Every product category collects folklore. Watch straps collected more than most. Some of it dates from the era of cheap promotional rubber. Some of it never made sense at all. This afternoon, we go through the five myths we hear most often — and what the material science actually says. Short version: most of what you've heard about silicone straps stopped being true a decade ago. We make straps for a living, so we have skin in this game — but every claim below is checkable, and we tell you where to check it.
Myth 1: "Silicone is just cheap rubber"
Silicone is not rubber. Different chemistry, different behavior, different price floor. Natural rubber and most synthetic rubbers are carbon-based polymers. Silicone is built on a silicon-oxygen backbone — the same family of materials used in surgical implants and infant care products.
What confused everyone: bad silicone exists. Plenty of it. Thin, peroxide-cured, dusted with fillers, sold for the price of a coffee. That material earned the reputation. Medical-grade, platinum-cured silicone — the kind we mold in our Loiret workshop — shares a name with it and nothing else. If you want the full chemistry, our silicone strap guide covers it without the marketing fog.
Myth 2: "Silicone makes you sweat and irritates skin"
Backwards, mostly. Skin reactions blamed on "silicone" are nearly always reactions to additives — plasticizers, curing residues, dyes — found in low-grade material. Pure platinum-cured silicone is one of the most biocompatible materials you can put against skin. It's why hospitals use it.
Sweat is a real consideration, not a myth — any closed strap traps moisture in summer. But silicone doesn't absorb that sweat the way leather or fabric does. Rinse it under a tap, wipe it, done. The strap that "smells after the gym" is the strap that was never rinsed.
Myth 3: "Changing a strap is a watchmaker's job"
It's a two-minute job at your kitchen table. Spring bars are designed for removal. This morning we published a piece on whether you even need a spring bar tool — read it, then stop paying boutique fees for a task simpler than changing a phone case.
One caveat: cage-style straps like ours don't even use spring bars. The cage holds the case mechanically. Fitting takes seconds and requires no tools at all.
Myth 4: "Light-colored silicone always turns yellow"
Peroxide-cured silicone yellows. UV exposure accelerates it. That's the material talking, not the color. Platinum curing leaves no peroxide residues behind, which removes the main yellowing mechanism. A white platinum-cured strap that gets an occasional soap-and-water wash stays white for years. Sunscreen is the one genuine enemy — certain filters bond with any polymer surface — so rinse after beach days.
Myth 5: "Silicone has no place at formal events"
This one is simply expiring. The dress-code logic that demanded leather assumed leather was the refined option. A matte black silicone strap with clean geometry reads quieter than most leather today — no stitching, no grain pattern, no cracked patina after a year. Watch culture moved; the rulebook hasn't caught up. The 40mm Swiss pocket-watch collaboration that defined 2026 ships on rubber-like straps from the factory. The category settled the debate for everyone.
We made the full argument in our case for silicone as the modern dress strap. The short version: formality is about restraint, and nothing is more restrained than a single material, a single color, and zero ornament.
The pattern behind the myths
Every myth above traces back to one root: judging a material by its worst examples. Here's the summary table.
| Myth | Reality |
|---|---|
| Silicone = cheap rubber | Different chemistry; grade determines quality |
| Silicone irritates skin | Additives in low-grade material do; pure platinum-cured silicone is medical-grade |
| Strap changes need a pro | Two minutes, basic tool — or no tool for cage straps |
| Light colors always yellow | Peroxide curing yellows; platinum curing resists it |
| Not formal enough | Modern dress codes accept clean silicone |
When a spec sheet says Shore A 50, platinum-cured, medical-grade — those words exist precisely to separate the material from the myth. Unsure what any term means? Our watch glossary translates all of it.
Judge the strap, not the stereotype. We make one strap. Medical-grade silicone, Shore A 50, platinum-cured, molded end-to-end in France. Every myth on this list dies on contact with it. See Drop 01 — €130, six colorways, free worldwide shipping. Built once. Worn forever.
POPSTRAP is an independent French brand, not affiliated with Audemars Piguet® or Swatch Group®.