If the weight of your watch matters, rubber can make a huge difference.

The other day, over at Everest HQ, we received an unusual email. A customer reached out to us to ask, “Can you please tell me the weight of your rubber straps?” He followed up with, “I’m curious how much less my Rolex will weigh with your strap on it, thanks.” To be honest, I had absolutely no idea how much Everest rubber straps weighed. 

That email really got me wondering exactly how much less a Rolex would weigh if you swapped out the traditional Oyster or Jubilee bracelet for a rubber option. In order to really know the answer to this question, and to be able to compare fairly, I also had to find out how much Rolex bracelets actually weigh---something else I did not know the answer to whatsoever.

This sent me off on a quest to find out. After some digging, I was able to find a scale in our shipping facility stock room. I gathered up all of the Rolex bracelets we had around the office, and grabbed a tool kit to remove the ones that were still in tact. I popped each bracelet on the scale. The results were surprising! Take a look:

The Weight of Rolex Bracelets and Clasps:

Shown above: Everest Deployant Strap for Submariner in Orange

Up first on the scale was the Rolex Submariner Ceramic Oyster bracelet. At 78 grams, this was one of the heaviest Rolex bracelets we weighed. This particular bracelet has 7 links on one side and 5 on the other, plus the Glidelock clasp. Of course if your bracelet had more or less links the mass could be slightly different. But overall, this was a pretty heavy bracelet.

Shown above: Everest Rubber Strap with Tang Buckle for Rolex GMT Master II in Blue

Next to step up to the scale was the Rolex Oyster bracelet you would find on watches such as the Rolex GMT Master II, the Rolex Daytona, and the Yacht-Master. This stainless steel beauty with polished center links and Rolex clasp weighed in at 72 grams.

Shown above: Everest Rubber Strap with Tang Buckle for Rolex Explorer II in Black

The Rolex Explorer II Oyster bracelet qualified in the lightweight division at only 70 grams. This particular bracelet was the lightest one of the Oysters we sampled.

Shown above: Everest Rubber Strap with Tang Buckle for Rolex Sea-Dweller 43 in Black

Last but not least for the Oyster bracelets was the Sea-Dweller 43 bracelet, which was by far the heaviest one we weighed. This guy tapped in at a whopping 80 grams.

The Weight of Everest Rubber Watch Straps:

Now, to find out how much an Everest Rubber Strap weighs, and to answer the customer’s question which was "How much lighter will my Rolex be on a rubber strap?" When weighing our tang buckle rubber strap (EH5 Models), we discovered that with the buckle it weighed approximately 30 grams. The stainless steel buckle itself weighs only 6 grams, meaning the strap without buckle is about 24 grams. Wow, what a massive difference in weight a rubber strap can make!

Because Everest offers both a tang buckle strap version and a deployant strap version (that utilizes your existing Rolex clasp), we thought we should weigh those offerings as well. Our deployant rubber straps when connected to a Rolex Glidelock clasp weighed in at 40 grams. A weight anywhere between 30-40 grams would make these rubber strap options weigh at least 50% less than a traditional Rolex oyster bracelet with glidelock clasp.

Last but certainly not least, we weighed our deployant rubber strap with a Rolex Easylink clasp. This combo weighed in slightly lighter than the one with glidelock clasp at 38 grams.

The Findings:

If we take the average weight of the Rolex bracelets gathered today, we can find that on average a steel Rolex bracelet weighs approximately 75 grams. So how much lighter will a Rolex be on a rubber strap? Since our straps (with buckles and clasps) weighed on average 35 grams, a Rolex bracelet weighs more than double of that of a rubber strap.  In fact a traditional Rolex bracelet is approximately 2.5x heavier than an Everest rubber strap.

In other words, a rubber strap can make your watch 2.5x lighter. This is a decrease in weight of approximately 60% and to be honest, that is quite significant!

Why This Matters:

One of the most common complaints of watch owners is that their watches are too heavy. At the end of a day you may feel fatigue and pain on your wrists which takes a lot of joy out of wearing a watch. We move our hands and wrists all day long every day and that extra weight can take its toll over time. If you are wanting a more comfortable and lightweight experience, Everest bands are absolutely the way to go.

We recently ran into a doctor wearing our straps on his GMT Master II, and he noted that he will never put the bracelet back on. He said it’s so lightweight now that he doesn’t even feel it on his wrist and that it has made wearing the Rolex more comfortable than he could have ever imagined. At the end of a long day, or sometimes mid day he used to take his watch off because his wrist needed a break. Now, he's able to enjoy it all day long.

We are so grateful to the customer who emailed us that odd and unusual question last week. It allowed us to open up an exploration of yet another reason why you should put an Everest band on your Rolex.