2026-04-28
Five New Colours for the CNS Original Strap
Five New Colours for the CNS Original Strap
The CNS Original strap is the foundation of everything we make. Single-pass ballistic nylon, solid buckle, no spring bar in the buckle frame — the construction is the same as it was when the MOD specification was written in 1973, and that is deliberate. The Original is not a product that needs reinventing. What it occasionally needs is new colours.
Today we are adding five.
Red, Burgundy Baron, White, Purple, and Green, Red and Black. All in the full size range from 18mm through 22mm including 19mm and 21mm — the odd sizes that most retailers still do not stock. All with the solid buckle. All standard length.
Here is the thinking behind each one.
Red
Red is the most visually direct nylon strap colour — it makes no apologies and asks for nothing in return except a watch that can carry it. Solid red nylon at 20mm on a stainless steel dive watch with a white or black dial is one of the cleanest colour statements available in watch collecting. There is no subtlety to it, and that is precisely the point.
Red works as a functional accent colour on watches where red already appears — the seconds hand on a chronograph, the date ring on a Submariner variant, the indices on a Seiko SKX009. It also works as a pure contrast statement on watches where it does not — black dial, steel case, red strap — where the colour difference is stark enough to read as deliberate at a distance.
We have wanted to add solid red to the Original range for a while. The barrier was always finding a ballistic nylon in the right shade — a true red that reads as bold without tipping into orange or brightening into the kind of red that looks cheap under indoor lighting. The red we landed on holds its tone across light conditions. It is the same red you see on the strap, not a different one when you get it indoors.
Burgundy Baron
Burgundy is the colour that rewards patience. Unlike red, which announces itself immediately, burgundy takes a moment to register — and then keeps giving. It is the colour that looks better the second time you look at it than the first, and better still on the third.
The name Burgundy Baron came from the personality of the colour itself. Burgundy is not a loud colour. It is a considered one — the colour of something that has been chosen rather than grabbed. A baron rather than a king. The designation stuck.
In terms of pairings, Burgundy Baron is the most versatile of the new colours. It sits between red and brown in tone, which means it reads differently depending on the watch. Against a black dial it reads as a warm, dark red. Against a champagne or gold dial it reads as a rich, almost chocolatey complement. Against a white dial it creates a contrast that is warm rather than stark. Very few colours do this across that many different contexts.
Available at 18mm, 19mm, 20mm, 21mm, and 22mm.
White
White nylon is having a moment in watch collecting — and it has earned it. The combination of a stainless steel sport or dive watch on a clean white nylon strap reads as contemporary and confident in a way that feels genuinely fresh compared to the standard black, navy, and khaki palette most nylon strap collections offer.
The challenge with white nylon is that it shows soiling quickly and can look tired after sustained wear. We chose a ballistic nylon weave dense enough that the surface resists surface dirt better than lighter weave constructions — it cleans easily and retains its brightness with normal washing. It is a practical white, not just a photogenic one.
White works best on watches where there is a reason for it. A white-dialled Omega Speedmaster or MoonSwatch on a white Original strap creates a tonal pairing — light on light — that is immediately cohesive. On a dark-dialled sports watch it creates the maximum possible contrast. Either approach is valid. What white will not do is disappear into the background, which is sometimes exactly what you want from a strap choice.
Purple
Purple is the rarest solid colour in nylon strap collecting — which is partly why it took us this long to add it and partly why we eventually did. There is a gap in most nylon strap ranges between the blue end of the spectrum and the red end. Purple sits in that gap and occupies it entirely on its own.
The purple in the Original range is a mid-tone — not the pale lavender that reads as indecisive in small accessories, and not the deep near-navy that loses its purple identity at a distance. It holds its identity across light conditions and scales well to both smaller and larger watches.
Purple works particularly well on watches with blue or silver dials where the colour temperature contrast — the cooler purple against the cool dial tones — creates a pairing that is coherent without being obvious. It also works on black-dialled sport watches where it reads as a deliberate colour statement rather than a default choice.
Available at 18mm through 22mm including odd sizes.
Green, Red and Black
The striped nylon strap has a longer history than almost any other watch accessory. The regimental stripe — a pattern of coloured bands running the length of a nylon strap — predates the wristwatch itself, borrowed from military and institutional heraldry where colours identified regiment, rank, and allegiance.
The green, red, and black combination is a stripe that sits in this tradition without belonging to any specific institution. The military green anchors it to the tool watch heritage of the single-pass construction. The red accent adds warmth and visual interest. The black grounds the combination and prevents it from reading as costume rather than considered choice.
This is a striped strap for a watch worn as an object rather than a status signal — the kind of combination that a person who understands what they are looking at will immediately recognise as well chosen, while reading as simply colourful to everyone else. That distinction matters. The best watch and strap combinations work on both levels.
Available across 18mm through 22mm.
The Construction Behind All Five
All five new colours use the same Original strap construction that has not changed since the first CNS strap was made. Single-pass ballistic nylon threading over both spring bars and behind the watch case. The CNS solid stainless steel buckle — no spring bar in the buckle frame, just solid steel. Heat-sealed nylon edges. Quick-release spring bars included.
The solid buckle is the detail that most buyers notice after wearing the strap for a while rather than immediately. The standard buckle used by most nylon strap manufacturers has a spring bar running through the buckle frame — a third point of failure on a strap that is supposed to provide security backup if a case spring bar fails. The CNS solid buckle eliminates that point of failure. It is a small difference in construction that has a meaningful difference in security, and it is one that as far as we know no other manufacturer offers across a full nylon range.
All five new colours are available now in the Original collection. Full size range from 18mm to 22mm including 19mm and 21mm. Standard length. Ships worldwide.