Strap for Royal Oak Extra-Thin Pink Gold / Silver

No. The bracelet is integrated directly into the case: there are no traditional lugs to attach a standard strap. It is an architecture conceived as a single whole. At the atelier I build the attachment piece by piece, directly on the watch, one millimetre at a time.

I work by appointment only at <a href="/pages/casati-booking">Casati Milano</a>, at Via XX Settembre 15 in Milan. I bring the watch to the bench, take the measurements directly from the original case, and carve the attachment by hand until it flows seamlessly with the octagonal geometry. This cannot be done remotely, and it cannot be rushed.

For a Royal Oak in pink gold, I favour Mississippi Alligator: its regular grain holds its own against the precision of the Tapisserie dial without overpowering it. As an alternative, naturally aged Barenia builds a warm contrast with the pink gold over time that I find hard to match. I would steer clear of overly sporty leathers or bold contrast stitching — they would upset the balance between elegance and character that this watch carries naturally.

With basic care — kept away from water, left to breathe after wear — a strap in quality Alligator or Barenia easily lasts five to seven years. Barenia in particular does not deteriorate: it ages, takes on the character of the wrist, and becomes more interesting over time. The key is not to treat it as a consumable — it is a living part of the watch.

In 1972 Gérald Genta did something simple and radical: he took steel — the material of working watches — and brought it into fine watchmaking without asking permission. That same logic lives on in the pink gold version, with a case just 8.1mm thick. I have seen a great many watches on the bench over thirty years, and very few manage to be both this slender and this present on the wrist.