What Are The Different Types of Metal Bracelet?

Durable, stylish, water resistant, and timeless by design, metal bracelets are a wonderful option for your watch. Over the years of watch development there have been many styles of metal bracelets from a wide range of brands, designers, and manufacturers. In this guide I’ll be highlighting the main styles that you are most likely to come across or consider for your own watch, giving suggestions to where each style is best suited and some of their drawbacks!

This article is a continuation in our metal bracelet guide series, so make sure to read our other articles on this topic.

Available in a multitude of types and materials the mesh is likely the most diverse style of metal bracelet. Characterised by its woven links of metal, these bracelets have become very popular in recent years despite having been available since the early 19 ^th Century. That may be thanks to Omega reissuing the Seamaster Professional 300m over and over again, or it may be due to the fact that they work in a multitude of scenarios, styles and suit almost any watch. We’ve modelled mesh metal bracelets on everything from Omegas to Hamiltons to Zeniths to microbrands, and the list goes on.

Mesh bracelets are versatile too being used on dive watches, dress watches, and even as a fashion accessory. With the many types of weave and design there will always be a mesh bracelet to suit everyone making them a great option for anyone looking for a metal bracelet.

With an unmistakeable appearance and style, the five-link bracelet is not only one of the most widespread styles, but also one of the most coveted. First making its appearance in 1945 on the 4467 references of Rolex DateJust and going by the name ‘Jubilee’, it was an instant success. Designed to celebrate Rolex’s 40 ^th anniversary, the DateJust and it’s Jubilee bracelet have remained a staple of the Rolex lineup and is still the brand’s top selling model to this day.

This bracelet style benefits from the durability of metal bracelets, although some older examples featured hollow links that wore down over time. All modern five-link bracelets now feature solid links that will not change shape like those prior. The five-link bracelet adds a level of sophistication and class over many other styles of bracelet. It’s multiple curved edges and contrasting polishing make it a dressier option for metal bracelets. This style is popular on dress watches that still have a somewhat sporty feel.

The benefits are a dressier overall look, and scratch appear less prominent due to the many curved surfaces. The structural issues of older five-link bracelets do pose some difficulty but if you research the bracelet you’re looking to buy well and find a good example you cannot go wrong with a five-link.

The quintessential sport style bracelet, the three link is a design that has accompanied some of the greatest sport watches of all time. This style first appeared on the early Rolex Submariners of the 1950s and has remained the staple design for many sports watches ever since. These bracelets are made up of a larger central link and two smaller links that sit either side. This creates a male and female end that the bracelet pins can slot through to join the links together.

This style gives any watch a sporty feel and styling and works perfectly for dive watches, GMT’s, field watches, chronographs, and any other watch that is sporty in design or purpose.

This bracelet style is perfect for everyday wear as it is extremely comfortable on-wrist and rugged enough to cope with any punishment. In some configurations it can work well in formal occasions but not all. The large centre links are prone to showing scratches, especially if polished and the larger link design does make finding the perfect fit a little harder. But with most claps having some form of adjustment, this usually isn’t a problem.

It's a close call but I think the three-link style might be my favourite metal bracelet. It’s certainly the one I own the most of and wear on a daily basis.

Very similar in initial appearance to the three-link, this bracelet style is sporty and often used on dive and field watches. The key difference between the H-link and three-link styles is the way the links connect. As mentioned before, a three-link and a male and female end that slot into one another when assembling the bracelet. The H-link differs by having just two components, the main link and a connecting link. As the name suggests the main link is in the shape on an ‘H’ and so the connecting links sit in the middle of the main links.

This style of bracelet looks great on vintage inspired dive watches but is versatile enough to suit a range of styles and occasions.

The benefits of this style are that it is incredibly strong and durable, but a potential drawback is the large surface areas are prone to showing scratches, especially if the centre links are polished.

A style of mesh that adds some bulk to the design, beads of rice bracelets are for those that like a mesh but want some weight on their wrist. First seen on Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin models in the 1940s and 1950s, this bracelet design has become more common on divers with DOXA spearheading this watch and metal bracelet combination.

This style is classic and old school working best with vintage watches and modern divers with a vintage inspiration. One drawback with older versions of this bracelet is, like with the five-link, they are prone to stretching and becoming flimsy. Modern versions will be reliable and rugged enough for everyday wear.

This style of bracelet first appeared in 1972 on Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak model. Completely revolutionary, this design didn’t use a standard lug design like almost all other watches but a proprietary system for attaching the case to the bracelet. The key design feature of an integrated metal bracelet is how the lines of the case flow into the bracelet. Despite being revolutionary the style didn’t take off in the 1970s. While several other brands released watches with this style of metal bracelet it wasn’t until the 2000s when sales really took off. During the pandemic there was an enormous demand for this style which led to insane pre-owned prices for this style of watch. And now many brands have an integrated style metal bracelet, from Farer and Christopher Ward to IWC to Tissot to Patek Philippe and of course Audemars Piguet.

The benefits of this style are a completely unique design language that is unmistakable and often very premium. Build quality and durability on these watches is often high even on more budget friendly examples. A drawback is that you are limited in options if you ever wanted to change the bracelet for a strap or different style of metal bracelet. You would either have to spend a large amount of money to get straps from the manufacturer or rely on designing custom options with a luthier.

If you would like to learn more about metal bracelets or guides to help you find the perfect option for you, then make sure to check out our collection of guides on metal bracelets.

And be sure to check out the selection of high-quality metal bracelets on the WatchGecko Store.