broonzbane said:


> The Corvus Bond was made by Phoenix, who has the government contract for the British Ministry of Defense. I still have my old Corvus, but stopped wearing it within weeks of purchasing it because the adjustment holes started to blowout terribly. It’s a gorgeous strap, but the quality is awful IMHO.
> 
> After Corvus folded up their tent, Phoenix started making the Bond under their own branding, but it’s generally held that the quality is still just as suspect today as it was then. Caveat emptor.
> 
> ...


Hi Bronzebane! 

Thank you for your reply.

I was under the impression that Corvus straps were more accurate than Phoenix.
The Corvus green stripes seems to be more accurate and the red side lines thinner (or is it just my impression?)

Corvus:










The phoenix green seems pretty off from the pictures 
Phoenix:










The one provided from that eBay seller called aliasmarlow seems to be one of the best versions, but he hasn't had anything in stock for a while and he's not bother with replying to messages either.
From ebay on the right (next to geckota)










The Erika's look very well made, but not particularly true to the original...

Ideally I would love to source something close to the one once available on eBay


----------



## larand (May 15, 2017)

Take a look at these from Watch Gecko:









Geckota Genuine Vintage Bond NATO Watch Strap


By popular demand this version of our beautifully crafted NATO features a dark blue base with vintage red and olive green stripes, just like the original. As with all our NATO straps, we're sure you will notice that your strap is very well made, for dura




www.watchgecko.com





Instagram: @vta_watch


----------



## Potter63 (Feb 8, 2018)

larand said:


> Take a look at these from Watch Gecko:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi Iarand!

I owned one of the bond vintage Geckota strap before 😊

It's a decent strap with good colours. However like in the picture on my last post, you can see the lines are too close to eachother and the red stripes are too thick 😔


----------



## devmartin (Nov 27, 2017)

I've been wanting to try this one. Looks pretty good to me.









Real James Bond nylon watch strap (Goldfinger), Black Green Red


US Military strap - also known as NATO RAF - in compliance with US Army "Mil-S-46383" specifications : - 1.2 mm thick premium nylon ; - sewn weldings ; - wide fixed nylon loop in the "Officer" tradition ; - irremovable one piece stainless steel buckle (without spring bar) for a secure...




www.esprit-nato.com





Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk


----------



## Potter63 (Feb 8, 2018)

devmartin said:


> I've been wanting to try this one. Looks pretty good to me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I had it on a Citizen Promaster I've sold some time ago.

It isn't a bad strap, but nothing to write home about.
A tad overpriced too imh


----------



## Nokie (Jul 4, 2011)

I had the Erika's strap and it came fairly close to the original, IMHO. 

Good quality and good coloring. Was not exact, but for my purposes it worked very well.


----------



## broonzbane (Mar 25, 2013)

Potter63 said:


> Hi Bronzebane!
> 
> Thank you for your reply.
> 
> ...


Agreed. The EO is not even close to being true to the original from a purely design standpoint. Marine Nationale v. NATO. Different means of securing the watch to the wrist . . . Different hardware . . . Different materials. So, if you’re a purist, it’s not the strap for you.

If you’re only going for the aesthetic of faithfulness to the color scheme/reproduction (which is all that’s sufficient for me), then the EO does the job remarkably well.

FWIW, I wasn’t aware that there were color variations between the Corvus vs. the Phoenix—I just assumed Phoenix continued to make the same strap they had made for Corvus, but with the branded buckle swapped out. From your photos, the difference is stark, and I’m surprised to see that. I get your point!


----------



## Peteagus (May 14, 2011)

I posted a quick little showdown of bond straps on another watch forum recently. Sharing here for your pleasure. Short version: if you want the best colors, and can find one, aliasrichmond is the best. Otherwise, C&B is good backup plan. 

Who wants to know too much about Bond natos? You might say I’m a Bond nato idiot savant. Or a B-nis.

I classify Bond straps into 3 categories: VHS, DVD, and 4K:

On the old Goldfinger VHS tapes, you couldn’t make out the green and red, so the straps looked black and gray like #7 & #8.
On DVD, you could finally make out the red and green, so we got straps like #5 & #6.
Now, whether through better video quality, or just some ■■■■■■■’s assumption that Commander Bond would have worn Royal Navy, or regimental colors, we have straps like #1-4, which keep the red and green, but swap the black for blue.
Now, these are all good straps, but the only ones that regularly end up on my wrist are 1, 2, 3, and 8. These all look sexy AF on a BB58, gilt NTH (or some bastard child of the two, in my case).

Left to right:

C&B Chevron: $32
*bright navy, hunter green, and scarlet
*preppy colors, adjustible, incredible quality. there are a lot of chevron imitations, but they don’t compare to the real deal.
Helenarou: $15
*blue so black its hardly blue, light olve, maroon
*super soft, huge holes so it’s hard to get the perfect size, also holes get kinda warped
Aliasmarlowe: $39
*deep navy, golden diarrhea green, ruby
*wont fit smaller wrists, hard to find, but colors are amazing, it looks like a NOS 60 year old strap
Watchgecko: $25
*flat navy, gray olive, maroon
*i like the fabric keeper, but the colors are kinda meh, somewhere between 4K & DVD. WG straps are also way too long
C&B Premium Nato: $15
*black, olive, red
*this is just a regular old Nato, its fine, but identical straps available practically everywhere
Cincy Seat Belt: $26
*black, drab, neon scarlet
*vibrant colors, vibrant weave. same strap can be had for much cheaper
Toxicnatos Shiznit: $20-30
*metallic silver, black
*great hardware and weave, but these are discontinued. C&B supreme natos have different hardware, but the same material
Cincy Seat Belt: $26
*admirality grey, black
*amazing material, so comfy and tough as nails. i think Phenomenato looks awfully similar to this, they charge twice as much. everyone should have this strap.































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Iron swan (Jun 12, 2018)

Awesome post Pete! 
I can’t speak as to what I think is the most accurate, I trust your judgement. But as far as looks go… I think I actually like the colors of the Watchgeko best. Not a fan of the fabric keeper though, and as you mentioned it’s certainly too long.

I have a C&B bond but the green on mine is more of a dark forest green (similar to the Cincy next to it). 
I don’t love it.


----------



## jay_smith (Oct 23, 2018)

Peteagus said:


> I posted a quick little showdown of bond straps on another watch forum recently. Sharing here for your pleasure. Short version: if you want the best colors, and can find one, aliasrichmond is the best. Otherwise, C&B is good backup plan.
> 
> Who wants to know too much about Bond natos? You might say I’m a Bond nato idiot savant. Or a B-nis.


This is the mother of all posts on Bond straps, fantastic work!
On the assumption that the original strap wasn't custom made for the film, then this strap would not have been a unique piece at the time (whether or not you believe the story/myth that it was borrowed from a crew-member on set when the original strap wouldn't fit over Connery's drysuit). So someone else out there must the same strap dating from the early 60's, or at lease be able to pin down the exact regimental colours it came from?


----------



## Juhuatai (Feb 15, 2016)

Does anyone know where to get the Aliasmarlow straps these days? I have one in 18mm and am looking for a 20mm strap. He's OOS on ebay and doesn't respond to messages.


----------



## TheGanzman (Jan 12, 2010)

I _think_ I may have a Corvus Bradley Bond strap; if I do, I believe it's unused. If someone wants to shoot me a STUPID $ offer, I might be willing to let it go...


----------



## Juhuatai (Feb 15, 2016)

Is the Corvus Bradley the same as the Aliasmarlow one?


----------



## TheGanzman (Jan 12, 2010)

Found my Corvus Bond Strap - it DOES appear to be unused:


----------



## SennaGTS (Sep 15, 2012)

devmartin said:


> I've been wanting to try this one. Looks pretty good to me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have this strap. Absolutely love it.


----------



## William (Feb 8, 2006)

Really like the strap but didn't want to chase something close to the original so I just got a cheapie for $6. I really wanted the fabric keeper.


----------



## The Suave Entrepreneur (Oct 10, 2020)

This one is from crown and buckle. This one is the seatbelt weave, but they have a more standard weave. It’s a bit rich on the color compared to Sean’s, but the thicknesses are right. I’m not sure if it’s midnight blue or black. I’m colorblind in that respect.


----------

