€130 for a silicone watch strap.
We hear the question. Here's the answer — no marketing varnish, no self-congratulation. Just the real breakdown of what goes into a POPSTRAP, and where the price comes from.
The Material Isn't Optional
POPSTRAP uses platinum-cured, medical-grade silicone — Shore A 50. That specification isn't branding. It's a technical requirement for a strap that will be worn daily, exposed to water, UV, and skin contact over years.
Platinum-cured LSR (Liquid Silicone Rubber) costs more to source than the peroxide-cured HCR silicone used in most generic watch straps. The difference: platinum catalysts are expensive, the process requires tighter controls, and the rejection rate during production is higher. What you get in return: no residual plasticizers, no off-gassing, no yellowing under UV exposure, and genuine biocompatibility per ISO 10993 standards.
The raw material is a relatively small share of the final cost. It's also the non-negotiable part.
Tooling: The €35,000 Decision Before Drop 01 Shipped
Before POPSTRAP shipped a single strap, we cut a precision steel injection mold. Cost: approximately €35,000.
A mold for a cage-geometry silicone part isn't a commodity item. It's machined to ±0.05mm tolerances, designed to produce dimensionally consistent parts across thousands of cycles. Poor tooling means flashing, warping, fit problems. We didn't accept that.
The tooling cost is amortized across Drop 01. Meaning: every strap sold helps recover that fixed investment. That cost is real, it's embedded in the unit price, and it's the reason every strap fits the 40mm case format exactly as designed — Lépine and Savonnette alike. If you're curious about case compatibility specs, see our Swatch × AP compatibility page.
Manufacturing: France, End to End
Our workshop is in the Loiret region — 90 minutes south of Paris. Not an assembly operation. Not a white-label supplier. The strap is made there, from compound to finished piece.
What French manufacturing adds to the unit cost:
- Labor rates are higher than Asian contract manufacturing. That's a deliberate choice, not a constraint.
- Quality control is performed in-house, on every batch — not by a third-party audit firm seen once a year.
- Each strap is dimensionally verified, surface-inspected, and fit-tested on the target case before shipping.
- Supply chain traceability is complete. We know the origin of every input.
Parts that don't pass don't ship. That standard costs time. Time costs money. To see the process in person, read more inside our Loiret workshop.
Packaging and Logistics
Free worldwide shipping is included at €130. That cost is built into the unit price — not charged at checkout, not absorbed at a loss. It's in the number.
The packaging is deliberately minimal: a matte box, a spring bar tool, a card. Nothing decorative for its own sake. The box was sourced and produced in France. Not the cheapest option available — not an apology either.
What You're Not Paying For
The €130 doesn't fund a distribution chain. POPSTRAP is direct-to-consumer — no retail markup, no boutique cut, no distributor margin sitting between the workshop and your wrist.
It also doesn't fund advertising spend, celebrity placement, or a product lineup engineered to sell you entry-level and upsell you upward. We make one strap. One price. Worldwide. That structure keeps the number where it is.
How It Compares
| Product | Price (approx.) | Material | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| POPSTRAP Drop 01 | €130 | Platinum-cured LSR, Shore A 50 | France |
| Rubber B aftermarket | €180–€250 | FKM rubber | Switzerland |
| Horus Straps | €80–€120 | FKM rubber | Asia |
| Generic silicone strap | €15–€40 | Peroxide-cured HCR silicone | Asia |
Comparing a POPSTRAP to a €20 Amazon silicone strap misses the point. Different material spec, different production process, different outcome. Comparing it to Rubber B or the Horus range is more honest — and POPSTRAP is competitively priced against both, made in France.
For a full look at what separates LSR from cheaper silicone alternatives, read our guide to platinum-cured vs peroxide-cured silicone straps.
Order Drop 01
POPSTRAP is available now in six colorways: Black, White, Blue @3, Yellow @3, Green, Blue @12. Free worldwide shipping from our Loiret workshop. Order Drop 01 here. Closed edition. Future drops are coming — Drop 01 will not be restocked once it's gone.
POPSTRAP is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Audemars Piguet® or Swatch Group®.