in the issue of Wallpaper’s annual Time supplement (May 2012)
‘The woven nylon strap is the most fashionable watch band in the world’.
‘First issued in 1973, the ‘G10’ watch strap, sometimes also referred to as the ‘Nato’ strap, is authentically militaristic. Officially, this small article must have ‘welded joints’, be made of straight, cross-weave nylon, and come in one colour only and in one width (20 mm). It should be exactly 280 mm long. Thankfully, for us civilians, there are other options. The ‘G10’ is now available in a wide range of bright, sporty colours and preppy stripes that can easily be exchanged to match a bezel, face detail or shirt cuff. The ‘G10’ strap began its transition from unremarkable, government-approved issue to cult classic during one pivotal scene in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger, in which Sean Connery’s Bond, dressed in a white dinner jacket, checks the time on his ‘Submariner’ – and the viewer catches a brief glimpse of the cult band in its full glory.
It’s a look that will catch on decades later with obsessives attempting to copy this oddly skewed, subtly iconic style.’