I don't think this firm has been mentioned as yet, but they do carry a very large selection of inexpensive to fine leather (and other) straps:

https://www.watch-band-center.com/shop-watchstrap.html

I'm in the States, but I have ordered from them a number of times and the shipments are prompt.

Cheers,

Joe

 

I have strong faith in Watchgeckos higher range offerings. They are based in the UK. I especially recommend their hand made straps. I have about 20 of their straps. I'm also a huge fan of Fluco, I really love their suede straps.

 

Everest is my go-to strap. Both for leather and rubber.

 

I’ve had great luck with Finwatchstraps.com. I have three of their straps, to bottom rung, and one top. You custom order them, giving them the length, the lug with, the type of leather (there’s about 20 of these), the style (At least a dozen of these), the color of the stitching, and the style of the buckle. It takes about two weeks, plus shipping time. Sometimes much quicker. They range in price from about €50 to about €140.

 

Try Ashland leather. They use leather from the Horween tannery-really nice.

 

Salgud, totally happy with that cool strap maker from Helsinki... I just put on the reindeer olive-green ( grayish looking) in 19mm I received today ( took only 10 days to NJ) on my ref 1819
IWC from 1972. Sooooo supple. Worth the $140...

 

Gave Clockwork Synergy a fair shot but they only offer QR in straps I like and I am not a fan of quick release ones.

I have ordered at least a dozen straps from them (I liked their 'Dapper Collection' a lot btw) but now looking for something else in the same price range and with traditional spring bars. US based would be better since I would not have to deal with shipping etc. Got a few from Amazon based but they feel too cheap.

Any recommendations folks? Thanks

 

Nice and informative thread. After browsing all the sites mentioned in this thread, I ended up trying a shop that is not mentioned so far - so I'll chip in. Ordered three leather straps from MCL. Ended up with these and will report back when I receive them.

 

And one more thing
There's also the possibility to buy a cheap, boring leather strap and apply som TLC and make it your own. Here's what I did last week. Bought a $16 leather vintage strap from CNS, and in the pictures it looked like this in the product photo. Not bad for $16.



But - it turns out it actually looks like this IRL. Not so good, but quite boring...



So - it was time for some TLC or DIY if you will. Took my suede shoe brush and brushed it. And then 10 min later, it looked like this:

 

The modified distressed look is quite nice. Reminds me of some custom straps made by @Fost . It’s a good look for a watch strap IMO.

 

Just got this strap from Diaboliq Straps.

 

These are fantastic. What a craftsmanship.

 

I am wishing I came by this page earlier....

 

Finished product from D9

 

Some close-ups of the finish. Can't fail it at all.

 

Has anyone dealt with HannsonLeather on Etsy? I have sent messages on Etsy as well as Emails to inquire about customization and I have never gotten back a response. I am wondering about your experiences with them. Thanks in advance.

 

@sdre posted about Hanson Leather in this thread.

 

There is TheLeatherStrap Rom Italy. You can find them on extraman. Good price and quality and good range of colours

 

I have now used the straps from MCL and - both the finish and colour toning are just perfect.

 

Just found this New York Times article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/...=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

A (Watch) Band Apart



In Paris, Atelier du Bracelet Parisien makes custom designed watch straps in a variety of leathers, linings and stitching.CreditCreditAgnes Dherbeys for The New York Times

By Libby Banks

• Sept. 7, 2015

A handful of small, select ateliers scattered around Europe let owners treat their watch straps as part of their wardrobe. And while the market for bespoke watch straps may be a niche one, it definitely is growing.

“We make more or less 5,000 to 6,000 straps each year. This figure is increasing about 10 percent more every year,” said Yann Perrin, co-owner of Atelier du Bracelet Parisien, the 18-year-old Paris-based business, generally known as A.B.P., which offers clients almost infinite ways to freshen up their Rolexes, Patek Philippes or Audemars Piguets.

Manufacturers of women’s timepieces have long been wise to the power of color. Dior, for example, created alligator straps for its Dior VIII watch that precisely match the violet and blue palette of Raf Simons’s spring 2015 collection. And Chanel’s Boy.Friend watch, introduced this month, has alligator straps in red or navy that coordinate with two of the house’s most popular nail polishes.

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Agnes Dherbeys for The New York Times
But, Mr. Perrin said, the men’s market for changeable bands also is increasing. “Men are less and less afraid with using colors and special tannings and leather finishes,” he said, adding that alligator increasingly is considered a very masculine choice.

A trip to the A.B.P. atelier off the Rue Saint Honoré in Paris presents a dizzying number of options: 50 kinds of animal leathers, each in as many as 300 colors; 600 stitching colors; and hundreds of lining materials in varied colors, all of which can be combined to create straps in 20 different thicknesses.

A simple leather version of the common NATO nylon strap (first issued in the 1970s for the British military) takes an artisan only 30 minutes to make. But, Mr. Perrin said, more complex concoctions require about 100 different processes and can take as long as 18 hours.

“The possibilities are endless; we use a lot of rare leathers such as hippopotamus, elephant, cordovan” from a horse, he said. “My favorite leathers are alligator, python, calf and shark.” An A.B.P. strap costs an average of 250 euros, or $287, but prices can rise to €750.

The growth of the men’s fashion market has outpaced women’s for the past five years, according to luxury goods reports by Bain & Company, the global management consulting firm. So, as men’s wear has expanded, it’s not unexpected that male watch fans are experimenting beyond the conservative and quintessentially classic. After all, a zingy stingray, ostrich or alligator watchband offers both a discreet hint of dandy and a relatively affordable price tag.

“Watch trends evolve pretty much separately from fashion, in terms of materials, but they do pick up on those bigger cultural shifts in the way men are thinking about their clothes,” said Nick Sullivan, fashion director at American Esquire. “Men are definitely thinking more of watches as integral parts of their wardrobes — and owning more watches accordingly. In the old days men tended to wear the same watch with everything.

“Custom bands are allowing them to get more permutations out of their watches and put their personal stamp on a treasured possession,” he said.

Unlike the internationally recognizable watch brands, most watch strap businesses are small independent and artisanal operations, such as Camille Fournet in Paris, which has a website program that allows clients to make choices in 14 categories to create a custom order for delivery anywhere in the world, and Di Stefano Straps, an atelier in Florence, Italy, that specializes in recreating vintage straps.

The new Chanel Boy.Friend watch has alligator straps in red or navy that coordinate with two of the house’s most popular nail polishes.

Image
The new Chanel Boy.Friend watch has alligator straps in red or navy that coordinate with two of the house’s most popular nail polishes.
Luxury houses also have entered the field. La Montre Hermès, for example, opened its own strap atelier in 2006 and has a bespoke option for customers.

“The strap is now an important part of the watch, something which always used to be considered as secondary,” said Philippe Delhotal, creative director at La Montre Hermès. “This is the one element that you can easily change and that gives the impression of having a new watch. A nice material, a special texture or color makes a big difference to the overall look of the watch.”

Creating bands can be a time-consuming process, he said, estimating that an alligator strap for the luxury house’s In the Pocket watch takes craftsmen about a week to produce from start to finish.

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Jean Rousseau, a leather accessories manufacturer and tannery established in Besançon, France, in 1954. Jacques Bordier took over the business in 1999, initially focusing on watch straps for high-end Swiss brands. Then in 2001, he opened a bespoke atelier in Paris as a way of building brand awareness.

Dior created alligator straps for its Dior VIII watch that precisely matched the violet and blue palette of Raf Simons’s spring 2015 collection.

Image
Dior created alligator straps for its Dior VIII watch that precisely matched the violet and blue palette of Raf Simons’s spring 2015 collection.
The service, now expanded to Tokyo and London, has become a significant part of the business, providing about 10 percent of the company’s annual revenue. A boutique recently opened on Madison Avenue in New York, and two more are planned for Asia in 2016.

Prices for a bespoke calfskin strap starts at about €90, rising to more than €550 for exotic leathers. “You could have diamonds embedded in the strap; you could have it stitched with gold or platinum thread; and we do embroidery — we recently created one embroidered with cherry tree flowers for a Japanese client,” Mr. Bordier said.

The company also has its own tannery, so while exotic leather bands sell for €550, a client could pay about €1,400 for a band that matches his Savile Row suit or a Bugatti’s paint job.

Despite the dazzling number of options, Mr. Bordier said most clients take a subdued approach. “Black is still the most popular,” he acknowledged.

But, “the type of bespoke we offer is much more subtle” than just color, he said. “Nowadays, I think the ultimate luxury is not only producing something beautiful, but exactly to the customer’s taste and needs. That comes down to details: the color of the thread, or mixing alligator with a rubber lining.”

Mr. Perrin echoed the sentiment, saying a bespoke watchband is an opportunity to be distinctive in what can be a bland horological universe. “My best advice is not to select too classic a strap,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be funky, but the client should select a strap that is as original and unusual as its owner.”