The strap size depends on the reference. Yours is engraved on the case back or between the lugs at 6 o'clock.
15 or 16 mm
Verification: From our database, not yet verified
30 to 32 mm cases · 1926 to 1928
Indicative information. Check your watch before buying a strap: whatsmylugwidth.com is not responsible for an incorrect size.
The story · Since 1922
In 1926 Rolex sealed a wristwatch by screwing down its bezel, case back and crown, and called it the Oyster. A year later swimmer Mercedes Gleitze carried one through more than 10 hours in the English Channel, and the small octagonal gold watch she wore sold at Christie's in 2000.
10+ hours
Time in the Channel after which Gleitze's Oyster still worked, per Rolex
In 1922 Rolex launched the Submarine, a watch hinged inside a second outer case that had to be opened to reach the crown. In 1925 Paul Perregaux and Georges Perret filed the Swiss patent for a screw-down crown that Rolex later acquired.
Rolex sealed the case by screwing the bezel, back and crown against the middle case, and patented the design in 1926. Hans Wilsdorf named it after an oyster, which can stay under water without harm.
Mercedes Gleitze carried an Oyster during her Channel swim of 1927, and the watch came out in working order after more than 10 hours in cold water. Rolex celebrated with a full-page advert on the front page of the Daily Mail, the start of its Testimonee idea.
The first Oysters came in octagonal and cushion cases of silver, 9ct gold or steel, with milled bezels, screw-down crowns and fixed wire lugs. A silver octagonal Oyster with Glasgow import marks for 1926 measures 33 x 31 mm.
Rolex used aviator Captain C.D. Barnard in a 1930 advert to show the Oyster at altitude. Rolex also records that the first expedition to fly over Everest was equipped with Rolex Oysters.
Through the 1930s the octagonal ref. 2136 sold in 9ct gold and steel at about 32 mm, and the steel ref. 2280 Oyster Royal appeared around 1935 at about 30 mm. Some early cases are stamped Oyster Watch Co. on the back.
2000. On 21 June 2000 Christie's sold the Oyster Precision worn by Gleitze during her Vindication Channel Swim, by descent from her family, for GBP 17,037. It had been shown at Rolex's 50th anniversary reception in Greenwich in 1976.
1927. Rolex bought a full-page advert on the front page of the Daily Mail to announce the swim, which Rolex calls the birth of its Testimonee concept.
1926. Hans Wilsdorf said he chose the name because, like an oyster, the watch could stay under water for an unlimited time without damage to its parts.
A steel Oyster with screw-down crown and screw back, catalogued circa 1935 to circa 1941; early backs carry the Oyster Watch Co. stamp.
About 30 mm case.
A 9K gold cushion-shaped Oyster with enamel dial and luminous numerals, made between 1928 and 1932 according to Christie's.
Wire lugs; 31.5 mm wide.
Among the earliest catalogued Oysters: case no. 190, silver, octagonal three-piece case with milled bezel, screw-down Oyster Patent winder and screwed back, Glasgow import mark 1926.
Fixed wire lugs; 33 x 31 mm case.
The watch Mercedes Gleitze wore: Oyster Precision no. 34075 in a 9ct gold octagonal case with a pink gilt dial, its back inscribed for her Vindication Channel Swim.
Wire lugs; 31 x 27 mm case.
Rolex Oyster Early references in our database. Each card says where its width comes from: listed by the maker (linked to the maker's page in the details), two independent sources agree, or listed in our database and not yet verified by us.
Oyster Early Screw-Down
Lug width: 15 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 30 mmYear: 1926White dialCase material: Silver
Oyster Early Screw-Down
Lug width: 16 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 32 mmYear: 1927Black dialCase material: Silver
Oyster Early Screw-Down
Lug width: 16 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 32 mmYear: 1928White dialCase material: Yellow Gold
Oyster Early 1930s Round
Lug width: 14 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 28 mmYear: 1934White dialCase material: Silver
No reference matches.
Rolex Oyster Early references use 14 mm or 15 mm or 16 mm depending on the reference and case size, so check yours in the list below. The most common is 16 mm (2 of 4 references with a known width). These widths come from our database and are not yet verified.
No. 3 different lug widths appear across the line, often by case size or generation. Check the reference engraved on the case back or between the lugs.
Auction catalogues describe early Oysters, including the octagonal ref. 2136 and the cushion ref. 678, with fixed wire lugs. The bar is part of the case, so a strap that relies on removable spring bars will not fit; the strap has to pass around the fixed bar.
Small by modern standards: catalogued examples range from 31 x 27 mm (Gleitze's octagonal Oyster) to about 32 to 34 mm for the octagonal ref. 2136, and about 30 mm for the ref. 2280.
No. The cases vary from octagonal to cushion and from about 27 to 34 mm across, so check the reference and measure between the wire lugs.
The gap between the two lugs that hold the strap, in millimetres. A new strap must match it exactly: 20 mm lugs take a 20 mm strap.
Most watches use spring bars, so any strap of the right width fits. Many smartwatches use their own band system instead, such as Apple Watch bands or Garmin QuickFit.