Watches are not just practical timekeeping devices, but also a way to add a finishing touch to your outfit – but what about vegan watches? If you like the look of a leather strap but want one without the cruelty, these brands all make a vegan watch strap.
Some of the best vegan watch brands I’ll be covering include:
- Best overall: Hurtig Lane vegan watches
- Best for eco-friendly: Solios solar powered watches
- Best for classic looks: Evig Grön watches
- Best for sustainable vegan leather straps: Mon Choux vegan watches
More vegan and vegan-friendly watch brands:
From vegan leather to cork straps and solar-powered watches, there are plenty of vegan and eco friendly watches to choose from these days.
I have never worn a watch on a daily basis (only wearing one sometimes) but now I’ve started wearing one more frequently, as I’m trying to cut down on phone usage and have read several articles whose authors said they found wearing a watch helped (because they didn’t pick up their phone to check the time and get sucked into looking at it).
For the best vegan watches, read on.
Evig Grön vegan watch
100% vegan company
On Alltrueist: Free US & Canada shipping on orders over $150
Evig Grön’s luxury vegan watches are timeless and sustainable. These cruelty free, leather free watches made Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and Portugal aim to be as sustainable as possible, using eco-friendly materials like cork.
Cork is an extremely eco friendly material because cork trees aren’t harmed with harvesting and require little water or fertilisation.
It’s also naturally water resistant and durable. Thus, it makes a great leather alternative and is perfect for straps on non leather watches, like Evig Grön’s.
The best vegan watch straps are cruelty free and sustainable, and Evig Grön use Piñatex for some straps on their vegan mens watches.
Piñatex a vegan leather made from discarded pineapple waste from the food industry, and another eco friendly vegan leather alternative.
As you might expect from a premium watchmaker, Evig Grön mens vegan watches are manufactured to a high standard and made to last a lifetime.
Take the Planetarium Silver Night watch, for example. This vegan mens’ watch face is covered in scratch-proof sapphire crystal glass, with an inside anti-reflection coating and a water resistance rating up to 50m/165 feet (suitable for swimming or showers).
Each cruelty free, vegan leather watch has a Swiss Ronda movement “Powertech- caliber 515” and the watching casing is made from corrosion resistant stainless steel, with non leather watch straps made from premium cork.
It comes in a vegan pouch in a solid carved wooden box and both the straps and the pouch are PETA approved vegan. They also plant a tree for every watch sold. Vegans’ watches have never looked so good!
Votch vegan leather watch
100% vegan company
Prices from £120
Free worldwide shipping
Votch is the first vegan watch company I remember hearing about. Founded by Laura Way in 2016, after having trouble finding a vegan watch strap herself.
Every Votch watch is fashion forward and sleek in design, and the faux leather watch material used is PVC free, phthalate free, bromine free and contains no plasticisers.
They use different materials, from vegan leather to innovative and sustainable materials like pineapple leather and appleskin leather, both made with waste from the food industry.
Their award winning vegan leather watches are PETA certified vegan and packaged in recyclable boxes and ready to gift.
Watches make great vegan gifts since you don’t have to worry about sizing! (If you’re looking for a gift, check out my full vegan gift guide here.)
The watches are made in China and they work closely with (and visit) the factory and know working conditions are fair and there are opportunities for promotion.
They had nine different collections plus a wide range of vegan leather watch straps, and even an option on their online shop to build-your-own with the watch and strap of your choice.
So whether you want a black vegan leather strap, grey vegan leather strap, light blue vegan leather strap or navy vegan leather strap, you can build the watch to your ideal specifications!
All watches are unisex but they have compiled a list of bestselling watches for women here and men here. All watches have quick-release straps so you can easily change out the vegan watch straps.
Each order plants a tree, and Votch will also recycle your old watch.
Hurtig Lane vegan leather watches
100% vegan company
From €109 ($129)
Free shipping worldwide on all orders
Hurtig Lane watches is based in Barcelona (like me!), and was born in 2016 after founders Cerian and Michael watched the documentary “Earthlings.”
They now also sell sustainable and vegan makeup brushes made of sustainable wood and bamboo, as well as vegan watches.
Hurtig watches are made using vegan PU leather straps (PVC-free) and made using recycled materials, and all staff is paid fairly with fair working hours. They’re also PETA approved vegan.
The award winning vegan brand has 8 ranges of vegan women’s watches and 5 ranges of vegan men’s watches.
One unique and beautiful range I really love is the Neliö Square vegan range.
With a square face and 16 different combinations, this is a gorgeous ladies vegan watch that will work dressed up or down. I love the modern, minimalist look of the square, black dial on this vegan leather women’s watch.
This quartz movement watched is encased in stainless steel and 3ATM water-resistant.
All their watch straps have clip release pins so you can easily change the straps, and packaging is made from recycled cardboard.
They’re also involved in a number of charitable organisations, including a cat feeding programme, a programme to provide jobs in developing countries, bee conservation and a Spanish food bank, all of which you can read about here.
Time IV Change vegan watches (women’s and men’s)
100% vegan company
From $200 Australian Dollars ($150 US Dollars)
Free international shipping for orders over $70
This Australian vegan company was started in 2016 with a Kickstarter campaign. I like that all their watches are unisex.
The watches and selection are minimalist, with a selection of watches in 40mm or 36mm designs and silver, gold and rose gold.
There are different vegan watch bands to choose from, made from vegan leather, vegan suede and vegan pineapple leather in classic colours like black, brown and cream.
Looking for vegan leather watches for men but want to be able to change the strap for different looks? All the TIVC cruelty free watches’ straps are quick-release so you can easily change them. Watches are rated to 3ATM (splash resistant). Movement is Swiss and cases are stainless steel, with sapphire crystal glass.
They also now have a set of vegan leather travel gear, including passport holders and luggage tags.
Mon Choux
Mon Choux makes eco vegan watches with sustainable materials such as cork and vegan grape leather.
This vegan wrist watch is my top pick. The strap is made of eco friendly vegan grape leather, a bio material made with leftover waste (such as discarded grape stems and skins) from the wine industry.
The glass is an anti-scratch sapphire crystal with a gold watch face, which I love.
It has a water resistance rating up to 5ATM.
Mon Choux has vegan watches for men and women, with metal straps, vegan grape leather straps and cork straps.
If you’re looking for the best men’s vegan watches from a sustainability perspective, have a look at their cork range. Cork is another, even more sustainable material, as cork doesn’t require much water to grow, and harvesting cork doesn’t damage the trees. Cork is also naturally biodegradable. In fact, cork is often rated as one of the most eco-friendly materials!
The Sustainable Watch Company wooden vegan watches (womens)
The Sustainable Watch Company make vegan watches out of recycled wooden furniture.
Each watch is handmade and is completely unique due to the varying wood grain patterns.
The beautiful watch pictured above, for example, is made of recycled ebony, with contrasting gold tones. The face has white and blue jewels as time markers. I love their contrast with the black watch face.
It’s rated up to 3ATM (so splashproof only) and has a Hardlex reinforced glass lens and Japanese quartz movement.
They also plant 10 trees and remove 250kg of carbon for every order. They use carbon neutral shipping and eco friendly recycled and recyclable packaging. They’re also plastic-free, powered with renewables and their aim is to be climate positive.
Solios
100% vegan company
Prices from $269
On Alltrueist: Free US & Canada shipping on orders over $100, Free EU shipping orders over €300
Solios watches are quite possibly the coolest watches (or possibly the hottest, given what powers them) on this list. All their watches are powered by the sun!
Solios was born when founders Sam and Alex decided they wanted to start a business that would have a positive impact on the environment.
They launched their Kickstarter live in 2018 and in a single night exceeded their goal by triple the amount they’d asked for.
Their watches are sustainable and all vegan. The batteries recharge under the sun – or even under office lights – in 2 hours, and the charge lasts 6 months.
The life of each battery is a whopping 50 years (the average watch battery only lasts a year), and they contribute to save more than 300 million batteries per year.
The watch glass is made of hardened mineral glass with a sapphire coating and anti-reflective coating. It’s also scratch-resistant.
Each watch is rated 3ATM, meaning it’s water-resistant and splash-proof (but not suitable for swimming or diving).
As an eco-friendly company, Solios has opted for the most eco-friendly materials available, so their straps are made of mesh or eco vegan leather (no PVC!).
It’s free of solvent, polyurethane and PVC, as well as being phthalate free and recyclable. They also use a magnetic system so you can easily adjust the strap to fit your wrist and get it sized just right to you.
Movement is a precise Japanese solar movement.
Solios is also a certified B Corp (businesses that balance profit and purpose and meet the highest standards of environmental and social perforamnce).
All watches feature a sleek, minimalist design that will work with workwear and casual clothing equally.
Cyssan
Vegan company
Prices: watches from $214/£155
Free shipping all UK orders
Cyssan is a watch company that launched in September 2021 and makes something really unique – a watch that can be worn either on the inside or outside of your wrist!
The company’s founder, Joanna Kim, used to be a teacher and always wore her watch “upside down”, with the dial on the inside of her wrist so she could subtly check the time during lessons, so she designed these watches to be worn either way. Such a great idea.
I love the stamp on the inside of the watch band that shows the symbol for leather with a “v” inside and says “vegan leather” below it.
Cyssan aims to be a circular brand and as sustainable and responsible as possible. So, they launched with just 500 watches so their watches would be special to those who have them and to reduce waste. They work only with suppliers who pay living wage.
The watches are designed in the UK and made in China.
The glass is a mineral glass, while the movement is a Japanese quartz Miyota. Their aim in future collections is to use recycled stainless steel if possible. The watch is water resistant to 3 ATM (splash/rainproof only).
The watch has a unique oval shaped watch face and a circular buckle and the watch is designed to be worn on the inside or outside of the wrist. There’s also a tiny ring with cubic zirconia next to the buckle for a little added sparkle!
Nox Bridge
100% vegan company
Prices from $250
Free shipping
Nox Bridge is a watch company based in New Zealand that started in 2014. Their vegan leather straps are water-resistant and PETA approved vegan and watches are assembled in Japan to ensure precision.
Their watches are also fair trade.
Each Nox Bridge watch comes with a 2 year warranty and quick-release straps. Many are limited edition, with only 50 pieces, so you can be sure your watch will be unique.
Some are waterproof to 3ATM (splash-resistant but not suitable for swimming) while others are rated to 5ATM (meaning they’re suitable for swimming).
Casing is surgical grade stainless steel.
Fjordson
100% vegan company
Prices from €199
Free worldwide carbon-neutral shipping
Fjordson’s vegan watches are Swiss made and approved by PETA and the Vegan Society. They even won PETA’s 2018 award for “Best Vegan Watches.”
All watches come with a 2-year warranty. Shipping is carbon neutral and shipping materials are made of recycled materials.
Fjordson watches are water-resistant up to 3ATM (not suitable for diving).
Case material is stainless steel and glass is scratch resistant crystal sapphire glass. Movement is, of course, Swiss.
Watch companies with vegan options:
Nordgreen
Nordgreen is a Danish watch brand that has vegan options (including vegan leather straps) and they kindly sent me this watch for review. I went for the Infinity watch with a mesh strap in rose gold. And I absolutely love it!
Nordgreen is known for their minimalist look, and as a result I find the watch goes with everything. It also transitions from day to night perfectly.
One thing I especially love is that the strap is really easy to adjust in terms of length (where the fastener sits), which is great because I have small wrists and have struggled with watches being too big in the past.
It’s also designed to be easy to swap straps (and you can buy extra straps if you want to change the look).
Nordgreen is carbon neutral, meaning they offset their shipping and the running of their office. They also use sustainable packaging (FSC certified paper and upcycled plastic bottles).
They use a Danish owned factory in China for manufacturing to meet high labour standards based on Danish working practices.
Their vegan leather straps are GreenGuard certified, meeting chemical emissions standards, thereby reducing indoor air pollution.
Nordgreen has several different styles of watch face, designed by Chief Designer Jakob Wagner.
I like how customisable they are; you can choose the size, colour of the watch, dial colour and also the straps, from vegan leather straps, metal link straps, nylon straps, rubber straps or stainless steel mesh straps like mine. (They also sell animal-based leather so be sure to select the vegan leather option or one of the other vegan options!)
Jord
Vegan friendly company
Prices from $174
Free shipping
Jord is a vegan watch company whose specialty is straps made out of wood!
They make straps primarily out of wood, using all types from rosewood to walnut. They also have cork watch straps, made from vegan cork leather from cork trees.
One of the best vegan leather watch strap alternatives, cork is sustainable and durable.
Their vegan friendly watches use a few different movement types, including Quartz (battery-powered) movement and self-winding automatic mechanical movement (no batteries needed).
Watch styles and prices vary, from a super-modern style with the parts exposed to sleek, minimalist designs and even a limited edition watch using encased coffee beans.
They also sell vegan Apple watch bands. It can be hard to come by non-leather straps for a vegan smart watch, but they have a non-leather option (plus a leather option so be sure to avoid that) – it’s made of wood and metal intertwined.
Olivia Burton
Vegan friendly company
Prices from £69
Free UK delivery on orders over £50
Olivia Burton is a watch company whose designs tend to feature natural elements like flowers, bees, deer and stars.
You can find a selection of Olivia Burton vegan watches here, and they’ve helpfully created a vegan section.
Each Olivia Burton vegan watch features a vegan strap and Quartz movement.
More vegan watch options:
Cheap vegan watches
If you’re looking for affordable vegan watches, places like Target usually have accidentally vegan watches.
If you’re looking for watches with vegan leather straps, it will be trickier because they don’t always label them vegan, but you’ll likely find a selection of watches with plastic/rubber straps (though it’s possible they may have used non vegan glue or dye). Another option is a watch with a metal strap.
Or, keep your eye on any of the vegan watch brands listed on this page for a sale.
FAQ
Are watches vegan?
Some are and some aren’t — it depends what they’re made of (normally the strap!).
Some watches have leather straps, but some are made of metal or rubber. There are also a number of manufacturers that now make vegan leather watch straps.
What are vegan watches made out of?
There are a number of vegan watch strap materials.
Amongst the vegan watch strap types, some are made from vegan polyurethane (PU) leather, while others are made from eco friendly materials such as cork or vegan pineapple leather.
Are metal banded watches vegan?
Of course, as long as the watch design doesn’t incorporate leather detailing or anything similar, an all-metal watch is vegan. If you prefer the look of a leather watch band, there are plenty of vegan leather alternatives – just have a look at my top picks listed aboe.
What watch style should I get?
Do you want to stand out? Or would you rather a classic watch?
A watch with a vegan black watch strap made of vegan leather is a classic look that will go with everything and stay in style for years.
Or perhaps you want to stand out, with an eye-catching piece like these, which are some of the best men’s vegan watches.
Maybe you’re looking for the most eco-friendly options available, in which case you may want to consider a watch with an eco-friendly cork strap like this one, or a solar powered vegan mens or vegan ladies watch.
Where to buy vegan watches?
It’s often easiest to find vegan leather watches online, hence why I put together this piece! Find my reviews of the best vegan watches above.
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Looking for more ideas to veganise your closet? Check out my guide to vegan clothing brands. I also have guides to vegan backpacks, vegan belts and vegan wallets.
Find my vegan tshirt guides.
I also have guides to vegan shoes and vegan handbags.
Find all my vegan fashion & beauty guides.
Main photo: Photo by Vitae London on Unsplash
