A pretentious, snobby, old fashioned guide to choosing a strap

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I just added a cognac colored genuine alligator strap for my 1947 Omega bumper and think it nicely compliments the dial patina. JB
I think you made a perfect choice BumperJB.

Attractive watch!
Thank you! Regards, JB
 
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Since the thread popped up, I figured I’d throw my tan pig skin strap coupled with the vintage Seamaster. Grade away…
 
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Strap suggestions?



Absolutely gorgeous !

Here is a pics found on goldammer.me who is a dealer selling those type of beautiful watches :

It depends how formal you want to go, but if it were mine, I would go with a non-padded leather strap in dark brown with reddish accent (bordeaux ?) or at least a 'warm' touch to it (caramel / chocolat?). You could go exotic of course but I think a slightly textured 'normal' leather will be just fine. Full stitching but tone on tone, not to distract from the purity of the watch.

and here is a picture with a yellow gold case but I think the idea could work too (strap from Torre : a chocolate pigskin)
 
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Absolutely gorgeous !

Here is a pics found on goldammer.me who is a dealer selling those type of beautiful watches :

It depends how formal you want to go, but if it were mine, I would go with a non-padded leather strap in dark brown with reddish accent (bordeaux ?) or at least a 'warm' touch to it (caramel / chocolat?). You could go exotic of course but I think a slightly textured 'normal' leather will be just fine. Full stitching but tone on tone, not to distract from the purity of the watch.

and here is a picture with a yellow gold case but I think the idea could work too (strap from Torre : a chocolate pigskin)

Thanks so much for this very detailed and helpful reply!
 
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if it were mine, I would go with a non-padded leather strap in dark brown with reddish accent (bordeaux ?) or at least a 'warm' touch to it (caramel / chocolat?). You could go exotic of course but I think a slightly textured 'normal' leather will be just fine. Full stitching but tone on tone, not to distract from the purity of the watch]
I completely agree it calls for a flat strap with stitching the same color of the leather, I would also like burgundy or dark brown with burgundy undertones, but for me the perfect strap for this would be a matte croc with large scales, which is more casual and subdued than traditional shiny croc,
Dark honey, olive green, dark green or navy blue would also look nice - but some of those options might be harder to match with various clothing options. Black is too harsh and dressy.
Jean Rousseau does beautiful and used to be reasonably priced croc straps all things considered, I must admit I’m a big fan— below see my navy matte croc strap on a 1942 Royal Air Force issued watch.
 
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I completely agree it calls for a flat strap with stitching the same color of the leather, I would also like burgundy or dark brown with burgundy undertones, but for me the perfect strap for this would be a matte croc with large scales, which is more casual and subdued than traditional shiny croc,
Dark honey, olive green, dark green or navy blue would also look nice - but some of those options might be harder to match with various clothing options. Black is too harsh and dressy.
Jean Rousseau does beautiful and used to be reasonably priced croc straps all things considered, I must admit I’m a big fan— below see my navy matte croc strap on a 1942 Royal Air Force issued watch.


Thank you Syrte!

I was hoping you would weigh in on this...
 
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Thank you Syrte!

I was hoping you would weigh in on this...
Glad you appreciate; Always happy to share my inveterate fondness for strap matching 👍

PS and actually, considering the purity of the watch itself I would skip the stitching altogether and do something similar to my blue croc, simply have a hot pressed line on the side, or even no line or stitch at all, simply a pure clean strap.
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Glad you appreciate; Always happy to share my inveterate fondness for strap matching 👍

PS and actually, considering the purity of the watch itself I would skip the stitching altogether and do something similar to my blue croc, simply have a hot pressed line on the side, or even no line or stitch at all, simply a pure clean strap.

And yes, was thinking stitchless would be a better idea.
 
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And another good leather option, slightly less dressy and less pricey than croc, would be shell cordovan- which IMHO would be a perfect texture with gold.
Below a couple pictures with a strap from Accurate Form which I really like but the stitching might bother me on your watch, for some reason it doesn’t bother me too much on mine.
 
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The stitched straps look good on your pieces, both of which are a bit busier and lean toward a more "linear" or "scientific" look (for lack of the proper description-both terms used are probably incorrect) and seem to go well with a contrast stitch...
 
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The stitched straps look good on your pieces, both of which are a bit busier and lean toward a more "linear" or "scientific" look (for lack of the proper description-both terms used are probably incorrect) and seem to go well with a contrast stitch...


Well actually there is no stitch on the blue strap. It’s only got a heat pressed line but no stitch so it’s less busy and it would work very well on your watch too I think.
 
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Yes, I meant the two pics above. I have a few heat pressed straps and they always look better on my dressier stuff..
 
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Blue dial Seiko diver on navy blue Isofrane should sit squarely in the boring category.

 
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Strap suggestions?



I really like leather with some texture, so I gravitate towards crocodile and ostrich. I think a croc strap with complimentary stitching is good. Here are two of my gold watches on croc straps. The grey was one I wasn't sure about until I had the strap on the watch and really liked the color combination. The light tan runs counter to my normal sensibilities, but I think it also goes nicely with yellow gold. The darker brown is the type of strap I usually like on gold watch. It provides a pleasing contrast against the case.
 
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I really like leather with some texture, so I gravitate towards crocodile and ostrich. I think a croc strap with complimentary stitching is good. Here are two of my gold watches on croc straps. The grey was one I wasn't sure about until I had the strap on the watch and really liked the color combination. The light tan runs counter to my normal sensibilities, but I think it also goes nicely with yellow gold. The darker brown is the type of strap I usually like on gold watch. It provides a pleasing contrast against the case.

very nice...thanks!
 
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I really like leather with some texture, so I gravitate towards crocodile and ostrich. I think a croc strap with complimentary stitching is good. Here are two of my gold watches on croc straps. The grey was one I wasn't sure about until I had the strap on the watch and really liked the color combination. The light tan runs counter to my normal sensibilities, but I think it also goes nicely with yellow gold. The darker brown is the type of strap I usually like on gold watch. It provides a pleasing contrast against the case.
Very nice
I don’t remember if I already said DIBS on the eterna ?
 
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I really like leather with some texture, so I gravitate towards crocodile and ostrich. I think a croc strap with complimentary stitching is good. Here are two of my gold watches on croc straps. The grey was one I wasn't sure about until I had the strap on the watch and really liked the color combination. The light tan runs counter to my normal sensibilities, but I think it also goes nicely with yellow gold. The darker brown is the type of strap I usually like on gold watch. It provides a pleasing contrast against the case.

The grey has a beautiful color and of course that Eterna watch is beautiful. And I also I like the croc hides but I must admit I always prefer flat straps on a vintage watch, especially if it’s gold and a bit dressy.

As for the shell cordovan above, I still find it a bit too dark but perhaps it’s the picture? And the stitches somehow feel too casual for me, either the thread is too thick for this watch, or the knots not tidy enough, or the stitches should be sitting low in a heat pressed line— there’s something in the execution of the details that clashes with the style of the watch.
This watch needs a strap that’s totally streamlined and unobtrusive.
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