Artem Straps 21mm Watch Straps for Watches That Don't Fit the Usual Sizes
Buy a Submariner after 2020 and the first thing you learn, usually from a strap that arrives and won't go on, is that the lugs are 21mm. Not 20mm, the size every strap shop stocks by the hundred, and not 22mm, the size every dive strap seems to assume. 21mm. The watch is one of the most popular in the world and the strap aisle behaves as though it doesn't exist.
That gap is what this post is about. Artem Straps makes 21mm as a full size, across every one of its lines, and if you own a 21mm watch that changes the question from "what can I get away with?" to "which one do I want?"
The 21mm problem
Brands don't pick 21mm by accident. A 41mm or 42mm case looks better balanced on 21mm lugs than on 20mm, and a strap that tapers from 21 keeps the whole thing from looking top-heavy. Rolex uses it on the current Submariner 41 and the Explorer II 42. Tudor uses it on the Pelagos 39. Zenith uses it on the Chronomaster Sport. These are not obscure watches.
The trouble is that most strap makers work in even numbers. They'll sell you a 20mm and tell you it'll be fine, or a 22mm and tell you to squeeze it. Neither is fine. A strap a millimetre too narrow leaves a visible gap on each side of the lugs that catches the eye every time you look at the watch. A strap a millimetre too wide bows between the lugs, presses on the spring bars and wears through at the corners within a year.
A proper 21mm strap is cut at 21mm. That's the whole fix.
What fits
Artem's 21mm watch straps collection has every line the brand makes, in the actual size.
The Classic sailcloth is the strap most people start with. Embossed sailcloth texture on a synthetic upper, a leather core underneath, natural rubber against the skin. It's structured, water-resistant and comes with a tang buckle in steel or black. Black, navy, grey, khaki green and sand beige, with a few stitching options each. In 21mm it tapers to 18mm at the buckle, which is what keeps it slim on a Sub-sized case. $112.
The Loop-less sailcloth is the same strap rebuilt for a folding clasp. No keepers, no tail hanging out, and once it's set to your wrist you just slide it on and click. In 21mm it narrows to 18mm at the clasp end, so Artem's own Loop-less clasp fits, and so does an 18mm Omega deployant if you happen to own one. $154.
The Loop-less HydroFlex is the one for anyone whose Submariner actually goes in the water. It's FKM rubber, dual-stage vulcanised, with the same sailcloth pattern pressed into the surface so it doesn't read as a plain rubber strap. Waterproof, salt-proof, UV-stable, no break-in. In 21mm you get a choice of taper, 21/18mm or 21/16mm, which matters if you already own a clasp in one size or the other. Thirteen colour editions. $248.
The Barenia leather is for the days the watch has to look dressed. French full-grain Barenia in tan, dark brown or black with tonal stitching, cut for the Loop-less clasp so the leather isn't pulled through a buckle every morning. It feels broken in from the first wear and darkens the way good leather should. $189.
And the Signature Nylon, which Artem cuts at 21.5mm so it seats in both 21mm and 22mm lugs. Fourteen colourways, including the Bond stripes, on hardware that doesn't feel like an afterthought. $76.
The taper trap
Here's where 21mm owners get caught a second time. Having found a strap that's 21mm at the lugs, they buy a clasp to match the lugs. It doesn't fit. The clasp has to match the narrow end of the strap, not the wide one.
Artem's 21mm sailcloth and leather all taper to 18mm, so they take an 18mm clasp. The Loop-less HydroFlex comes in 21/18mm and 21/16mm, so it takes an 18mm or a 16mm clasp depending on which you choose. The number after the slash is the one that matters for hardware. Get that right and one clasp will move between every Loop-less strap you own in that width.
Length
A 41mm case eats more of the wrist than a 36mm one, which means the strap often needs to be shorter than you'd think. Artem does XS, Standard and XL, covering wrists from about 5.1 to 9.1 inches. Pick by your wrist measurement, not by habit, and the clasp will sit where it's supposed to.
All of them ship with quick-release spring bars. The Loop-less clasp is sold separately, in brushed steel or black DLC.
Which one for a Submariner 41
If you want one strap that covers most days, the Loop-less sailcloth in black with grey stitching. If the watch swims, the Loop-less HydroFlex in Dark Matter or Cosmic Tide. If you want the Sub to go to dinner, the Barenia in Forge Black. If you want all three, buy the clasp once and swap the straps.
