Olongapo Bracelets Of The Vietnam War & Today

The Story Behind the Olongapo Bracelet - The Vietnam-Era Tradition That Still Resonates With Collectors and Veterans

By Benjamin Lowry 

From Navy SEALs to Army Special Forces and the covert cross-border operations of MACV-SOG, the Vietnam War served as the birthplace of modern special operations culture and tactics. The lineage of some of the most iconic military tool watches can also be traced to this conflict, including the Tudor and Rolex Submariners, SOG Seikos, the Tornek-Rayville TR-900, and the Zodiac Sea Wolf.

While two-thirds of service members were draftees, reaching the upper echelons of intelligence and special operations required repeated volunteering as well as the ability to survive the military’s most rigorous training pipelines. The few who made it were proud of what they had accomplished, and some chose to honor their efforts with custom, locally made watch bracelets bearing signatures of their service. 

Vintage USN-issued Tudor Submariners on Olongapo bracelets. (Photo Credit: Justin Sowders)

Serving as an intriguing footnote in military watch history, the “Olongapo” bracelet provides insights about service, pride, and self-expression in an era when some of history’s most iconic tool watches were being used as tools of war. 

The Olongapo Bracelet - A Brief History 

For many US troops traveling to and from Vietnam, Naval Base Subic Bay served as a vital hub for rest and relaxation, logistics, and a unique cottage industry that produced customized watch bracelets, dubbed the “Olongapo.” Starting sometime in the mid-1960s, these cuff-style watch bracelets were manufactured by hand in nearby Olongapo City, Philippines, to suit a particular watch and wrist and typically adorned with earned insignia. 

US Navy SEAL Rick Hetzell (right) wearing a Rolex Submariner with an Olongapo Bracelet. 

The archetypal Vietnam Navy SEAL will forever be associated with the Tudor Submariner 7928 on a nylon pull-through strap, but many frogmen, Green Berets, Navy Divers, and USAF Pararescuemen also commissioned Olongapo bracelets for their Tudor, Rolex, Omega, and Seiko watches. Made from stainless steel, the level of customization was only limited by an artisan’s abilities, and there are surviving examples of Vietnam-era Olongapo bracelets with SEAL Tridents, Freddy the Frog, US Navy Diving insignia, unit crests, jump wings, initials, rank, and more. 

Vietnam-era Tudor Subs complete with Olongapo bracelets. (Photo Credit: Ignacio “Nacho” Conde Garzón)

Serving dual duty as symbols of culture and tools, these bracelets were a been-there-done-that statement that also provided a rugged solution for keeping a watch securely connected to the wrist. Unlike a rubber or nylon strap that would eventually rot in the jungle or a bracelet consisting of links with dozens of potential failure points, the Olongapo’s construction was simple, only a few pieces of bent stainless steel that all but obviated the risk of accidental loss. Many were worn operationally, including for diving, with certain examples painted black to mitigate reflections. Some were also inscribed with the owner’s name or initials. 

Mike Slattery of UDT-13 & SEAL Team 1, wearing an Olongapo with a Tudor Submariner in Vietnam in 1973. (Photo Credit: US National Archives)

Where the surviving watches worn by practitioners in Vietnam serve as more discreet talismans of service, an Olongapo band provides a more overt window into the practitioner's experience and qualifications, with many sporting personalized engravings and signatures on the inside offering further clues about the history behind a watch and the individual.

A US Navy Diver wears a Seiko 6309 with an Olongapo Bracelet in 1988. (Photo Credit: US National Archives)

Modern Olongapo Bracelets

For the decades between the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 and the closure of Naval Base Subic Bay in 1992, several of the original Olongapo artisans continued their work, albeit on a smaller scale compared to the height of the conflict. After that, Olongapo bracelets served as badges of honor for Vietnam vets at reunions, oddities at militaria swap meets, or conversation starters at VFW halls. Still, they remained largely overlooked by the watch community of the day. 

A Vietnam-era Frogman wearing a Rolex Submariner on an Olongapo band at a SEAL reunion in 2018. (Photo Credit: cazalea/WatchProSite)

With the rise of the internet, including niche forums focusing on military and dive watches, collectors began sharing Vietnam-era examples of Tudor and Rolex Submariners, GMT-Masters, and Seiko 6105s, complete with their Olongapo bracelets. The timing was right. Demonstrated by the rise in value of watches like the Rolex MilSub, vintage tool watches, and especially those with military provenance, began to enjoy a moment. However, as intriguing as they were, a vintage Olongapo made for another person is unlikely to fit, and the insignia belonged to someone else, a situation posing interesting questions.  

Wearing a vintage watch with military history is generally considered fair play, but strapping on a custom Olongapo bracelet with Freddy the Frog, the UDT insignia, or some other coveted, hard-earned military symbol, feels like a step too far, even nudging into stolen valor territory. Still, the interest is there, and at least one craftsman in the Philippines still produces these unique bracelets. 

A US Coast Guard Olongapo Bracelet 

Ben’s Seiko 6309-7040 on a custom Olongapo honoring his Coast Guard service. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.)

After four years of conducting search and rescue and law enforcement missions in the San Francisco Bay, I distinctly remember the feelings of apprehension and impending doom associated with my end of enlistment. Even so, I wanted to commemorate what was a formative period in my life, and I felt I was finally ready for my own Olongapo. Jaffy Jurado, who started making Olongapo bracelets in 1968, is among the last artisans still producing these bands. 

It ain’t exactly a SEAL Trident, but I’d earned the Coast Guard’s coxswain insignia when I qualified as a small boat operator, which I asked to have on one side of the Olongapo. For the other, I requested my Boatswain’s Mate rating badge, a pair of crossed anchors. I also added an inscription on the inside with my duty station and years of service. To wear on my fleet of Seiko divers, including my 6309, I opted for 22mm lugs. 

Ben’s Olongapo with its coxswain insignia (left) and crossed anchors. (Photo Credit: Wil Bethune)

When the bracelet arrived, I was blown away by the attention to detail and also by how well it fit. An Olongapo is a lot rougher around the edges than anything you’re going to get at an AD and requires some fine-tuning to get it perfect, but the handmade feel is part of the charm. I have since had two more bracelets made, both of which have crossed anchors and diving helmets, referencing my USCG service and second career as a commercial diver. 

The W.O.E.-longapo  (Written by W.O.E.)

(Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.)

As a former undercover CIA Case Officer, overt signals of Agency affiliation are taboo. In contrast to SOF units, which take pride in unit affiliation with patches, hats, and bumper stickers, for us, it's just not a thing. So when Ben offered to help design an Olongapo bracelet for me, I was stumped.

After giving it some thought, I landed on the W.O.E. insignia and the 16-point compass star taken from the CIA seal. The star represents the convergence of intelligence data from around the world at a central point, the CIA. While historically, the bracelets are overt talismans of service, keeping this one “if you know, you know” is more my style. There have been two CIA unit watches recently completed that also incorporate this design.

(Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.)

As a collector, I could not be happier with this bracelet, and it complements my vintage Tudor and Rolex Subs particularly well. Is it practical or comfortable? Not really, but it’s a subtle yet important nod to those who came before us. In our community, heritage matters.

The Olongapo’s Legacy

An instructor at the USMC’s Scout Sniper wears an Olongapo bracelet with a Seiko or Citizen diver in 1987. (Photo Credit: US National Archive)

Living deep within a niche inside another niche, Olongapo bracelets sit at the crossroads of utility, heritage, and self-expression; a handmade artifact telling stories that watches alone cannot. Born alongside modern special operations in the crucible of Vietnam and carried forward by veterans, collectors, and the few remaining artisans, these bands represent both a rugged solution to a practical problem and a deeply personal statement of service. 

Whether preserved on a vintage Submariner or newly commissioned to honor more recent experiences, the Olongapo endures as a reminder that the most meaningful thing about a watch might not be the watch itself. 

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