Sterling Silver and Gold Buckles

Copyright © David Boettcher 2005 - 2023 all rights reserved.

To increase the authenticity of my replica Great War era watch straps for wristwatches with silver and gold cases I decided to make replicas of original period sterling silver and gold buckles, and also to make silver and gold fittings for my leather Albert fob straps.

I keep Type A and Type designs with 12mm straps with sterling silver buckles in stock. Straps of other widths with sterling silver buckles, or gold buckles in 12mm only, are made to order. At the moment (23rd March 2023) gold buckles are out of stock.

I make the replica buckles as close as possible to originals made during the Great War of 1914 to 1918. They are handmade by me in an old hay loft in Cheshire, England, and hallmarked at the London Assay Office, exactly as the originals were hallmarked over one hundred years ago. If you have a trench watch from the Great War with a gold or silver case, these buckles are the perfect finishing touch to one of my replica straps.

If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to get in touch via my Contact Me page.

Hallmarking in Britain has its origins in an Act of King Edward in the year 1300, over 700 years ago, and the this has continued in an unbroken ever since. Gold and silver wares have been assayed and hallmarked at Goldsmiths' Hall since 1478, when workers were first required to bring their items to the hall to be marked. This where the term "hallmark" originates, and Goldsmiths' hall is where my gold and silver items are assayed and hallmarked.

I am now a registered goldsmith and silversmith with my own sponsor's mark entered at the London Assay Office, so that I can have my gold and silver buckles authentically hallmarked. There are few people who can say that they not only own an item of hallmarked gold or silver but also know the goldsmith who made it. You can join them today!

I keep a stock of Type A and Type B designs with sterling silver buckles and 12mm standard length straps that you can order from the Stock and Order List further down on this page. I also keep in stock sterling silver buckles in some other sizes, and usually some 9 carat yellow and pink gold buckles in 12mm ready to be made into straps.

My Type A, B and C design straps with sterling silver buckles are £55 in standard leather, the premium Italian leathers cost £5.00 more, plus postage & packing. Straps with 9 carat gold buckles were £170 (this will rise when more are made), again the premium Italian leathers cost £5.00 more, plus postage & packing.

If you want something that is not listed as a stock item please please refer to the section below about Custom Made Items.

A watch collector bought one of my Type A straps with a sterling silver buckle, and then a few days after receiving it he ordered a second strap; explaining his second purchase he wrote I love the strap so much I ordered a Type B version!

Sterling Silver Buckles

I make hand made sterling silver buckles in 925 sterling silver, they are then hallmarked by the London Assay Office with a full set of traditional struck English hallmarks - just like their predecessors were around a hundred years ago. They are assayed and hallmarked in the over 700 year old tradition of British hallmarking by the London Assay Office at Goldsmiths' Hall, where British hallmarking began.

Silver has been prized for thousands of years as a precious metal because of its intrinsic beauty and corrosion resistance. When polished it has a bright white appearance unlike any other metal; it makes any steel, including stainless steel and even chrome plate, look dull and grey. If you have a watch with a silver case, a strap with a standard metal buckle doesn't do it full justice, but one of my straps with one of these sterling silver buckles makes the perfect accompaniment to your Great War era trench watch, you won't regret it.

I usually have a stock of Type A and Type B designs made up with sterling silver buckles and 12mm straps. Other designs and strap sizes are available, these are made up to order, see Custom Made Items.

Making Buckles

My first attempt at copying an original sterling silver hallmarked 1918 buckle was done by entirely by hand and eye using just jewellers pliers. I immediately realised that it was not easy to make bends in the right places like this, and it was impossible to make nice regular even bends. After some head scratching I designed and made a small machine to make the bends neatly and in the right places.

The production versions are better than my first attempt, although that eventually turned out well enough that I had it hallmarked and I wear it on one of my own watches. The buckles look authentically hand made and "artisan", just like the originals. Just in case you can't tell, in the pictures my replica buckle is the one in the foreground.

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Designs of Buckles

I have made replicas of two original period sterling silver buckles, one from 1918, the other from 1907. My replica buckles are made in exactly the same way, and assayed and hallmarked by the London Assay Office at Goldsmiths' Hall, so that they are as close to original period buckles as is possible.

Type GW “Great War” Model

The type of buckle shown here, a “centre bar pin buckle” is the most common design found on early wristwatches. It is “self keepered”, i.e. it doesn't need a separate keeper for the strap end to be tucked into.

These original buckles are quite rare, unfortunately they seem to have often been discarded when the strap was replaced. I have a small number including the one on my Rotherhams English wristwatch, which has London Assay Office hallmarks for 1908 to 1909, and my replicas are accurate copies of these.

The original buckle that I used as a model for my sterling silver buckles is shown in the background of the picture here. It is hallmarked with London Assay Office hallmarks for 1918/1919. It is a style of buckle that was used throughout the Great War (WW1) and I call it my Great War model, or Type GW buckle for short.

I keep in stock ready to purchase straps with Type GW hallmarked sterling silver buckles in Type A or Type B designs with 12mm straps.

I usually also keep in stock loose Type GW hallmarked sterling silver buckles in several sizes, see Stock Loose Buckles, and usually (although not always) Type GW in 9 carat gold in 12mm. These are ready to be made into straps to your specifications, e.g. Type B with double slots, Type C, or with straps in different widths than 12mm, or different leather colours.

Leathers are available in colours other than the ones that I keep made up as stock items, so you can have yellow or blue or green etc. if you choose. For details of all the available leather colours go to Leather Types and Colours.

If you want to place an order for a strap to be made up, please see Custom Made Items.

Type RD “Registered Design” Model

The second buckle is a slightly more unusual design that fits onto a strap without being stitched into it. This design was associated with British and Swiss registered designs Modèle Déposé No. 9846 which are discussed on my page about trench watches.

NB: I currently have no Type RD buckles in stock, and no plans at the moment to make any more.

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Gold Buckles

I also make Type GW buckles in nine carat gold. These are hallmarked at the London Assay Office in exactly the same way as were the originals over a century ago, with a full set of traditional hallmarks including the sign of a crown for gold instead of the walking lion passant of sterling silver.

The image here shows three yellow gold Type GW buckles and a T-bar fitting for a leather Albert fob. The buckle bottom left is in 9 carat rose or pink gold - it's one colour but seems to be referred to interchangeably as either rose gold or pink gold.

Please bear in mind that computer displays do not reproduce colour with 100% fidelity, so the actual yellow or rose / pink colour can be slightly different from how it appears on screen. In actuality, the buckles that I have made in rose gold match the colour of rose gold watch cases, such as Rolex cases from the 1920s and 1930s, very well indeed.

Original gold buckles that I have seen are small in both overall size and wire diameter compared to my Type GW design. This was probably done to keep the cost down, but they look wimpy on a man's strap. I prefer my gold buckles to be made in 2.0mm diameter wire as shown here, which increases the cost of the gold. But they look “right”, and I always think that if you are going to do something, you might as well do it right.

Availability

At the moment (23rd March 2023) both yellow and rose gold buckles are out of stock and I don't have a date for making any just for stock, but if you definitely want to order a strap with a carat gold buckle then email me.

Prices

One of my Type A, B or C designs with a 12mm strap and a hallmarked Type GW nine carat gold buckle in standard leather is currently (December 2020) £170, the premium Italian leathers cost £5.00 more, plus postage & packing using a tracked service of £10 in the UK, £15 overseas.

Because of the high cost of gold bullion compared to silver I do not keep made up straps with gold buckles and in stock, there are too many variations of strap design and leather colour. I usually have 12mm nine carat yellow or rose gold buckles ready to be made into whatever strap design and leather colour you choose.

I only make 9 carat gold buckle in 12mm width because the vast majority of trench watches take 12mm straps. [NB: due to an order cancelled during the pandemic, I have two 10mm yellow gold buckles in stock. I will not be making any more in this size.] If you have a trench watch, please check the lug width as described at Strap Width. If you need a size other than 12mm, a gold coloured or gold plated buckle is possible.

First Customers' Reactions

The first three nine carat gold buckles that I made were in response to a request from a Danish collector. They are shown in the photograph here, the buckles are 12mm and are Type A design straps made up in dark brown Montana grain leather.

When the potential order was discussed I contemplated making the buckles in 1.5mm wire because of the cost of gold, to keep down the cost. However, I said to the customer that I thought that to look right on a man's watch the gold buckles would have to be the same size as my sterling silver buckles, and made of 2.0mm thick gold wire. Happily the customer agreed, and the buckles in the picture are the result. The customer was pleased with the outcome, telling me:

Hi David,

I received the watch straps with the 9 carat buckles Friday afternoon. The buckles look really great, excellent craftsmanship. I love the way the hallmarks are made on the buckles! And yes, this is really the right size of a buckle on a man's watch strap! I am more than pleased !

Thank you ! Best regards Jens

The second customer for one of my hallmarked gold buckles was a collector in the Netherlands. He wanted a strap with a gold buckle to go with his gold Angora Watch Company wristwatch with hermetic case made by the Borgel company of Geneva.

The resulting strap is shown in the photograph here fitted to the watch. I am happy to say that this customer was also pleased with the outcome, saying:

Hi David!

Do I think the strap is beautiful? I think it is magnificent!!!

Kind Regards, Bart

If you want to order one of my designs of straps with a gold buckle, please email me with the details of what you want and where you live.

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My Unique Guarantee

Gold and silver have been prized for thousands of years because of their intrinsic beauty. Neither rust or oxidise. When polished silver has a whiter appearance than any other metal, it makes any steel, including stainless steel, and even chrome plate, look dull and grey. This is due to its electron configuration, which results in it reflecting all electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths longer than 3000 angstroms, which is in the ultraviolet range. All visible light, wavelengths between 4000 and 7000 angstroms, is reflected, resulting in the white colour of the pure metal. Silver does not oxidise, but it can form a surface layer of silver sulphide which is black - that's what photographs used to be made from and is why you need one of my polishing cloths.

My gold and sterling silver buckles are made from solid gold or silver, so there is no plating to wear through or flake off. The Great War era buckles that I have replicated (which you can see in the pictures) look as good today as they did when they were made around 100 years ago, you can't say the same about any chrome plated buckle or watch case. I can confidently say, in fact I guarantee (excluding damage and excessive polishing), that my gold and sterling silver buckles will look as good in 100 years time as when I made them. There are not many things you can say that about. And even if you do manage to wear out the leather strap, you can always send the buckle back to me to be stitched into a new strap.

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The Hallmarks

My sterling silver and gold buckles are assayed and hallmarked in just the same way as the ones I am copying, at Goldsmiths' Hall in London, where silversmiths have been taking their work to be tested and hallmarked since 1478, which is how the term "hallmark" originated. If you want to know more about the over-700 year old tradition and legal requirements of hallmarking, see my page about Assay and Hallmarking or the The Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office web site.

To send items for hallmarking I had to register my details with the assay office and "enter" a sponsor's punch mark. The picture here shows the hallmarks on one of my buckles. Reading from the left the marks are:

• My sponsor's mark, my initials "DBB" in a shield with angular ends, first registered with the London Assay Office in 2012.
• The lion passant, the walking lion that has been the standard mark of sterling silver since 1544 in the reign of King Henry VIII.
• The 925 mark which indicates the silver purity (sterling = 92.5% silver), required since 1975.
• The leopard's head, the standard mark used on sterling silver by the London Assay Office since 1300.
• The assay office date letter, in this case an "o" for 2013. Since 1975 the date letter shows the calendar year.

The form of these hallmarks goes back to 1544 in the reign of King Henry VIII; the one with the six wives. If he were alive today, King Henry (who died 28 January 1547) would recognise the validity of these hallmarks and know that this was legal sterling silver. He wouldn't recognise the additional 925 mark, but that is the only change that has been made to these traditional English hallmarks in over 470 years.

Dealer's Notice

Because I am now officially a "maker and dealer supplying precious metal items" I have to by law display this notice produced by the British Hallmarking Council explaining the approved hallmarks. Click on the thumbnail to get the full size version. If you want a fuller explanation of British hallmarks you will find it on my British hallmarks page, or for British hallmarks applied to imported items on my British import hallmarks page.

Cleaning and Storing Silver

Silver is a noble metal and doesn't oxidise like base metals. It will however pick up sulphur from the atmosphere and form a black layer of silver sulphide on the surface, this is called tarnish.

For cleaning my sterling silver buckles, or anything else made of silver, I find that the polishing cloths made by Town Talk are really good. They are ideal for cleaning my sterling silver buckles, and also for silver watch cases, because there is no messy liquid to get onto the leather strap or into the watch case, just a rub with the dry cloth brings up the silver beautifully clean and with a really good shine.

Town Talk have been making polishing cloths since 1895 so they have really got the hang of it now. Their high quality cotton silver polishing cloths are impregnated with silver cleaner and an anti-tarnish agent. They remove tarnish from silver leaving it really sparkling, and the anti-tarnish agent helps to keep it that way for longer.

I find the 5 x 7 inch (125 x 175 mm) Town Talk polishing cloths are a good size for watches. You can use the "Add to Cart" button underneath the picture to add one of these to your order for just £2.50.

Have you noticed that silver items go dull when they are in storage? Make sure your fine silver items stay shining bright by storing them with a Town Talk Silver Storage Strip. The Strips absorb atmospheric pollutants and help keep your silver shining bright. Store your silver item with a Silver Storage Strips in an enclosed space. The Storage Strips do not prevent tarnishing but slow it down and they do need to be replaced from time to time depending on storage conditions. The Silver Storage Strips come in packs of 36. You can use the "Add to Cart" button underneath the picture to add one of these to your order for just £2.50.

If you are going to purchase only one of these, choose the polishing cloth. The Storage Strips do not prevent tarnishing; they slow it down but you will eventually need to polish.

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Stock Straps

I keep in stock some straps already made up with 12mm hallmarked Type GW Great War model sterling silver buckles. These are ready to order for immediate dispatch using the buttons further down on this page in the section Stock and Order List.

NB: Although I keep only the basic Type A and Type B designs in stock ready made, if you want a Type B design with double slots or a Type C there is always a possibility that I can swap a strap with a sterling buckle onto a ready made back pad for one of these models. Email me to inquire.

Any straps that are marked “Temporarily out of stock” will be available again soon, usually within about a week. Email me if you want to pre-order one for immediate dispatch as soon as the new stock is made.

The pictures show some of my Great War sterling silver buckles made up into straps, and some of the available leather colours. If you click on the pictures you should get an enlarged image.

The two images here show Type A and Type B straps in, from left to right;

• Black
• Dark Brown
• Sepia
• Chestnut
• Tan Morocco
• Italian Dark Chestnut
• Italian Brandy

It is always difficult to get a good colour representation on a computer monitor, so please take these picture as guides rather than absolute colour references.

The Italian leathers Brandy and Dark Chestnut are high quality leathers in beautiful rich dark chestnut and lighter brandy colours.

Please see leather colours and the pictures page for more pictures and all the available leather colours.

Wrist Size and Strap Length

From experience I know that the standard length of my one piece pull through straps suits most men, with wrists between about 165mm / 6½" to 195mm / 7½" around, and this is the length that the stock (ready made) straps are made to. Straps can be custom made to any length (within reason) so if you have trouble finding a strap the right length, then this would be perfect for you.

NB: Making leather watch straps is not like precision machining metal; please understand that there may be a few millimetres variation in the sizes as made.

How a strap fits depends on the shape of your watch, the path the strap takes through the lugs, and also how tight you like to wear your strap. The path that the strap takes can make a significant difference to its effective length, so please make sure that you read the section about Strap Path – this is important; a significantly different path will need a different length strap.

Standard Strap Lengths

The standard length of the strap fitted to the Type A, B and C designs is 230mm long, excluding the buckle. These straps are designed for trench watches with fixed wire lugs and for wrists that measure between approximately 165mm / 6½" and 190mm / 7½" around. I know this standard size works pretty well for most wrists and trench watches with fixed wire lugs because I have been using it for over a decade now – but please do make sure that you read the section about the Strap Path.

If you have a smaller wrist, please see Designs for Smaller Wrists.

Measuring Your Wrist

If you are close to either of the limits and you don't want to be on the last hole of a standard length strap, then you can send me the measurement around your wrist and I will get a strap made of the correct length to suit you, see Custom Made Items for how to do this. If you send me a wrist measurement I add 60mm to it to get the length to make the leather part. This works well for trench watches with drooping wire lugs as shown in the section about the Strap Path. If your watch has lugs that are not like this, then you must let me know.

Please keep thing simple and just send me your actual wrist measurement, preferably in millimetres. The best way to take the measurement is to wrap a dressmaker's flexible tape measure around your wrist at the point you wear you watch and take a reading, or wrap a piece of string around your wrist and make a mark with a pen on both parts where they overlap and then measure the distance between the two marks.

Please don't try to second guess me on this and give me a measurement that you think will work better. If you take what you think is a wrist measurement from an existing strap, be aware that this is different from an actual wrist measurement. Please also make sure that you have read the section about the Strap Path.

Back Pad Lengths

If you have a small wrist, then there is the possibility that the ends of the back pad will meet or overlap. The back pads are all slightly different lengths as shown in the table. They will fit wrists somewhat smaller than their length, because they sit on top of your skin and simple geometry means that the average radius of the back pad is greater than that of the wrist, but this effect is difficult to measure exactly because wrists are not round.

I estimate that the effect means that your wrist can be 10mm less than the length of the back pad for the ends to only just touch. However, be aware that this is a guide and if you are close to the limit and want to be sure that the ends of the back pad do not meet, then see Designs for Smaller Wrists.

Design	Back Pad Length	Minimum Wrist Size
Type A	164mm	154mm
Type B	171mm	161mm
Type C	172mm	162mm
Type C XL	188mm	178mm

If your wrist is less than the minimum size for the design you want given in the table, please see Designs for Smaller Wrists.

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Stock Loose Buckles

If you want a size or design of strap that I don't keep in stock, such as a Type C or a two piece strap without back pad, a non-standard length, or a colour that is not kept in stock, that's not a problem because I keep some loose buckles on hand ready to be made up into straps. There is no extra charge for different sized sterling silver buckles. I usually have in stock:

• Type GW sterling silver buckles in 10mm, 12mm, 14mm and 16mm.
• Type GW 9 carat yellow gold and rose gold buckles in 12mm.

Stock loose buckles can be made up into straps to order in whatever design (Type A, Type B or Type C, etc.) and leather colour you choose. Remember that leathers are also available in leather colours other than the ones that I keep made up as stock items, so you can have yellow or blue or green etc. if you choose.

If you want to place an order for a strap to be specially made, please refer to the section about Custom Made Items.

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Modern Watches

My hand made buckles are accurate replicas of period buckles that were fitted to officer's wristwatches and to trench watches during the Great War 100 years ago. They look hand made because that is how the originals were made, right at the start of the wristwatch, and they suit period watches perfectly.

There are two reasons why my hand made sterling silver or gold buckles are not suitable for later watches.

1. Appearance: Because of their period design and hand made appearance, my hand made buckles are not suitable for "modern" watches. By the 1930s watch cases were looking more "machine made" and the correct look for their buckles needs to match this. The style of the buckle needs to match that of the watch.
2. Material: The material needs to match the watch case, silver with silver, gold with gold. Sterling silver will not match a steel watch case because silver is much whiter in appearance than any steel and makes it look dull in comparison.

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Wider Straps

Mostly I supply my sterling silver buckles on 12mm straps, because that is what Great War era trench watches usually take. I do keep a few wider buckles in stock up to 18mm for old style watches that need a wider strap, such as watches with cushion cases, or wire lug watches that have had their lugs altered.

The Type GW style of buckle does not look right to me in sizes bigger than this. I could make a bigger buckle if you really want me to, but I couldn't get just one buckle hallmarked so it would either have to be without hallmarks, or wait until I send in a batch to be marked.

Steel Cases

My Type GW and Type RD buckles are replicas of buckles that were made for wristwatches with silver cases and wire lugs. The cases of these wristwatches were made in the traditional way and are rounded, without flats or sharp edges. They were made at the beginning of the twentieth century around the time of the Great War, from the early 1900s into the 1920s.

Because of their design the Type GW buckles do not look right with "modern" watches with horns and bars for the strap rather than wire lugs. Modern watch cases made by machine have flat surfaces and sharp edges. A hand made replica of a 100 year old buckle would not look right with a modern looking watch case like this.

Additionally, most modern watches have steel cases. Silver has been prized for thousands of years as a precious metal because of its intrinsic beauty and corrosion resistance. When polished it has a bright white appearance unlike any other metal; it makes any steel, including stainless steel and even chrome plate, look dull and grey. Because of this I wouldn't recommend a sterling silver buckle, even a modern machine made one, be used with a steel watch.

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How to Order

If you are not familiar with my designs of replica straps for vintage wristwatches, please read the page about my designs of period replica watch straps for vintage wristwatches before you try to make an order. That page includes guidance on strap lengths as well as other details; it's a bit long winded because I have tried to answer as many questions as possible.

I keep in stock some of my sterling silver buckles in 12mm size made up into straps, these are available to order using the buttons below. If you are not familiar with the PayPal shopping cart, please read the "Instructions for Ordering". If you have any problems, don't hesitate to email.

If you want something other than the stock straps I have listed below, e.g. double slots, this can be specially made for you. The picture here shows a Type B with 10mm strap in tan morocco with double slots and a Great War sterling silver buckle specially made for a customer. If you want something like this, please refer to the section below about Custom Made Items.

If you are not familiar with my designs of replica straps for vintage wristwatches, please read the page about my designs before you try to make an order. For general terms and conditions, please refer to the ordering standard straps page.

To order a strap from the list below, click on a button to add a strap to the PayPal "Shopping Cart". This will take you to a PayPal screen. You must then click on the grey "Continue Shopping" button to come back to this page to add Packing & Postage / packaging and shipping (p&p), or more straps.

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Postage & Packing

The cost of Postage and Packing (p&p) is not included in the price of the straps. I make a single charge for p&p, no matter how many straps you order.

The current p&p charges are shown underneath each set of ordering buttons.

Postage & packing must be added to your order, the PayPal “shopping cart”, before checking. If you pay for p&p as a separate order, PayPal charges make it expensive for me.

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Temporarily Out Of Stock

If an item is marked Temporarily Out Of Stock it will be replenished when the next batch of straps are made, which is usually within a week from the item going out of stock. It is not practicable to replace straps as soon as they sell.

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Stock List: Straps with Type GW hallmarked sterling silver buckles

Updated: Monday 13 March 2023

If you try to order an item and PayPal says it is unavailable, please let me know.

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Type A Design with Type GW "Great War" Sterling Silver Buckles

Stock list updated: Monday 13 March 2023. If PayPal says an item is unavailable, please let me know.

For full details of leathers and additional colours see Leathers. To order a custom made item see Custom Orders.

NB: Postage and Packing must be added to your PayPal cart before checking out. Use either browser tabs or the “back” button ← to return to this page from PayPal.

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Type B Design with Type GW Sterling Silver Buckles

Stock list updated: Monday 13 March 2023. If PayPal says an item is unavailable, please let me know.

For full details of leathers and additional colours see Leathers. To order a custom made item see Custom Orders.

NB: Postage and Packing must be added to your PayPal cart before checking out. Use either browser tabs or the “back” button ← to return to this page from PayPal.