To some of you out there the answer to this question may seem obvious, but, to me with no real knowledge of watches I didn’t have the foggiest of ideas when everyone started talking about Lug widths. On my first day I was sat with my colleague who was showing me all the inside outs of our product listings for WatchGecko. Who knew listing a strap could be so complicated if you don’t know the lingo? The most common phrase being thrown around that day was ‘Lug width’ and, like many other beginners in the watch world, I was sitting there thinking what on earth is a lug width? Why do I need to know what it is and why is it relevant? Not surprisingly, it turns out it's quite an important feature if you want to purchase a strap that will fit to your watch.
After a bit of confusion and a couple of questions later I was beginning to understand why we should all know the lug width of our watch. So, let’s answer the question, what is a lug width?
The lug width of a watch (you may also hear the term lug size; they mean the same thing apparently) is simply the space between the two lugs on a watch. Yep, I can hear everyone now asking but what are the lugs? The lugs, which may also be referred to as the horns, are the projections on the watch case that you would use to secure your strap to, and the lug width is measured from the inside of each of the lugs. For all you visual learners I’ve popped in a little diagram below. Lug widths generally range from 16mm to 24mm with the most popular size being 20mm/22mm. However, you may find that some vintage watches or women’s watches come with even smaller lug widths.
So, if you’re looking to buy a replacement Watch strap for your watch you now know how to find out the lug width of your watch. Be aware that an inaccurate reading of just a few millimetres may lead to your strap being loose. I would suggest getting your hands on a Lug Width Measurement Tool. These are the perfect, no fuss tool to always keep handy enabling you to quickly measure your watches lug width or strap size with absolute precision.
