In the latest instalment of our glossary series (you can see all our educational style content here), we tackle one of the most overlooked (and most important) elements of a watch. The bit that attached it to your wrist – buckles and clasps in all their forms … The tang buckle, also known as the pin or ardillon buckle The most common type of buckle in the watch industry. The Tang/Pin/Ardillon buckle looks very much like a traditional belt buckle. The tail end of the strap is threaded through the loop of the buckle, and held in place by the pin (or tang) poking through a hole and resting in a recess in the loop. The advantage of these buckles is that they are cheap to produce. The disadvantage for the customer is the constant flexing and fastening of the strap means the strap wears out a lot faster. The deployant clasp Often called a deployment clasp, the deployant was invented by Louis Cartier (the grandson of the founder) in 1910. The name comes from the French word déployant, which means to unfold, extend, or unfurl. The deployant extends the life of straps because once it is fitted to…
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