India Rubber is a perfect material for Schofield straps. As well as its aesthetic quality it has a large stretch ratio, high resilience and it is extremely waterproof. India Rubber, also called natural rubber or caoutchouc, is harvested in the form of latex from certain trees. In places such as Kerala, on the South West Indian coast, where coconuts are in abundance, the half shell of coconut is used as the collection container for the latex, but glazed pottery or aluminium cups are common elsewhere. The cups are supported by a wire that encircles the tree. The latex is led into the cup by a galvanised ‘spout’ knocked into the bark. This process is called ‘tapping’. The latex is then refined into rubber ready for commercial use. All straps come with a set of our proprietary lug protection stickers. If you regularly change straps then we suggest you consider some Schofield drivers, purpose made for changing straps on Schofield watches. A buckle is not included.