Watch strap

A watch strap or watch bracelet is a strap or bracelet that holds a wrist watch to the wrist. Watch straps may be made of leather, plastic, rubber, cloth, or metal, sometimes in combination. It can be regarded as a fashion item, serving both a utilitarian and decorative function. Some metal watch straps may be plated with, or even in rare cases made of, precious metals.

Watch straps may close with a buckle or a butterfly clasp. Expanding watchstraps are designed to expand elastically, often by the use of metal springs in a segmented design, and may be slipped on like a bracelet. Attachment points for the strap to the watch are largely standardized, with a spring-loaded double-ended pin used to anchor the watch strap to holes in a bracket that is integral to the watch case, allowing worn watch straps to be replaced or swapped with new straps for fashion purposes.

Both metal watch cases, and watch straps incorporating metal parts can sometimes cause contact dermatitis in susceptible individuals. Special anti-allergy watch straps, like a NATO style watch strap, which shield the skin from exposure to metal parts, are available for sufferers of this type of dermatitis.

Watch

A watch is a small timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep working despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn on a wrist, attached by a watch strap or other type of bracelet. A pocket watch is designed for a person to carry in a pocket.

Watches evolved in the 17th century from spring-powered clocks, which appeared as early as the 14th century. The first watches were strictly mechanical, driven by clockwork. As technology progressed, mechanical devices, used to control the speed of the watch, were largely superseded by vibrating quartz crystals that produce accurately timed electronic pulses. Some watches use radio clock technology to regularly correct the time. The first digital electronic watch was developed in 1970.

Most inexpensive and medium-priced watches, used mainly for timekeeping, are electronic watches with quartz movements. Expensive collectible watches, valued more for their elaborate craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal and glamorous design than for simple timekeeping, often have purely mechanical movements and are powered by springs, even though these movements are generally less accurate and more expensive than electronic ones. Various extra features, called "complications", such as moon-phase displays and the different types of tourbillon, are sometimes included. Modern watches often display the day, date, month and year, and electronic watches may have many other functions. Time-related features such as timers, chronographs and alarm functions are common. Some modern designs incorporate calculators, GPS and Bluetooth technology or have heart-rate monitoring capabilities. Watches incorporating GPS receivers use them not only to determine their position. They also receive and use time signals from the satellites, which make them essentially perfectly accurate timekeepers, even over long periods of time.

Strap

A strap, sometimes also called strop, is an elongated flap or ribbon, usually of fabric or leather.

Thin straps are used as part of clothing or baggage, or bedding such as a sleeping bag. See for example spaghetti strap, shoulder strap. A strap differs from a belt mainly in that a strap is usually integral to the item of clothing; either can be used in combination with buckles.

Straps are also used as fasteners to attach and bind items, to objects, animals (for example a saddle on a horse) and people (for example a watch on a wrist), or even to tie down people and animals, as on an apparatus for corporal punishment. Occasionally a strap is specified after what it binds or holds, e.g. chin strap.

Mere two-inch-wide nylon vehicle tow/recovery straps are commonly rated at 20,000 lbs. break strength.Webbing is a particular type of strap that is a strong fabric woven as a flat strip or tube that is also often used in place of rope. Modern webbing is typically made from exceptionally high-strength material, and is used in automobile seat belts, furniture manufacturing, transportation, towing, military apparel, cargo fasteners, and many other fields.

E. Gluck Corporation

E. Gluck Corporation, founded in 1956 by its current President, Eugen Gluck, is an American watch manufacturer headquartered in Little Neck, New York. E. Gluck Corporation manufactures watches under two flagship brand names, Armitron and Anne Klein. As of 1999, Armitron had the fifth largest share of all watch purchasers, by brand, in the United States. As of 2005, Armitron ranks as one of the top ten fine and fashion watch brands in the US, along with Timex, Fossil, Seiko, Citizen, Casio, Guess, Bulova, Movado, and Pulsar.

Divisions

Armitron

Armitron is a medium-price watch manufacturing company which manufactures and retails watches in U.S. only.

Brands

Major categories

Digital watches

Armitron started making digital watches in the 1970s with LED displays. The LED displays consumed so much battery life that, in 1977, the company stopped production. Armitron subsequently began manufacturing their digital watches with LCD displays, which eventually became the industry standard.